Escape the waterfall: Agile for aerospace

Abstract

Agile is an umbrella software methodology that incorporates many of the best practices of the last couple of decades. In this paper, we will examine some of those key techniques for possible application in the aerospace domain, starting with a brief literature review to identify the key Agile publications and the germane DO-178B work. Virtually all Agile practices can be mapped to a DO-178B software development process. We provide a detailed analysis of the key practices, with a preliminary assessment of the ease of implementation for each. An analysis of a number of the difficulties involving transitioning from a traditional waterfall software development process to Agile practices will show that, though difficult, a transition is possible. The transition to Agile development does not require sudden, sweeping change, but instead can be accomplished through incorporating Agile methods into an existing process. We will document successful integration of test-driven development, pair programming, refactoring, an iterative approach, and other Agile methods into a traditional DO-178B software development process. We conclude with a call for a collaborative effort to further explore Agile as an answer to the urgent need for new approaches to complex systems that have become increasingly difficult to verify and validate.