Adoption and Suitability of Software Development Methods and Practices

TL;DR

This study surveys software practitioners across three countries to analyze the adoption, usage, and perceived suitability of various development methods and practices, highlighting prevalent trends and the need for broader understanding.

Contribution

It provides empirical data on the adoption patterns and perceived suitability of software development methods across different countries and contexts.

Findings

Scrum and Kanban are the most used methods.

Practitioners focus on small, short-term projects.

Coding standards and refactoring are widely adopted and seen as suitable.

Abstract

In seeking to complement consultants' and tool vendors' reports, there has been an increasing academic focus on understanding the adoption and use of software development methods and practices. We surveyed practitioners working in Brazil, Finland, and New Zealand in a transnational study to contribute to these efforts. Among our findings we observed that most of the 184 practitioners in our sample focused on a small portfolio of projects that were of short duration. In addition, Scrum and Kanban were used most; however, some practitioners also used conventional methods. Coding Standards, Simple Design and Refactoring were used most by practitioners, and these practices were held to be largely suitable for project and process management. Our evidence points to the need to properly understand and support a wide range of software methods.