Essentials of Software Engineering, 5th Edition

5.2 Why Agile Processes?

Although traditional software processes have been applied with much success to some projects, they usually have some or more of the following problems:

• Lengthy development times: With traditional development methods, project lengths ranging from one to five years are not uncommon. For many companies, especially small or medium-sized ones, this is definitely too long and not appropriate. A large number of small businesses may exist for only one year or less. In three years, many more companies will have changed their main focus or products. Even if the project is successful by traditional standards, it may be too late.

• Inability to cope with changing requirements: In most fields, the environment changes very rapidly, ...