Fake News: Simply Agile

Abstract

Since 2001, agile software development has increasingly been spreading into industry. The original contributors of the manifesto for agile software development had in mind to make the world a better place for software developers. Focusing on social and human factors, it is widely accepted that the adaption of agile methods and practices leads to more satisfied and, hence, more productive developers. However, agile teams are not necessarily happier than teams working in a plan-driven way. This position paper presents reasons why an agile adaption is hard to achieve and might lead to dissatisfied developers. It is based on preliminary results of our survey with the seventeen contributors of the manifesto. It further comprises the results of an interview study. Both data sources allow drawing conclusions concerning the consequences of agile transformation for developers.