Articulating everyday actions: An activity theoretical approach to Scrum

Brian J. McNely; Paul Gestwicki; Bridget Gelms; Ann Burke

doi:10.1145/2379057.2379076

Articulating everyday actions: An activity theoretical approach to Scrum

Brian J. McNely, Paul Gestwicki, Bridget Gelms, Ann Burke

Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, we detail findings about the use of Scrum-a widely adopted agile software development framework-among a student game development team. Looking closely at six weeks of Scrum practices from a larger fifteen-week ethnography, we describe how Scrum strongly mediates everyday actions for the thirteen participants we studied. In analyzing our data, we deployed activity theory in concert with genre theory to better understand how participants repeatedly articulated and coarticulated finite, goal-directed, individual actions in the service of a broader, ongoing, shared objective. We offer, therefore, a way of understanding the Scrum process framework as a powerful orienting genre that facilitates collective development practice by stabilizing and intermediating a host of related, dynamic genres and artifacts.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication
Pages	95-103
Number of pages	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/2379057.2379076
State	Published - 2012
Event	30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication, SIGDOC 2012 - Seattle, WA, United States Duration: Oct 3 2012 → Oct 5 2012

Publication series

Name	SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication

Conference

Conference	30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication, SIGDOC 2012
Country/Territory	United States
City	Seattle, WA
Period	10/3/12 → 10/5/12

Keywords

Activity theory
Mediation
Orienting genres
Scrum
Writing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Computer Networks and Communications

Access to Document

10.1145/2379057.2379076

Cite this

McNely, B. J., Gestwicki, P., Gelms, B., & Burke, A. (2012). Articulating everyday actions: An activity theoretical approach to Scrum. In SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication (pp. 95-103). (SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication). https://doi.org/10.1145/2379057.2379076

@inproceedings{ff43a4a774fd43c2a2369b9743112f5b,

title = "Articulating everyday actions: An activity theoretical approach to Scrum",

abstract = "In this paper, we detail findings about the use of Scrum-a widely adopted agile software development framework-among a student game development team. Looking closely at six weeks of Scrum practices from a larger fifteen-week ethnography, we describe how Scrum strongly mediates everyday actions for the thirteen participants we studied. In analyzing our data, we deployed activity theory in concert with genre theory to better understand how participants repeatedly articulated and coarticulated finite, goal-directed, individual actions in the service of a broader, ongoing, shared objective. We offer, therefore, a way of understanding the Scrum process framework as a powerful orienting genre that facilitates collective development practice by stabilizing and intermediating a host of related, dynamic genres and artifacts.",

keywords = "Activity theory, Mediation, Orienting genres, Scrum, Writing",

author = "McNely, {Brian J.} and Paul Gestwicki and Bridget Gelms and Ann Burke",

year = "2012",

doi = "10.1145/2379057.2379076",

language = "English",

isbn = "9781450314978",

series = "SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication",

pages = "95--103",

booktitle = "SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication",

note = "30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication, SIGDOC 2012 ; Conference date: 03-10-2012 Through 05-10-2012",

}

McNely, BJ, Gestwicki, P, Gelms, B & Burke, A 2012, Articulating everyday actions: An activity theoretical approach to Scrum. in SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication. SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication, pp. 95-103, 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication, SIGDOC 2012, Seattle, WA, United States, 10/3/12. https://doi.org/10.1145/2379057.2379076

Articulating everyday actions: An activity theoretical approach to Scrum. / McNely, Brian J.; Gestwicki, Paul; Gelms, Bridget et al.
SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication. 2012. p. 95-103 (SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Articulating everyday actions

T2 - 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication, SIGDOC 2012

AU - McNely, Brian J.

AU - Gestwicki, Paul

AU - Gelms, Bridget

AU - Burke, Ann

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - In this paper, we detail findings about the use of Scrum-a widely adopted agile software development framework-among a student game development team. Looking closely at six weeks of Scrum practices from a larger fifteen-week ethnography, we describe how Scrum strongly mediates everyday actions for the thirteen participants we studied. In analyzing our data, we deployed activity theory in concert with genre theory to better understand how participants repeatedly articulated and coarticulated finite, goal-directed, individual actions in the service of a broader, ongoing, shared objective. We offer, therefore, a way of understanding the Scrum process framework as a powerful orienting genre that facilitates collective development practice by stabilizing and intermediating a host of related, dynamic genres and artifacts.

AB - In this paper, we detail findings about the use of Scrum-a widely adopted agile software development framework-among a student game development team. Looking closely at six weeks of Scrum practices from a larger fifteen-week ethnography, we describe how Scrum strongly mediates everyday actions for the thirteen participants we studied. In analyzing our data, we deployed activity theory in concert with genre theory to better understand how participants repeatedly articulated and coarticulated finite, goal-directed, individual actions in the service of a broader, ongoing, shared objective. We offer, therefore, a way of understanding the Scrum process framework as a powerful orienting genre that facilitates collective development practice by stabilizing and intermediating a host of related, dynamic genres and artifacts.

KW - Activity theory

KW - Mediation

KW - Orienting genres

KW - Scrum

KW - Writing

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84869051692&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84869051692&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1145/2379057.2379076

DO - 10.1145/2379057.2379076

M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:84869051692

SN - 9781450314978

T3 - SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication

SP - 95

EP - 103

BT - SIGDOC'12 - Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication

Y2 - 3 October 2012 through 5 October 2012

ER -

Articulating everyday actions: An activity theoretical approach to Scrum

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this