An Overview of Agile Methods

Susan K. (Kathy) Land, MITRE

Total pages: 47

$29.00

Introduction

Agile methods have been gaining popularity since their introduction in the late 1990s. These methods initially met with considerable controversy and resistance; many still routinely characterize them as undisciplined. When you view agile methods through the lens of more traditional software development methodologies, it's easy to misunderstand them. The most common criticisms arise when agile techniques are incorrectly deployed.

Many organizations have begun to realize significant benefits from implementing agile methods and their lightweight development processes. They've shown significant reductions in application development costs and improvements in application quality.

It is important for those interested in using agile techniques to fully understand the agile methods that are available. This group of materials has been collected to provide a practical overview for both developers and project managers. All of us should ask,

• Is my organization ready for agile methods?
• When should I avoid agile methods?
• What makes agile programming so different?
• What is the relationship between software quality and the agile community?
• What are the factors that support agile methods?
• What changes am I going to have to make to my management style? To my staffing plan?

Although agile methods differ, they share a number of common traits, including iterative development, focused customer and team interaction, and a reduced number of artifacts. The materials in this TechSet provide practical guidance in support of agile methods' program implementation, including the risks, lessons learned, and latest innovative techniques.

Keywords: agile methods, agile programming, lightweight development

Table of Contents

Get Ready for Agile Methods, with Care

Barry Boehm, University of Southern California

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.

Agile Software Development: Ad Hoc Practices or Sound Principles?

Lan Cao, Old Dominion University

Balasubramaniam Ramesh, Georgia State University

While agile methods might have evolved out of best practices, they are in fact consistent with the sound principles proposed by three established research streams in organizational theory.

The Impact of Agile Methods on Software Project Management

Michael Coram, Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University

Shawn Bohner, Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University

This article can help project managers evaluate whether agile methods are applicable in their situations. The authors examine agile methods' effects on a project, on the people involved, and on the development process used.

Do Agile Methods Marginalize Problem Solvers?

Victor Skowronski, Northrop Grumman

A software development methodology should take advantage of programmers' strengths and avoid their weaknesses. However, agile methods could create an environment hostile to the best programmers.

Software Quality and Agile Methods

Ming Huo, June Verner, Zhu Liming, and Muhammad A. Babar, National ICT Australia Ltd. and University of New South Wales

The authors compare the waterfall model with agile processes to study software quality assurance—that is, to show how agile methods achieve software quality under time pressure and in an unstable requirements environment.

Migrating Agile Methods to Standardized Development Practice

Mark Lycett, Robert D. Macredie, Chaitali Patel, and Ray J. Paul, Brunel University

Situated process and quality frameworks offer a way to resolve the tensions that arise when introducing agile methods into standardized software development engineering. For these to be successful, however, organizations must grasp the opportunity to reintegrate software development management, theory, and practice.

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