The adoption of agile software development methodologies by organisations in South Africa.

Abstract

The software development life cycle (SDLC) is considered to be the oldest software de-velopment methodology and is often described as a deliberate, methodical and structured approach that is used by development teams to develop information systems. There are two SDLC methodologies, which are currently being utilized by programming practition-ers, namely traditional development and Agile development. The traditional view to software development assumes that the customer does not have a full understanding of their requirements and would thus need a detailed specification de-signed before development begins. Unlike the traditional view, the agilest views software as unpredictable and rely on people and their creativity rather than on processes. Anecdotal evidence suggests various benefits associated with Agile methodologies, these include increased collaboration, the quality of the end product, transparency and produc-tivity. An international Survey conducted, amongst software development companies, shows that 80% of respondents indicated that they had practiced Agile. While international research shows the popularity of Agile methodologies very little is known about Agile in South Africa. This research provides insight into the adoption of Agile, by South African organisations. The results of the study indicate that Agile methods are being used by organisations in South Africa. However, there is no evidence to suggest its being used overwhelming. Furthermore, this study uses the Gartner hype cycle as the underpinning theoretical model and places Agile methods on the Gartner hype cycle as being in the trough of disillusionment.