Do agile methods work for large software projects?

Abstract

Is it true that agile methods do not scale well and are mainly useful for smaller software projects? Or is it rather the case that it is particularly in the context of larger, typically more complex software projects that the use of agile methods is likely to make the difference between success and failure? To find out more about this, we conducted a questionnaire-based survey analyzing information about 101 Norwegian software projects. Project success was measured as the combined performance of the project regarding delivered client benefits, cost control, and time control. We found that that projects using agile methods performed on average much better than those using non-agile methods for medium and large software projects, but not so much for smaller projects. This result gives support for the claim that agile methods are more rather than less successful compared to traditional methods when project size increases. There may consequently be more reasons to be concerned about how non-agile, rather than how agile methods, scale.