Understanding Sustained Usage of Agile Methodologies

Abstract

In today’s dynamic and complex environments characterized by continuous change, agile methodologies (AM) have been proposed as solutions to improve an organisation’s ability to respond quickly to changing requirements. While most academic research has focused on adoption and adaptation of agile methods, there is limited understanding of their sustained usage and incorporation within the organisation. The objective of this research is to develop a more comprehensive understanding of factors that are pertinent to the sustained usage of AM in organisations. It develops and tests a model that seeks to develop an understanding of the phenomenon of sustained agile usage and its association with agile usage effectiveness, i.e., consequences of sustained agile usage measured in terms of specific improvements in systems development outcomes. The study uses a mixed method design by blending both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Given the poorly understood situation of sustained agile usage, the model building process required an adaptive and flexible approach which involved iterations between different research cycles rather than a linear sequential approach. The study consists of the following research cycles: i) case study (two case studies) ii) a focus group (twenty-nine software industry agile practitioners) and semi-structured interviews (twenty interviews) and (iii) a survey (114 responses). The initial a priori model based on a comprehensive review of the extant literature was critically examined and refined at the end of each research cycle, which later formed the basis of a subsequent research cycle - this process was repeated after every research cycle. This thesis presents a model that integrates knowledge from the research fields of systems development methodologies, agile methodologies, software engineering, diffusion of innovations, and IS/IT implementation research, by examining a variety of factors that significantly influence the sustained and effective use of agile methodologies. It contributes to the body of knowledge in a number of ways: First, it presents an empirically validated model of the factors influencing an agile practitioner in the sustained usage of AM. Second, it underscores the importance of the positive influence of sustained agile usage on agile usage effectiveness i.e. it presents empirical evidence on the consequences that perceived sustained agile usage has on agile practitioners’ perceptions on improvements in systems development outcomes. Third, it contributes to industrial practice by providing insights into how agile methodologies can be sustained and effectively used in organisations.