Abstract
This chapter examines ‘new economy’ companies, which are often seen as a driving force behind new work and management practices. By looking at a start-up in France, the study draws on these debates about this vision. The chapter’s focus is the implementation of agile methods, asking what the objectives of the adoption of such a form of project-based management within the software engineering department were and seeking to understand how the organization reshapes the way employees are controlled. The investigation shows that agile practices are still undermined by persistent hierarchical divisions, both in the decision-making process and in day-to-day interactions, while agile frameworks are seen as a new way to manufacture consent.
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Notes
- 1.
In a start-up company, the chief technology officer (CTO), is often one of the co-founders and has the technical vision for the product.
- 2.
Verbatim statements are translated from French. Every attempt is made to reflect the original spirit.
- 3.
The names of the interviewees have been changed to ensure anonymity.
- 4.
He is talking about the sum of its feature team developers’ story points. A total of 120 story points delivered by four developers means that each of them has delivered 30 story points, on average, instead of the usual limit of 15.
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Flécher, M. (2021). The Implementation of the ‘Agile’ Method in a Start-Up Company: A New Way of Controlling Work?. In: Pfeiffer, S., Nicklich, M., Sauer, S. (eds) The Agile Imperative . Dynamics of Virtual Work. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73994-2_8
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