# Work Motivational Challenges Regarding the Interface Between Agile Teams and a Non-Agile Surrounding Organization: A case study

## TL;DR

This case study explores motivational challenges faced by agile teams embedded within traditional organizations, highlighting issues like feedback misalignment and frustration affecting team morale.

## Contribution

It provides empirical insights into the work motivational impacts of integrating agile teams into non-agile organizational contexts.

## Key findings

- Teams felt feedback was unsynchronized and unappreciated.
- Agile team members experienced frustration when working with non-agile teams.
- Motivational effects are likely common in similar organizational settings.

## Abstract

There are studies showing what happens if agile teams are introduced into a non-agile organization, e.g. higher overhead costs and the necessity of an understanding of agile methods even outside the teams. This case study shows an example of work motivational aspects that might surface when an agile team exists in the middle of a more traditional structure. This case study was conducted at a car manufacturer in Sweden, consisting of an unstructured interview with the Scrum Master and a semi-structured focus group. The results show that the teams felt that the feedback from the surrounding organization was unsynchronized resulting in them not feeling appreciated when delivering their work. Moreover, they felt frustrated when working on non-agile teams after have been working on agile ones. This study concludes that there were work motivational affects of fitting an agile team into a non-agile surrounding organization, and therefore this might also be true for other organizations.