A decade of agile methodologies: Towards explaining agile software development

TLDR

Since the 2001 agile manifesto, researchers have intensely studied agile software development. This article reviews publications and citations to chart the evolution of agile research over the decade after the manifesto. The authors map the conceptual structure of agile scholarship by analyzing influential authors and summarizing prior research, then highlight contributions in this special issue. They conclude by outlining future research directions and encouraging a theory‑based approach in agile scholarship.

Abstract

Ever since the agile manifesto was created in 2001, the research community has devoted a great deal of attention to agile software development. This article examines publications and citations to illustrate how the research on agile has progressed in the 10 years following the articulation of the manifesto. Specifically, we delineate the conceptual structure underlying agile scholarship by performing an analysis of authors who have made notable contributions to the field. Further, we summarize prior research and introduce contributions in this special issue on agile software development. We conclude by discussing directions for future research and urging agile researchers to embrace a theory-based approach in their scholarship.