A Framework for the Study of Modelling Techniques in Agile Methods

Since the software crisis of the 1960’s, numerous methodologies have been developed to impose a disciplined process upon software development, and to encourage logical, rational and systematic thought. However, the failure of heavyweight methods has given rise to a new breed of methodology known as the agile method. Although many in industry and academia have heralded agile methods as revolutionary, little academic research has been carried out to study how these methods will facilitate logical programming and, indeed, logical thought. This paper looks at the extensive literature on flexibility in an attempt to provide a conceptual foundation upon which a study of model engineering in agile methods can be conducted. The review examines literature from such disciplines as management, labour, manufacturing and marketing theory and discovers that there is no consensus as to what flexibility entails, only that it is not a single entity or ability but rather a broad concept of many dimensions that is drawn from many sources. As a result, this paper proposes that a study of the impact that agile approaches will have on modelling techniques will have to consider many factors.