Modeling Dynamics in Agile Software Development
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Authors
Cao, Lan
Ramesh, Balasubramaniam
Abdel-Hamid, Tarek
Subjects
Agile software development
simulation
process modeling
system dynamics
simulation
process modeling
system dynamics
Advisors
Date of Issue
2010-12
Date
Publisher
Language
Abstract
Changes in the business environment such as turbulent market forces, rapidly evolving system
requirements, and advances in technology demand agility in the development of software systems.
Though agile approaches have received wide attention, empirical research that evaluates their
effectiveness and appropriateness is scarce. Further, research to-date has investigated individual
practices in isolation rather than as an integrated system. Addressing these concerns, we develop
a system dynamics simulation model that considers the complex interdependencies among the
variety of practices used in agile development. The model is developed on the basis of an extensive
review of the literature as well as quantitative and qualitative data collected from real projects
in nine organizations. We present the structure of the model focusing on essential agile practices.
The validity of the model is established based on extensive structural and behavioral validation
tests. Insights gained from experimentation with the model answer important questions faced by
development teams in implementing two unique practices used in agile development. The results
suggest that due to refactoring, the cost of implementing changes to a system varies cyclically and
increases during later phases of development.Delays in refactoring also increase costs and decrease
development productivity. Also, the simulation shows that pair programming helps complete more
tasks and at a lower cost. The systems dynamics model developed in this research can be used
as a tool by IS organizations to understand and analyze the impacts of various agile development
practices and project management strategies.
Type
Article
Description
The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1877725.1877730
Series/Report No
Department
Information Sciences (IS)
Organization
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Citation
ACMTransactions on Management, Information Systems,Vol. 1, No. 1, Article 5, Publication date: December 2010.
Distribution Statement
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This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.