Sprint-driven development: Working, learning and the process of enculturation in the PyPy community

Abstract

In this paper we examine sprint-driven software development as it occurs in a specific Open Source community, PyPy. Applying a situated learning perspective, we report the findings from a study focused on the activities leading up to, taking place during, and following after sprints. The study included analyses of sprint reports, email archives and other documents available on the community website, as well as a one-week period of direct observation of a specific sprint. The objective of the study was to elaborate on how the practices of sprint-driven development in the PyPy community facilitate learning, the dissemination of knowledge among its members and the expansion of the Open Source community. This paper aims to assess how sprint-driven development can facilitate situated learning in distributed software development by describing the practices applied in PyPy. © 2007 International Federation for Information Processing.