The results of the survey indicate that agile methods are being used by organizations in South Africa. The GHC Gartner Hype Cycle is a graphical presentation of the adoption, maturity and social use of specific innovations.
Problem Statement
- Sub-Problems
- Aim
- Research Objectives
- Research Questions
- Learning Objectives
- Introduction
- Agile Software Development
- Traditional Software Development vs. Agile
- The Popularity of Agile Software Development
- Agile Benefits and Challenges
To determine the impact of Agile methodologies on software development in South Africa. A 2010 study on “The level of adoption and effectiveness of software development methodologies in the South African software development industry” showed that 38.5% of organizations had adopted Agile.
Research Design
- Qualitative Research
- Research Onion
- Research Philosophy
- Research Approaches
- Research Strategies
- Research Choices
- Research Time Horizon
- Ethical Clearance
- Design of The Questionnaire
- Concept Matrix
- Theoretical Framework
This study will use the deductive research approach as this approach is highly structured and will be used to establish casual relationships between variables. Each subproblem in the research domain will be used as a subsection of the questionnaire and questions will be formulated within the respective areas.
Importance/Significance of The Study
Chapter Summary
Chapter Six: This chapter presents the results of the sample by examining the data in terms of the research questions. Chapter Seven: Discusses the results in terms of the theoretical framework, literature review and research topic.
- Introduction
- Suitable Information Systems Theoretical Frameworks
- Technology Acceptance model (TAM)
- The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)
- The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology
- Diffusion of Innovation (DOI)
- Gartner Hype Cycle (GHC)
- Technology, Organisation and Environment Framework (TOE)
- Comparison
Questionnaires for DOI can be designed by assessing the main constructs of the theory (Sonnenwald, Maglaughlin & Whitton, 2001). Questionnaires for TOE can be designed by assessing the main constructs of the theory (Angeles, 2014).
Introduction
Software Engineering
Many software development projects experience changes in requirements, scope, and technology that are beyond the control of the development team (Highsmith & Cockburn, 2001; Williams, 2007a; . Aken, 2008). Proponents believe that if a team tries hard enough, they can anticipate a complete set of requirements early in the software development life cycle (Highsmith &. Cockburn, 2001).
Agile Methodologies
Mirnalini & Venkata define Agile as “The use of continuous feedback from stakeholders to produce high-quality consumables through use cases and a series of short time-frame iterations” (Mirnalini & Raya, 2010: VI–242). Ahmed, Ahmad, Ehsan, Mirza & Sarwar state that agile practices promote self-organizing teams, quality and customer collaboration while reducing documentation and time to market (Ahmed, Ahmad, Ehsan, Mirza & Sarwar, 2010).
Popularity of Agile Methods
According to Stavru, most surveys are conducted by vendors, consultants, and independent research organizations, which raises questions about the scientific methods used in conducting these surveys (Stavru, 2014). A survey by Dr Dobb's Journal found that in 2009, 76% of respondents had reportedly adopted Agile, and a similar survey in 2010 by Agile Journal found that 88% of companies had adopted Agile (Duka, 2012).
Benefits Associated with Agile Adoption
These figures are consistent with the study by VersionOne as well as by Paasivaara and Lassenius, which also identifies SCRUM as the most used Agile practice (Paasivaara & Lassenius, 2003; VersionOne, 2011). The study found that their software development team was able to increase quality by 30% in the first nine months of adopting Agile (Schatz & Abdelshafi, 2005).
Agile Adoption Barriers
- Organisation Culture
- Management Style
- Organisation Knowledge
- Development Team
- Large Organisations
Changes in organizational culture are often seen as extremely difficult to achieve (Nerur et al., 2005). These habits have been inculcated for many years and can be limiting in the adoption of agile methods (Chandra Misra et al., 2010). Agile methods may need to be balanced between the needs of top management, the organizational culture, and the culture of the development team (Cao et al., 2009).
