assumptions underlying agile software development strongprocessesstrong.pdf

Assumptions Underlying Agile Software Development Processes Submitted to Journal of Database Management May 29, 2003 Revised and Resubmitted as a Research Review Paper November 16, 2003 June 15, 2004 October 19, 2004 Daniel Turk, Robert France Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado, USA dan.turk@ france@ Bernhard Rumpe Software Systems Engineering Braunschweig University of Technology Braunschweig, Germany b.rumpe@tu-bs.de Assumptions Underlying Agile Software Development Processes ABSTRACT Agile processes focus on facilitating early and fas t production of working code, and are based on software development process models that support iterative, incremental development of software. Although agile methods have existed for a number of years now, answers to questions concerning the suitability of agile processes to particular software development enviro nments are still often based on anecdotal accounts of experiences. An appreciation of the (often unstated) assumptions underlying agile processes can lead to a better understanding of the applicability of agile processes to particular situations. Agile processes are less likely to be applicable in situations in which core assumptions do not hold. This paper examines the principles and advocated practic es of agile processes to identify underlying assumptions. The paper also