Identifying Common Characteristics in Fundamental, Integrated, and Agile Software Development Methodologies

Many software development projects fail to reach their goals or are aborted. This results in economic problems, lost welfare, and may even endanger humans. In many cases, an improper choice of the software development methodology (SDM)--or not following an ideology towards development at all--can be identified as the root problem. Choosing an adequate methodology is no trivial attempt, though. Conflicting aims of classical methodologies and agile approaches add further complexity. We identify common characteristics that can be found in each SDM and present a structured approach for classification. We also present a mapping to existing methodologies to underline the applicability of our approach. This helps to compare fundamental, integrated, and agile SDMs. Furthermore, we discuss our findings and highlight their implications for choosing an SDM. We thereby contribute to the theoretical body of knowledge and provide advice for businesses at the same time.