Towards Pertinent Characteristics of Agility and Agile Practices for Software Processes

Context: It is believed that agility in software processes can bring benefits to software development and lead to an economy of efforts when accommodating changes is needed. Objective: Assess pertinence and relevance of agility characteristics and agile practices for software processes. Method: From 18 agility characteristics and 17 agile practices applicable to software processes revealed through systematic literature reviews performed in 2010, a survey was conducted to assess their pertinence and relevance. Results: 16 agility characteristics and 15 agile practices were considered pertinent to insert agility in software processes. Conclusion: Results should be used sparingly. It would be interesting to replicate the study in other contexts, with different subjects, and compare them, to increase the generalization of their results.