Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3523-3539 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| Publication status | Published - 26 Jul 2021 |
Abstract
Together with many success stories, promises such as the increase in production speed and the improvement in stakeholders' collaboration have contributed to making agile a transformation in the software industry in which many companies want to take part. However, driven either by a natural and expected evolution or by contextual factors that challenge the adoption of agile methods as prescribed by their creator(s), software processes in practice mutate into hybrids over time. Are these still agile In this article, we investigate the question: what makes a software development method agile We present an empirical study grounded in a large-scale international survey that aims to identify software development methods and practices that improve or tame agility. Based on 556 data points, we analyze the perceived degree of agility in the implementation of standard project disciplines and its relation to used development methods and practices. Our findings suggest that only a small number of participants operate their projects in a purely traditional or agile manner (under 15%). That said, most project disciplines and most practices show a clear trend towards increasing degrees of agility. Compared to the methods used to develop software, the selection of practices has a stronger effect on the degree of agility of a given discipline. Finally, there are no methods or practices that explicitly guarantee or prevent agility. We conclude that agility cannot be defined solely at the process level. Additional factors need to be taken into account when trying to implement or improve agility in a software company. Finally, we discuss the field of software process-related research in the light of our findings and present a roadmap for future research.
Keywords
- Agile Software Development, Collaboration, Companies, Data collection, Hybrid Development Methods, Instruments, Market research, Software, Software Development, Software Process, Standards, Survey Research, software development, hybrid development methods, Agile software development, survey research, software process
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Computer Science(all)
- Software
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In: IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, Vol. 48, No. 9, 26.07.2021, p. 3523-3539.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - What Makes Agile Software Development Agile
AU - Kuhrmann, Marco
AU - Tell, Paolo
AU - Hebig, Regina
AU - Klünder, Jil
AU - Munch, Jurgen
AU - Linssen, Oliver
AU - Pfahl, Dietmar
AU - Felderer, Michael
AU - Prause, Christian
AU - Macdonell, Steve
AU - Nakatumba-Nabende, Joyce
AU - Raffo, David
AU - Beecham, Sarah
AU - Tuzun, Eray
AU - Lopez, Gustavo
AU - Paez, Nicolas
AU - Fontdevila, Diego
AU - Licorish, Sherlock
AU - Kupper, Steffen
AU - Ruhe, Guenther
AU - Knauss, Eric
AU - Ozcan-Top, Ozden
AU - Clarke, Paul
AU - Mc Caffery, Fergal Hugh
AU - Genero, Marcela
AU - Vizcaino, Aurora
AU - Piattini, Mario
AU - Kalinowski, Marcos
AU - Conte, Tayana
AU - Prikladnicki, Rafael
AU - Krusche, Stephan
AU - Coskuncay, Ahmet
AU - Scott, Ezequiel
AU - Calefato, Fabio
AU - Pimonova, Svetlana
AU - Pfeiffer, Rolf Helge
AU - Pagh Schultz, Ulrik
AU - Heldal, Rogardt
AU - Fazal-Baqaie, Masud
AU - Anslow, Craig
AU - Nayebi, Maleknaz
AU - Schneider, Kurt
AU - Sauer, Stefan
AU - Winkler, Dietmar
AU - Biffl, Stefan
AU - Bastarrica, Cecilia
AU - Richardson, Ita
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 1976-2012 IEEE.
PY - 2021/7/26
Y1 - 2021/7/26
N2 - Together with many success stories, promises such as the increase in production speed and the improvement in stakeholders' collaboration have contributed to making agile a transformation in the software industry in which many companies want to take part. However, driven either by a natural and expected evolution or by contextual factors that challenge the adoption of agile methods as prescribed by their creator(s), software processes in practice mutate into hybrids over time. Are these still agile In this article, we investigate the question: what makes a software development method agile We present an empirical study grounded in a large-scale international survey that aims to identify software development methods and practices that improve or tame agility. Based on 556 data points, we analyze the perceived degree of agility in the implementation of standard project disciplines and its relation to used development methods and practices. Our findings suggest that only a small number of participants operate their projects in a purely traditional or agile manner (under 15%). That said, most project disciplines and most practices show a clear trend towards increasing degrees of agility. Compared to the methods used to develop software, the selection of practices has a stronger effect on the degree of agility of a given discipline. Finally, there are no methods or practices that explicitly guarantee or prevent agility. We conclude that agility cannot be defined solely at the process level. Additional factors need to be taken into account when trying to implement or improve agility in a software company. Finally, we discuss the field of software process-related research in the light of our findings and present a roadmap for future research.
AB - Together with many success stories, promises such as the increase in production speed and the improvement in stakeholders' collaboration have contributed to making agile a transformation in the software industry in which many companies want to take part. However, driven either by a natural and expected evolution or by contextual factors that challenge the adoption of agile methods as prescribed by their creator(s), software processes in practice mutate into hybrids over time. Are these still agile In this article, we investigate the question: what makes a software development method agile We present an empirical study grounded in a large-scale international survey that aims to identify software development methods and practices that improve or tame agility. Based on 556 data points, we analyze the perceived degree of agility in the implementation of standard project disciplines and its relation to used development methods and practices. Our findings suggest that only a small number of participants operate their projects in a purely traditional or agile manner (under 15%). That said, most project disciplines and most practices show a clear trend towards increasing degrees of agility. Compared to the methods used to develop software, the selection of practices has a stronger effect on the degree of agility of a given discipline. Finally, there are no methods or practices that explicitly guarantee or prevent agility. We conclude that agility cannot be defined solely at the process level. Additional factors need to be taken into account when trying to implement or improve agility in a software company. Finally, we discuss the field of software process-related research in the light of our findings and present a roadmap for future research.
KW - Agile Software Development
KW - Collaboration
KW - Companies
KW - Data collection
KW - Hybrid Development Methods
KW - Instruments
KW - Market research
KW - Software
KW - Software Development
KW - Software Process
KW - Standards
KW - Survey Research
KW - software development
KW - hybrid development methods
KW - Agile software development
KW - survey research
KW - software process
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85112653399&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/TSE.2021.3099532
DO - 10.1109/TSE.2021.3099532
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85112653399
VL - 48
SP - 3523
EP - 3539
JO - IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering
JF - IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering
SN - 0098-5589
IS - 9
ER -