%0 Conference Proceedings
%A Strode, D.
%D 2006
%T Agile methods: a comparative analysis
%E Mann, S.
%E Bridgeman, N.
%B 19th Annual Conference of the National Advisory Committee on Computing Qualifications
%C Wellington, New Zealand
%I NACCQ in cooperation with ACM SIGCSE
%P 257-264
%@ ISSN 1176-8089
%U www.naccq.ac.nz
%8 7th-10th July 2006
%X The agile methods are systems development
methodologies currently used in the software
development industry both internationally and in New
Zealand. This article provides an overview of the agile
methods, including the key publication of each method,
the major influences on the agile methods, and describes
comparative studies where analysis and comparison of
methodologies has been carried out. Then a comparative
study is described which was carried out on five agile
methods in order to address the question ‘what is an agile
method’? A comparative analytical framework suitable
for this purpose is described along with the results of
applying the framework to five agile methods: DSDM,
XP, Scrum, ASD, and Crystal Methods. The results
provide an analysis of the properties common to agile
methods, the differences between the methods, the unique
properties peculiar to agile methods, and provide an
understanding of appropriate method combinations.
Keywords: Agile methods, XP, systems development methodologies.