As such agile methods promote a paradigm shift in knowledge management strategies (Chandra Misra et al., 2010). Once code changes have been tested, they can be committed to the repository (Maruping et al., 2009).
Agile Software Development Methodologies
- Extreme Programming (XP)
- Scrum
- Feature Driven Development (FDD)
Incremental design: The team should invest in the design of the system on a daily basis instead of developing and anticipating future features (Williams, 2007a; Münch et al., 2012). On a daily basis, the team meets to update stakeholders on the progress of the system being developed and to stay focused on the goal (Mnkandla, 2009). During the sprint planning session, the team also agrees on a sprint goal, which serves as the success criterion for the sprint (Williams, 2007a).
Develop an overall model: The team works to develop a high-level object model of the problem domain (Goyal, 2007; Williams, 2007a). Plan for function: A plan that describes when functions will be implemented is developed by the team (Palmer & Felsing, 2002; Williams, 2007a).
Chapter Summary
- Introduction
- Processes Behind the Hype Cycle
- Stages in The Hype Cycle
- Making Adoption Decisions
- The Problem with The Hype Cycle
- Chapter Summary
These organizations adopt in the middle of the hype cycle and try to learn from “Type A” organizations. After ten years of research into the hype cycle, Fenn & Raskino developed a series of best practices, the STREET processes (Fenn & Raskino, 2008). Track: In this phase, an organization searches for and tracks the progress of relevant innovations in the hype cycle.
According to Fenn & Raskino, it takes between five and eight years for typical technologies to complete the hype cycle (Fenn & Raskino, 2008). An analysis by Steinert & Leifer of some innovations in the GHC shows that these innovations did not develop at the average speed necessary to complete the hype cycle (Steinert & Leifer, 2010).
- Introduction
- The Quantitative Research Methodology
- Data Capture and Analysis Procedures
- Research Process
- Chapter Summary
The results of the questionnaire were exported to Microsoft Excel and then sent to the statistician for further analysis. During the data collection phase of the research, the researcher had to compile a list of information technology companies in South Africa. The researcher prepared a gatekeeper letter in accordance with the university's research ethics and goal of transparency and voluntary participation (see Appendix 15 for the gatekeeper's letter).
Out of one hundred organizations (100) contacted, only twenty-five (25) organizations indicated that they would participate in the study. The research findings, analysis and interpretation of the findings will be presented in the next chapter.
Introduction
Questionnaire Sections
Data Extraction and Analysis
The chi-square is often used to compare the observed distribution under the null hypothesis. Wilcoxon signed rank test: The Wilcoxon signed rank test is a non-parametric test used to determine whether the mean value is significantly different from the central score of 3 (Shier, 2004). Another aspect of statistics that is important to researchers is the shape of the distribution.
A skewness different from 0 is characterized as an asymmetric distribution, while perfectly symmetric distributions have a skewness of 0 (Lowry, 2014). A kurtosis other than 0 could describe a distribution that is flatter or more peaked than normal.
Personal Demographics of Respondents
- Position of Respondents in The Sample
- Working Experience of Respondents
- Respondent Location
- Organisation Business Sector
- The Extent That Organisations Use Agile Methods
- The Respondent’s Knowledge of Agile
- The Duration That the Respondent Has Been Practicing Agile
- The Size of Agile Teams
- The Geographical Distribution of Agile Teams
- The Frequency of Communication between Stakeholders and
- The Type of Agile Methodologies/Frameworks used by
- The Iteration Length of Agile Methodologies
- The Organisation Agile Adoption Strategy
- Suitable project types for Agile methods
The majority of respondents in this sample were from KwaZulu-Natal, followed by the Western Cape, Gauteng and finally the Eastern Cape respectively. The sample consists of respondents across all business sectors with the majority of respondents operating within the information technology sector. Applying the chi-square goodness-of-fit test shows that there is no significant difference between the choices of the four answer options in the table above.
As such, no significant knowledge of the lack thereof can be interpreted with respect to this issue. The ninth question in this section concerns the organization's adoption strategy.
