Agile approach slashes software development time

So says Dr Pekka Abrahamsson of project coordinator VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland. He points to 68 pilot case studies, in industries ranging from avionics and telecoms to consumer electronics, all of which demonstrated the power of the ‘agile’ methodology for software engineering. Software tools that simplify application of the agile approach have also been successfully demonstrated, and the results are much faster and cheaper development of quality systems. “Agile is a new paradigm for software development that emerged around eight years ago in the USA,” explains Abrahamsson. “When we started the ITEA project in 2004, we did not know whether this new methodology could be exploited for embedded software in [manufacturing].” The methodology, he says, spans the entire development cycle, but is mostly focused on the processes, techniques and tools used to get high quality systems out fast. “A set of values and a set of 12 principles provide the underlying rationale for why we operate in this way,” says Abrahamsson. “And the process is very tightly time-framed, with delivery in monthly or even fortnightly cycles. In previous approaches we were trying to deliver systems in maybe three-month, six-month or even one-year cycles.” Hence what he describes as a “radical change in thinking”, which, he says, also meets the demands of highly regulated industries. “We set a benchmark that we can achieve dramatic improvements in all areas in terms of time, cost and quality, which helps shape the future of software development in Europe,” he says. “We have been able to go beyond what is being done in the USA, putting Europe ahead. And, while development teams in India and other countries have now set up their own technologies, Europe has a competitive edge that should last years.” Establishment of an Embedded Agile Institute, and scaling up of AGILE’s results in the ITEA2 FLEXI project, is now set to extend the approach to business and innovation processes.