Speaker: Dr. Lea Müller

Abstract: Large-scale agile information systems development (AISD) is characterized by pronounced temporal complexity, as multiple, partly conflicting time structures, such as sprint cadences, release cycles, portfolio rhythms, and external deadlines, coexist and intersect. Coordinating work in such settings therefore necessarily involves dealing with profound and persisting temporal tensions. While prior research on large-scale AISD has emphasized structural coordination mechanisms, including meetings, roles, and artifacts, it has largely neglected the temporal nature of coordination. Drawing on an interview-based qualitative study, we investigate how large-scale AISD teams navigate temporal complexity in their day-to-day coordination work. We show that effective coordination in large-scale AISD does not primarily rely on eliminating temporal tensions or fully aligning temporal structures; rather, teams coordinate through practices that deliberately enact and rework temporal tensions to enable synchronization at critical moments while sustaining stable workflows over time. By foregrounding temporality as a central dimension of coordination, this study contributes to research on large-scale AISD by moving beyond structural accounts of coordination mechanisms and offering a processual perspective on how temporal complexity is navigated in large-scale agile contexts.

Short Bio: Lea Mueller-Fortmann is a post-doc at the Chair of Information Systems and Electronic Services at the Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt). She graduated from the Universities of Mannheim and Munich and holds a PhD in information systems from the TU Darmstadt. Her research interests include agile and large-scale agile information systems development, time and temporality, and digital transformation. Her work has appeared in international journals and conferences, such as the Journal of the Association for Information Systems, the European Journal of Information Systems, and the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS). She won the AISD First Award by the German Chapter of the Association for Information Systems. Currently, she is an Associate Editor at the Business & Information Systems Engineering, the ICIS and the European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS).