ACM TechNews

Agile Approach Slashes Software Development Time

EUREKA (08/19/08)

The results of the EUREKA ITEA software Cluster AGILE project will make it possible for manufacturers to develop embedded software in significantly less time and at a much lower cost than is possible through traditional techniques. The project has applied the approach to 68 pilot case studies in a variety of industries. The use of embedded software in electronic devices is growing faster than advances in the electronics themselves, but the ability to produce software has not increased as quickly. "The amount of software is growing very rapidly and it is increasingly difficult to find the people and resources necessary to develop it all," says project coordinator Pekka Abrahamsson of the VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland. Problems also exist in the speed of development as it is necessary to get solutions to market in optimum time and with sufficient reliability. To solve these problems, AGILE focused on processes and technologies needed to develop software systems faster and more reliably to meet changing market needs. Agile technology involves a methodology that stretches from the beginning of the development process to the end, but generally focuses on the actual processes, techniques, and tools used to create systems. "A set of values and a set of 12 principles provide the underlying rationale for why we operate in this way," Abrahamsson says. "And the process is very tightly time-framed with delivery in monthly or even fortnightly cycles."

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