Challenges associated with the adoption of agile project management practices for software development

Abstract

While human dependence on software continues to rise at a rapid pace, the demand for software itself surpasses the human ability to produce it despite massive advancements in the software engineering discipline. The emergence of Agile methodologies: a modern version of the traditional methodologies, have proven to significantly contribute towards increased software project success rate . This study presents the results of a survey study for determining factors that challenge adoption of agile project management methodologies for software developme t within the context of Srilankan software development projects thus also presents recommendations to ensure successful agile adoption. The survey was conducted among professionals who practice agile methods and who had experience practicing traditional (plan-based) software development approaches in t e past, or professionals who were currently working on the transformation from traditional to agile-based approaches. A web survey was employed to gather responses, collecting data from 59 Agile professionals in Sri Lanka. The findings support only 2 out of the 7 hypotheses, revealing two challenging factors for the adoption of agile methodologies in Srilankan software development projects. The findings of this ~~ research help professionals identify factors that challenge agile doption in Srilankan software development projects, and urges them to address these challenges in order to ensure successful agile adoption. Agile adoption improves project success rates and leads to an increase in the growth rate of t e Srilankan IT/BPM industry, ultimately contributing to the economic growth of the country. Limitations of this study are also discussed along with directions for fut re research in this domain.