Adaptive software development - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 1 of 2

Adaptive software development

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Adaptive software development (ASD) is a software development process that grew out of rapid
application development work by Jim Highsmith and Sam Bayer. It embodies the principle that
continuous adaptation of the process to the work at hand is the normal state of affairs.

Adaptive software development replaces the traditional waterfall cycle with a repeating series of
speculate, collaborate, and learn cycles. This dynamic cycle provides for continuous learning and
adaptation to the emergent state of the project. The characteristics of an ASD life cycle are that it is
mission focused, feature based, iterative, timeboxed, risk driven, and change tolerant.

The word speculate refers to the paradox of planning it is more likely to assume that all stakeholders
are comparably wrong for certain aspects of the projects mission, while trying to define it.
Collaboration refers to the efforts for balancing the work based on predictable parts of the environment
(planning and guiding them) and adapting to the uncertain surrounding mix of changes caused by
various factors, such as technology, requirements, stakeholders, software vendors . The learning
cycles, challenging all stakeholders, are based on the short iterations with design, build and testing.
During these iterations the knowledge is gathered by making small mistakes based on false assumptions
and correcting those mistakes, thus leading to greater experience and eventually mastery in the problem
domain.[1]

References
1. ^ "Messy, Exciting, and Anxiety-Ridden: Adaptive Software
Development" (http://www.adaptivesd.com/articles/messy.htm).

Adaptive Software Development: A Collaborative Approach to Managing Complex Systems,

Highsmith, J.A., 2000 New York: Dorset House, 392pp, ISBN 0-932633-40-4
Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products, Addison-Wesley, Jim Highsmith,
March 2004, 277pp, ISBN 0-321-21977-5
Lev Virine & Michael Trumper (2007). Project Decisions: The Art and Science. Management
Concepts. ISBN 978-1-56726-217-9.
"Adaptive SD" (http://www.adaptivesd.com).ua:Adaptive Software Development

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Categories: Software development process Agile software development

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