Software development paradigms are shifting. The development group's "team" ability, and the effects of the individual developer, become more important as organizations recognize that the traditional approach of increasing process pressure and overworking team members is not getting the job done. The pioneers of Agile methodologies question the preconceived processes within which development teams work. Rather than adding to the burden of the individual developer, Agile asks "how can we change the process so that the team is more productive, while also improving quality?" The answer is in learning to play the "game." Written for developers and project managers, Agile Software Development compares software development to a game. Team members play the game knowing that the ultimate goal is to win---always remembering what they have learned along the way, and always keeping in mind that they will never play the same way twice. Players must keep an open mind to different methodologies, and focus on the goal of developing quality software in a short cycle time.

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Agile Software Development

Agile - denoting "the quality of being agile, readiness for motion, nimbleness, activity, dexterity in motion" - software development methods are attempting to offer an answer to the eager business community asking for lighter weight along with faster and nimbler software development processes. This is especially the case with the rapidly growing and volatile Internet software industry as well as for the emerging mobile application environment. The new agile methods have evoked substantial amount of literature and debates. However, academic research on the subject is still scarce, as most of existing publications are written by practitioners or consultants. The aim of this publication is to begin filling this gap by systematically reviewing the existing literature on agile software development methodologies. This publication has three purposes. First, it proposes a definition and a classification of agile software development approaches. Second, it analyses ten software development methods that can be characterized as being "agile" against the defined criterion. Third, it compares these methods and highlights their similarities and differences. Based on this analysis, future research needs are identified and discussed.

Agile software development methods: Review and analysis

Software development methodologies are constantly evolving due to changing technologies and new demands from users. Today's dynamic business environment has given rise to emergent organizations that continuously adapt their structures, strategies, and policies to suit the new environment [12]. Such organizations need information systems that constantly evolve to meet their changing requirements---but the traditional, plan-driven software development methodologies lack the flexibility to dynamically adjust the development process.

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Challenges of migrating to agile methodologies

A decade of agile methodologies

Although many of their advocates consider the agile and plan-driven software development methods polar opposites, synthesizing the two can provide developers with a comprehensive spectrum of tools and options. Real-world examples argue for and against agile methods. Responding to change has been cited as the critical technical success factor in the Internet browser battle between Microsoft and Netscape. But overresponding to change has been cited as the source of many software disasters, such as the $3 billion overrun of the US Federal Aviation Administration's Advanced Automation System for national air traffic control. The author believes that both agile and plan-driven approaches have a responsible center and overinterpreting radical fringes. Agile and plan-driven methods both form part of the planning spectrum. Thus, while each approach has a home ground within which it performs very well, and much better than the other, a combined approach is feasible and preferable in some circumstances.

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Get ready for agile methods, with care

The rise and fall of the dotcom-driven Internet economy shouldn't distract us from seeing that the business environment continues to change at a dramatically increasing pace. To thrive in this turbulent environment, we must confront the business need for relentless innovation and forge the future workforce culture. Agile software development approaches, such as extreme programming, Crystal methods, lean development, Scrum, adaptive software development (ASD) and others, view change from a perspective that mirrors today's turbulent business and technology environment.

Agile software development: the business of innovation

In a previous article (2001), we introduced agile software development through the problem it addresses and the way in which it addresses the problem. Here, we describe the effects of working in an agile style.

J. Highsmith

Papers

Agile software development: the business of innovation

Agile software development, the people factor