International Journal of Software Engineering and Its Applications Vol. 5 No. 2, April, 2011 35 A Study of the Agile Software Development Methods, Applicability and Implications in Industry Kuda Nageswara Rao, G. Kavita Naidu, Praneeth Chakka Dept. co Computer Science & Systems Engineering College of Engineering, Andhra University Visakhapatnam, A.P., India knraoauce@gmail.com, kaviyellu@hotmail.com, praneethch@gmail.com Abstract There has been a tremendous importance in the field of agile software development approaches in the recent past. This is because of the fastness that agile approaches bring in the life cycle of software development. This interest in the field shows that there are benefits to reap through successful implementation of agile methods. The field is relatively nascent and research is in its initial stages. The paper has been carried with the distinct objectives of examine and gain insights into the current agile methods and practices, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of agile methods and various issues of their applicability. To meet the set goals and objectives, we used both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Apart from a systematized literature survey and review, we performed a case study of four software companies in India. The data collection methods included questionnaires, interviews and analy sis of the companies’ web-sites. Keywords: Agile software, Agile methods, Applications of agile methods, Extreme programming (XP) 1. Introduction Software development is an organized thrives to deliver products in faster, better and cheaper ways. There have been many studies and suggestion in improving the development process. Software development is an organized process that thrives to deliver products in faster, better and cheaper ways. There have been many studies and suggestion in improving the development process. Recently, this interest has paved way to a new software development method called Agile Software Development. To overcome the fast changing organizational business needs using traditional methods agile methods were introduced. Agile methods aid in and focus on developing solutions more quickly and efficiently. Agile methods highlight customer satisfaction by structuring the development process into iterations where in each iteration produces sizeable amount of working code and artifacts of interest to customers. Agile software development (ASD) is a relative new term within software engineering. Agile processes, or development methods, represent an apparently new approach for planning and managing software development projects. ASD differs from traditional approaches as it puts less emphasis on up-front plans and strict plan-based control and more on mechanisms for change management during the project. Despite being a new approach, the foundational principles of ASD are based on some existing principles and theories, both from the field of software engineering, information systems and others such as production management.