Towards a common agile software development model (ASDM)

In this paper we use a formal approach to describe Agile Software Development Methodologies. We extract common attributes and properties out of Agile Methodologies to establish a common Agile Software Development Model (ASDM). To build our model we take a look at the Agile Manifesto as well as eXtreme Programing (XP) and Scrum, and also a project-specific Agile Methodology called I2. We describe the Agile Software Development Methodologies in terms of Sets, Relations and Equations to make similarities and differences visible. With this formal characterization we can compare the Methodologies to each other and extract the common attributes and properties as parts of the common Agile Software Development Model (ASDM). After establishing our model we assess the explanatory power and aspects of completeness of the model to identify weakness and improvement potential. The explanatory power means the ability to characterize a Methodology and compare different Methodologies to each other. Completeness issues are related to the model itself, to the model's instantiations (e. g. describing XP with the ASDM) and the completeness of (relevant) Practices. Using this approach we try to achieve better theoretical understanding and comparability for Agile Methodologies.