A simple tool to assist in agile methodology adoption decisions

This paper discusses the importance of adoption factors to the adoption of an Agile method and the usefulness of a decision support tool to help determine the viability of such methods for specific software projects. It proposes the Adoption Assessment Matrix, to be used as a precursor to the selection and use of an Agile method. The Adoption Assessment Matrix was used to assess the suitability of Agile methods in software development projects in a series of workshops. The experiments show that the tool is beneficial as a guide for discussions, concentrating the debate on the critical factors, applied to the individual project, which proved as valuable to the decision making process as the output of the tool itself. Furthermore, the use of the Adoption Assessment Matrix moves beyond the debate on Agile versus traditional methodologies and concentrates on adoption decisions for individual projects, rather than on Agile as universal solution. It is often argued in the diffusion of innovation literature that the adoption of innovations can be hindered by the learning required to successfully deploy innovations. The decision support tool we propose attempts to overcome knowledge barriers by raising stakeholder awareness as to the suitability of Agile.