I came across an article titled “‘It’s time to question agile’s cult following’: Doubts cast on method’s future, with 65% of projects more likely to fail” that discusses the effectiveness of agile. Agile is a popular software development methodology, but this article suggests that it may be time to try other methods. It talks about how projects using agile are more often unsuccessful. For example, it states that research shows “agile software projects are 268% more likely to go wrong than those employing other methods.” It also cites other research that suggests projects using agile fail more often, decrease productivity, and adds unneeded stress to those working on the project. On top of that, the article suggests agile is inefficient. According to more cited research, major companies are starting to get rid of the use of agile in their software development.

This article is incredibly relevant to the subjects discussed in my Software Process Management class this past week. We went over software development methodologies, specifically agile. I wanted to read up on something relevant and educating. When I had come across this article, it caught my eye. when we had discussed agile in class, it had seem like the best option of the methods presented. However, this article suggested that, perhaps, agile isn’t the best method out there. In fact, it suggested that it shouldn’t be used. I was intrigued as to why it would be considered ineffective.

This article opened a door of questions about agile and software development methodologies. However, I did not feel as if they were all answered. I was shocked to see the amount of research and data that suggests agile is ineffective. I only recently learned about agile, and it seemed as though it would create a well-designed product through constant communication and reflection on the project. While reading the article, I became curious what other methods would be better to use than agile, but the article did not answer that question. I believe if you are going to critique something, you should offer a solution as well. One thing I personally liked about the article was all of the research data cited. I am a big numbers guy, so being able to see numbers to communicate the purpose of the content was nice to see. I am curious to learn more about other methodologies. I think this article was a good mind opener for me, and it reminded me that everything has room for improvement.

Article URL: https://www.itpro.com/software/development/its-time-to-question-agiles-cult-following-experts-cast-doubt-on-methods-future-with-65-of-projects-more-likely-to-fail

From the blog CS@Worcester – Auger CS by Joseph Auger and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

The blog I have chosen to write about this week is a article called “12 Best Software Development Methodologies” by intellectsoft to research and learn more about the different types of software development methodologies. The reason why I chose this article in particular is how in depth it goes into each methodology, the pros and cons, and when to choose specific methodologies. The article mentions which I found very interesting is how as software becomes more advance with time, companies spend more and more on researching and improving past development methods.

In class this week we have gone over what the steps are in software development as well as waterfall and agile methodologies. When reflecting on the waterfall technique, it does not seem very practical to use with changes not being possible without restarting the entire development process again, however the article states how there are relatively no financial risks “due to the high planning accuracy” and every step has a given deadline. In addition, the long delivery time may be caused if not everyone working on the project are not on the same page. This method is not suitable for larger or on-going projects.

The agile development method that focuses on the project / product itself. In class, we watched a video on Agile of what the sets of values Agile had which included “Individual and interaction over processes and tools” as well as “Responding to change over following a plan”. As Agile is a very flexible and on-the-go methodology it risks insufficient budget predictability. The article states how this method “fits, young companies … open for communication” which provides top of the line product quality.

A method that I found interesting that was not talked about in class is the Spiral Development Model. This method seems to be a “hybrid” of both waterfall and agile. Like the waterfall method this method is done in phases as well as has an emphasis risk management. In addition, similar to the agile method it has client collaboration throughout the process in increments. This method appears to have the best of both worlds of these two methods however it is not suitable smaller projects.

When reflecting on software development processes there are many different factors to consider when following a methodology. Some of these factors include cost, project size, risk tolerance, client suggestions and so forth. When looking at smaller projects that I may collaborate with a team I may consider using agile methodology or lean development which both receive feedback throughout the process as well as flexibility.

Link https://www.intellectsoft.net/blog/top-12-software-development-methodologies-you-should-know/

From the blog CS@Worcester – Anthony Duong CS Blog by anthony duong and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.