Agile Principles and Achievement of Success in Software Development: A Quantitative Study in Brazilian Organizations

Abstract The principles of agile development emerge as potential solutions to numerous design problems of software development. In this context, this paper aims to identify and analyze the profile of Brazilian software producers regarding the use of agile principles and their potential to achieve success in producing software. This is a quantitative study made with professionals from the software industry. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using technical descriptive analysis, factor analysis and cluster analysis. Based on the categorization of factors, three software organizations profiles have been obtained regarding the use of agile principles and the scope of success in producing software. The implications of this study are that organizations with the highest success rates in software are the same as those that have higher rates for capacity in terms of team, culture, communication with the client, environmental configuration and relationships with external partners. Organizations that used agile software development principles achieved success in software development, but it cannot be said that the use of agile principles alone can guarantee the achievement of such success in software development. Additionally, relationships with external partners, although not contemplated in the related studies investigated, was shown to be a critical factor for success in software development and, therefore, relevant to the agile software development field. In conclusion, this study is relevant because it helps to improve our understanding of the use of agile principles in the development of software and whether these principles are associated with obtaining success in software production; therefore, it explores a new factor that has not been observed previously.