How Agile Projects Measure Up, and What This Means to You

by Michael C. Mah, Mike Lunt

In this Executive Report, Michael Mah and Mike Lunt share observations about real-world agile projects and how they measure up against waterfall and other projects in terms of productivity, schedule, and quality. This was made possible by juxtaposing them against trends from a contemporary worldwide database of more than 7,500 completed projects. Specifically, we look at more than 20 agile releases from five companies. Two of the companies are examined in specific detail, each having achieved best-in-class levels of performance by implementing agile in very different ways. The report examines what was learned from this analysis and illustrates how your organization can measure your own projects, agile or not, and how to communicate results to team members and decision makers who face decisions about shaping an IT organization to meet future challenges head-on.