Adapting the Scrum Framework to the Needs of Virtual Teams of Game Developers with Multi-site Members

Abstract

ABSTRACT. As we all know, most video games are developed using the well-known Scrum framework as the core approach for managing the project. Indeed, Scrum is an effective value-driven approach allowing adjustments based on regular and repeated feedback. Nowadays, in the video games industry, it is frequent to see virtual teams, with fragmented groups of people, working remotely from multiple sites. However, the Scrum framework is not designed to fits the needs of a fragmented multi-site team. Scrum was designed for small teams where all members are supposed to work together on the same location, having frequent face-to-face contacts in, ideally, the same open space. When applied on a virtual team, the Scrum framework is less effective because it does not offer sufficient tools and artefacts for addressing the specific problems emerging from the virtual context, such as the communication problem, the isolation of people of the groups, the challenge of keeping transparency, etc. We propose, in this paper, a comprehensive extension of the Scrum framework allowing to alleviate some of these issues. We also present the results of a first experiment with two virtual teams developing video games.