Agile Development Overview

Principles

Definition

Agile development is a set of principles and methodologies for managing projects, predominantly in software development, focusing on iterative work, incremental delivery, and continuous adaptation to changing requirements through collaboration and rapid feedback cycles. It serves as a framework for enabling flexibility and responsiveness in complex or uncertain environments.

Ontological type

Core Principles

Methodologies

Practices and Techniques

Key developments

Key Figures

Manifesto-Driven Agile era

D. A. Thomas [1] is associated with institutions such as University of Akron [3] and Tottori University [4] during this era. His key contribution in this era is co-authoring the Manifesto for agile software development [5] (2001), which articulated agile values and principles that helped drive lightweight, people-centered software engineering. Ward Cunningham [2], with no institutions listed for him in this era, contributed to this period through the Manifesto for agile software development [5]. These contributions, encapsulated by the Manifesto for agile software development [5], provided the values that enabled short iterations, customer collaboration, continuous feedback, and lightweight practices that defined this era.

Agile Learning and Governance era

Sridhar Nerur[1] is associated with The University of Texas at Arlington[3], illustrating his presence in the agile discourse during the 2005–2011 era. His 2005 paper 'Challenges of migrating to agile methodologies'[6] analyzes migration challenges, highlighting organizational learning and governance implications; and his 2007 'Theoretical reflections on agile development methodologies'[7] offers high-level theoretical reframing, laying groundwork for governance-oriented agile paradigms. Kieran Conboy[2] is associated with National University of Ireland[4] and UNSW Sydney[5], illustrating his involvement in agile discourse during this era. In 'Agility from First Principles: Reconstructing the Concept of Agility in Information Systems Development'[8], he reconstructs the concept of agility, clarifying foundations for governance-oriented agile learning; this contributed to the era's emphasis on learning dynamics and policy instruments.

Large-Scale Agile Transformation era

Nils Brede Moe [1], affiliated with the University of Oslo [3] and Blekinge Institute of Technology [4] in this era, contributed to understanding agile at scale. Key contributions include co-authoring works such as 'A decade of agile methodologies: Towards explaining agile software development' [6], 'Exploring software development at the very large-scale: a revelatory case study and research agenda for agile method adaptation' [7], and 'Research challenges in large-scale agile software development' [8], which advanced understanding of scaling agile and why it's challenging for large, multi-team contexts. Torgeir Dingsøyr [2], affiliated with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology [5], was a central voice in this era. His key contributions include co-authoring the same trio of papers such as 'A decade of agile methodologies: Towards explaining agile software development' [6], 'Exploring software development at the very large-scale: a revelatory case study and research agenda for agile method adaptation' [7], and 'Research challenges in large-scale agile software development' [8], which helped define governance, coordination mechanisms, and sustainable socio-technical designs needed for enterprise-scale agile transformations.