A Multi-criteria Model for Planning and Fine-Tuning Distributed Scrum Projects

Distributed software development is a fact of life for many projects. It is well established that distance makes difficult to interact and to cooperate effectively. Scrum emphasizes communication, reduces coordination and control overhead; therefore it has enormous potential to help the management of distributed projects and has been increasingly used. Successfully managing the combined use of DSD and Scrum is a complex task and it requires carefully planning. Despite the importance and complexity of this type of problem, there seems to be a lack of reports, in the literature, of models that could support project managers dealing with these decision contexts. This paper presents a multi-criteria decision model for planning and fine-tuning such project plans. This model was developed using cognitive mapping and MACBETH (Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique). The application of the model is demonstrated, followed by conclusion and remarks about future work.