The Agile Software Development - Dissertation Example

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This is the introductory chapter of the dissertation. It discusses the central ideas and the core processes that the research will go through. This section will develop the background of the study, and define the research problem and research questions. This will culminate in the formal aims and objectives that will be used for the study.

1.1 Background
The agile software process is iterative and incremental with a high communication level and customer involvement (Schwaber and Beedle, 2002). An early paper that defined agile software methodology stated that the “... methodology involves modification and improving requirements through collaboration with cross-functional teams to encourage organization teams in the process of developing the software” Schwaber and Beedle, 2002).

The proposition of Takeuchi and Nonaka (1986) concerning Agile Software Development involved encouraging the proximity of team members and verbal communication to create a robust quality framework. The proposition of Takeuchi and Nonaka in promoting Agile software development was based on:
1. Flexibility: A system where different software development processes can be modified to meet the new changes in the software development process.
2. Unity of Purpose: All the parties in the software development process had to be committed to a single vision and mission. And they had to get updates on a regular basis.
3. Coordination: All the different units had to work with each other to attain results at every point in the software development process.

These are the main components and elements of Agile Software Development. This approach to software development is in contrast with the traditional systems where software development was in stages (Schwaber and Beedle, 2002).

Schwaber and Beedle (2002) argue that in order to maintain the unity of purpose and enhance the holistic nature of the software development process requires the exchange of information and constant interaction between the team members Daily stand-up meetings are major practice organizations used by agile teams to facilitate the regular exchange of information (Schwaber and Beedle, 2002).

Stand-up meetings are daily meetings that are held to provide status updates to team members in Agile Software Development projects (Fowler, 2012). This involves quick updates and a summary of activities that were conducted the previous day (Fowler, 2012). They are conducted on a daily basis and they last for between 5 and 15 minutes (Fowler, 2012).