@Article{	  eInformatica2026Art10,
  author	= {Pavithra Herath and Muhammad Ovais Ahmad and Tomas Gustavsson},
  title		= {Onboarding Newcomers in Large-Scale Agile Projects: A Multiple Case Study},
  doi		= {10.37190/e-Inf260110},
  year		= {2026},
  volume	= {20},
  number	= {1},
  keywords	= {onboarding, agile, large-scale agile, social debt, process debt, people debt, knowledge debt, organizational debt},
  journal	= {e-Informatica Software Engineering Journal},
  url		= {https://www.e-informatyka.pl/EISEJ/papers/2026/1/10/},
  abstract	= { Context: Large-scale agile (LSA) is inherently characterized by socio-technical complexities (e.g., system dependencies, extensive cross-team coordination, and distributed organizational structures). Onboarding of newcomers is a critical challenge in LSA environments and it remains underexplored compared to small-scale agile settings.
  Objective: Our study aims to investigate the onboarding processes and challenges within LSA projects.
  Method: In this exploratory qualitative study, we conducted 41 semi-structured interviews across four Swedish software companies.
  Results: We identified onboarding issues that result in negative outcomes, such as cognitive overload, psychological safety constraints, and cross-team collaboration hurdles. These factors create steep learning curves and knowledge deficiencies that contribute to long-term socio-technical debt.
  Conclusions: We provide actionable recommendations for practitioners to improve their onboarding processes. In particular, we recommend designing competency-based rather than time-based onboarding plans, expanding social integration through structured cross-team exposure, and addressing the gap between textbook agile and real-world LSA practices through explicit expectation setting. },
  note		= {Available online: 2 Jul. 2026},
  month		= jul,
  pages		= {260110}
}