Determining the Suitability of Agile Methods for a Software Project

Nowadays a lot of different software development methodologies (SDMs) are available, but little academic supports exists which aids practitioners in deciding which methodology suits their project best. In this paper a framework is proposed with a different view on how to approach situational methodology suitability for the domain of agile methods. This is done by carefully constructing a definition for suitability in this context by conducting a literature study from the viewpoint of contingency theory and by analyzing agile methods in general to find relevant contingency factors regarding agile methods. The conclusion is that suitability is a scale where complete suitability only exist in an ideal situation. Two contingency factors are distilled to determine the suitability of a project for an agile method: the influence of limitations of agile methods and the organizational capability to handle agility, which is determined by the culture values of the organization and the individual capabilities of the team. This is taken together in a framework which enables a practitioner to assess the project situation and which provides guidance for a good line of reasoning when deciding whether an agile method is suitable or not for a project.