Abstract Agile at scale introduces persistent tensions as organizations attempt to balance autonomy, coordination, and control across teams and layers. Some tensions are paradoxes, which are persistent contradictions in which both sides matter. Drawing on a qualitative case study of MarketCorp, a multinational marketplace company, we explore how paradoxes manifest in a large-scale agile context and how leaders respond. Interviews with 15 top managers and reflective conversations with 60 employees reveal three paradoxes: centralization vs. autonomy, internal vs. external focus, and product vs. project approaches. We explored two approaches for designing facilitated dialogue around paradoxes in leadership teams. The study highlights the importance of recognizing, normalizing, and collaboratively managing paradoxes and offers practical guidance for large-scale agile organizations, demonstrating that paradoxes can provide a valuable focus for continuous improvement and strengthen agile learning practices.

This empirical study examines the transformation of a large-scale multinational software engineering organization into a product-oriented enterprise following Continuous Software Engineering (CSE) principles. Focusing on MarketCorp — a digital marketplace organization with distributed software development teams across multiple countries — the study explores the complex dimensions of transformation required for large-scale organizational change. Drawing on 15 interviews with MarketCorp’s top management, our findings reveal that the transformation encompasses three interconnected dimensions: organizational, platform, and cultural transformation. The organizational dimension involves structural changes and software engineering capacity redistribution; the platform dimension requires transitioning from brand-specific software platforms to a unified service-oriented model; and the cultural dimension encompasses shifts in identity, working relationships, and cross-regional software development collaboration. These dimensions are essential to enable successful CSE implementation at scale. The study contributes to empirical software engineering research by highlighting the need for organizations to proactively manage paradoxes and balance multiple competing demands across all transformation dimensions. Our findings provide practical insight for organizations undertaking similar transformations, emphasizing the importance of integrated change management approaches that consider the interdependencies between organizational structure, technology infrastructure, and cultural adaptation.

This short paper explores how a maritime company develops and integrates large-language models (LLM). Specifically by looking at the requirements engineering for Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) systems in expert settings. Through a case study at a maritime service provider, we demonstrate how data scientists face a fundamental tension between user expectations of AI perfection and the correctness of the generated outputs. Our findings reveal that data scientists must identify context-specific "retrieval requirements" through iterative experimentation together with users because they are the ones who can determine correctness. We present an empirical process model describing how data scientists practically elicited these "retrieval requirements" and managed system limitations. This work advances software engineering knowledge by providing insights into the specialized requirements engineering processes for implementing RAG systems in complex domain-specific applications.

Abstract The product manager (PM) role is well established in leading technological companies, such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook. PMs are responsible for integrating technical, design, and business perspectives when developing software products and product portfolios. In agile methods (e.g., Scrum), similar responsibilities are linked to the Product Owner (PO) role. In contrast, in large-scale agile, one can find both Product Owners and product managers who sometimes compete. Despite the widespread adoption of the product manager role, the attention toward it in the agile academic community has been surprisingly limited. In this multiple case study, we analyzed 17 interviews with 11 product managers from four agile companies. We found that the PMs facilitated continuous product experimentation and innovation, supported the product teams, and engaged in additional activities to achieve optimal product development. Our summary of the product management activities can guide product managers working in agile companies.