Information Systems Development Methodologies - High Level Models and Methodologies for Information Systems - page 42

adjust to different project steps (Aydin et al. 2004 ), making them easily adaptable to
the great variety of speci cations that different projects might present. This is one

explanation as to why the agile methodology has become so popular.
An example of agile methodology is extreme programming (XP), an iterative
method of software development that requires maximum customer interaction. The
development cycle is divided into shorter cycles. Each cycle starts with the col-
lection of user requirements, followed by iteration planning, where the number of
cycles and respective timeframes are established. The product is then developed,
usually through pair programming. The resulting version of the product is tested,
both technically as well as for acceptance among the users. The feedback taken
from this testing and customer intervention is taken into account for the develop-
ment of the next version, thus starting the next cycle. This method is repeated until
a version is built that is acceptable for the majority of users, managers, and
developers alike (Sharma et al. 2012 ).
Scrum is a similar method, particularly designed for optimum development time
and customer satisfaction. Each iteration of the development process is called a
“ and it is established that the maximum duration for each sprint is 30 days.

After collecting user requirements, they are prioritized through a list called the
“

sprint, ”

”

followed by careful planning of the perceived necessary sprints
to achieve it, and what will constitute the focus of each sprint. This is the

product backlog,

“

sprint
backlog. ” During the actual development in each sprint phase, there are daily
meetings to discuss the progress so far and exchange feedback and experiences. It is
important to note that with each sprint, a working version of the software is pro-
duced. It will be subsequently improved and completed with the next sprints
(Sharma et al. 2012 ).
In a 2013 survey on North American and European companies, the Scrum
method was concluded to be the most commonly adopted agile methodology in the
course of that year, followed by Scrum/XP hybrid methods, overall making up for
73 % of the total agile methodologies used in the survey ' s context (VersionOne

2013 ). This is indicative of how flexible the Scrum method is.

3.2.2 Structured Systems Analysis and Design Methodology
(SSADM)

The Structured Systems Analysis and Design Methodology (known as SSADM)
was primarily used by government departments, since it is conceived for large-scale
information systems (Schumacher 2001 ). It originally developed as a framework for
systems analysis and design to be adopted by the British Central Computer and
Telecommunications Agency in the late 1980s (Edwards et al. 1989 ).
In spite of being created for large-scale information systems, it is argued that
SSADM can be used to develop projects of all sizes (Edwards et al. 1989 ), making
it an alternative approach to agile methods. The two main characteristics of this