Measuring Agility
While agility can be seen as a means to an end, a number of approaches have been proposed to quantify agility. Agility Index Measurements (AIM) score projects against a number of agility factors to achieve a total. The similarly named Agility Measurement Index, scores developments against five dimensions of a software project (duration, risk, novelty, effort, and interaction). Other techniques are based on measurable goals. Another study using fuzzy mathematics has suggested that project velocity can be used as a metric of agility. There are agile self-assessments to determine whether a team is using agile practices (Nokia test, Karlskrona test, 42 points test).
While such approaches have been proposed to measure agility, the practical application of such metrics has yet to be seen.
Historically, there is a lack of data on agile projects that failed to produce good results. Studies can be found that report poor projects due to a deficient implementation of an agile method, or methods, but none where it was felt that they were executed properly and failed to deliver on its promise. "This may be a result of a reluctance to publish papers on unsuccessful projects, or it may in fact be an indication that, when implemented correctly, Agile Methods work." However, there is agile software development ROI data available from the DACS ROI Dashboard.
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