A Theory of Effectiveness of Agile Software Development

The Agile Software Development Method (ASDM), in its present form, is guided by the Agile manifesto which consists of an Agile philosophy and a set of 12 principles. Despite the apparent effect of Agile philosophy and principles on the practice of software development around the world, neither its theoretical contribution nor its theoretical base has yet been articulated. In response to calls in literature, we propose and articulate a theory of ASDM to describe and explain effects. The theory is based on a synthesis of the key concepts underlying Agile principles and is expressed as a model of relationships. The article describes the theory formulation process and elaborates its key propositions. The contribution and limitations of the proposed theory and areas of future research are discussed.