Agile software development in practice

Abstract

Agile software development methods have been around since the mid 1990s. Over these years, teams have evolved the specific software development practices used. Aims: The goal of this paper is to provide a view of the agile practices used by new teams, and the relationship between the practices used, project outcomes, and the agile principles. Method: This paper provides a summary and analysis of 2,229 Comparative AgilityTM (CA) assessment surveys completed between March 2011 and October 2012 by agile developers who knew about the survey. The CA tool assesses a team's agility and project outcomes using a 65-statement Likert survey. Results: The agile principle of respect for individuals occurs the most frequently, while simplicity occurs least. Progress/Planning is correlated strongly to nine principles. Conclusion: Subject to sampling issues, successful teams report more positive results for agile practices with the most important practice being teams knowing their velocity. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.