Data-Driven Development in Public Sector: How Agile Product Teams Maneuver Data Privacy Regulations

Datafication processes, the ongoing strive for making organizations data-driven, have in recent years entailed data-focused software projects and more interdisciplinary teamwork. Simultaneously as agile product teams have been directed towards increased use of data for software development, stronger data protection regulations such as GDPR have further complexified the software developer role, whose responsibilities and expectations now expand far beyond mere coding. Seeking to develop an understanding of how data-intensive product teams in the public sector maneuver the legal hurdles emerging in the wake of data governance, this paper builds on 19 interviews with members of two agile product teams in the Norwegian organizations NAV and Entur. Our findings indicate that including a legal expert in the team can boost confidence in data handling practices and avoid delays in deliveries, but it requires effort to synchronize and overcome interdisciplinary barriers.