Barriers Preventing Agile Adoption in South Africa
According to Wilcoxon signed test websites, web-based applications, desktop applications and mobile applications are significantly suited to agile methods.
The Impact of Agile on Software Development in South Africa. 114
- Does The Level of Knowledge of Respondents Significantly
- Are There Any Correlations Between the Knowledge of
- Does The Level Experience of Respondents Affect the State of
- Are There Any Correlations Between the Knowledge of
Is there any relationship between respondents' knowledge and their perception of barriers to agile adoption. Is there any relationship between respondents' knowledge and their perception of the benefits of Agile projects. After critically comparing the question about the respondent's level of knowledge of Agile and the state of their last Agile project, a significant difference was observed in the clusters' perceived knowledge and the respondents' state of the last Agile project ( F p<.0005).
Next, an analysis was made between the barriers to agile adoption and the perceived knowledge of candidates (For the questions, refer to Addendum 14 - Section B and Section C). A significant correlation was found between the knowledge of respondents and their perception of the benefits of Agile projects (For the questions, refer to Addendum 14 - Section D).
Graphical Report
The Extent to Which the Results Enables the Research to Answer
- What Is the State of Agile Software Development in South
- What Are the Barriers Preventing the Adoption of Agile by
- What Is the Impact of Agile Methodologies On the
The general size of Agile teams in South Africa is between 1 to 10 members with most of the teams together. This characteristic success of Agile projects is also consistent with studies by the Standish Group, which show that Agile projects are more likely to succeed than traditional projects (Schwaber & Sutherland, 2012). The fieldwork also showed that knowledge and experience of Agile methods played a significant role in characterizing those projects.
Not having access to staff with the right skills is a barrier to Agile adoption. There are also significant differences in respondents' perceived knowledge of Agile and the state of their last Agile project.
Chapter Summary
- Introduction
- The trigger
- Trends
- The Trough of Disillusionment
- The Way Forward
- Chapter Summary
For Agile methods, this trigger was the publication of the Agile Manifesto in 2001 (Beck et al., 2001a). It is clear from the above table that Gartner's plot of Agile methods on GHC is inconsistent. The table also shows that agile methods have been in the hype cycle for more than eight years.
In the publication of the Agile Manifesto, Agile methods were proposed as the solution to the common software development problem (Janes & Succi, 2012). The Anti-Agile Manifesto is a classic example of the feelings among some Agile users who are trying to align their existing process with Agile methods.
Introduction
What Is SWOT Analysis?
SWOT Analysis For This Study
The Gartner Hype Cycle (GHC) was used as the underpinning framework for this study. However, the evidence provided in both Chapters 4 and 7 of this study shows that the theoretical foundations of the GHC are flawed.
Limitations
Although the argument that Agile methods are in a trough of disillusionment is a telling one. The fact that Gartner has not made public the criteria used to evaluate innovations on the GHC is problematic and has led to questions about the validity of the model (Steinert & Leifer, 2010).
Conclusions and Recommendations
This is problematic because it is difficult to test the validity of the model (Steinert & Leifer, 2010). This will enable the collection, analysis and reporting of innovation development in a structured and consistent manner (Steinert & Leifer, 2010). Another suggestion by Adamuthe, Tomke & Thampi is that GHC should be used in conjunction with the technology life cycle (Adamuthe et al., 2015).
It should be noted that it was not possible for the researcher to adequately test the validity of the results within the constraints of the theoretical framework as the researcher had to commit to the framework at the time of his application for ethical clearance. Due to the above limitations in GHC other theoretical frameworks or a combination of GHC and technology life cycle should be considered.
Chapter Summary
A tail of two projects: how “agile” methods succeeded after “traditional” methods failed in a critical systems development project. The Maturation of Agile Software Development Principles and Practices: Observations from Successive Industrial Studies in 2010 and 2012. The Level of Adoption and Effectiveness of Software Development Methodologies in the Software Development Industry in South Africa.
