On the Agile Transformation in a Large-Complex Globally Distributed Company: Why Boarding this Journey, Steps Taken and Main Foreseen Concerns

ORG, fictitious name, is a large company with complex-globally distributed projects that has recently started a "big-bang" transition to agile. About a year ago the new CIO announced it was time to aim for faster deliveries and decided on a company-wide roll-out to agile, including legacy systems. In this paper we report on an interview-based qualitative study that aimed to identify the reasons of why the company is moving to an agile approach, the steps took towards becoming agile during this first year of work, and the main concerns of management given the size of the company, the complexity of the projects developed, and the team's global distribution. We interviewed 18 managers, including members of the board committee that support the CIO in strategic decisions. Our findings add to the current literature on the topic by discussing the transformation in a large-complex scenario that, to the best of our knowledge, has never been reported in literature.