Factors Limiting the Implementations of Agile Practices in the Software Industry: A Pilot Systematic Review

Abstract

This paper presents a pilot Systematic Literature Review (SLR) study which examined the limitations of Agile methods in the software industry based on primary research. The study investigated IEEE conferences and journal papers published between 2007 and 2012. 29 papers were identified as the most relevant. While the SLR findings brought to light limitations both in the Agile methods and in their implementation, the latter issues were the ones most frequently addressed. The results reveal that the three most repeatedly cited factors are high dependency on people/personnel, organisational dependency, and high impact on organisational structure and culture. While these three factors are mutually related, the people factor – especially the need for strong involvement and support from upper - level management – can be regarded as a primary necessity in Agile implementation. In spite of the Agile principles laying emphasis on people-critical functions, and in spite of the excellent rules in the gist of the principles, problems still arose when it came to the implementation stage. This finding indicates the need for future work on proper guidelines for management, given that existing guidelines for Agile adoptions and implementations are general and less focused on upper level managers.