Agile software development: A modeling and simulation showcase in military logistics

Abstract

As well known, Agile Software Development encompasses a set of methods and methodologies for complex and nondeterministic software development projects involving self-organizing and cross-functional groups. Therefore, as in the Manifesto for Agile Software Development, being adaptive, responsive, and cooperative as well as reliable are the underpinning requirements of Agile Methodologies whose inherent nature suggests that profitable results can be achieved when agile practices are absorbed into Modeling and Simulation projects. As a matter of facts, a lot of common ground can be found if well established M&S principles are evaluated against agile practices or vice versa. Indeed, agile software development, likewise simulation, relies on human and technical factors management along the project life cycle. Needless to say that it is not a surprisingly achievement, given that simulation building blocks are pieces of software components integrated with one another. However, it is worth noticing that simulation can provide the groundwork to assess and validate the effects of agile practices and in turn can substantially strengthen its methodological foundations benefiting from advances and best practices in software engineering. To this end, a case study in military logistics will be presented in this paper showing that high-quality results can be achieved applying agile techniques for simulation model development.