Agile in Embedded: Slow to Adopt, Fast to Spread

by Andre Girard | 05/16/2014

 

VDC just recently completed an in-depth analysis into the use and trends around Agile and DevOps methods in the embedded systems market. It is an exciting space with a number of dynamic changes underway as OEMs investigate new ways to improve the overall efficiency of systems development in the face of pressing time-to-market, process standard, and complexity challenges. We have a lot of compelling findings that demonstrate the growing use of Agile, DevOps, and other collaborative approaches across the embedded landscape.

As we dug deep into the data an interesting theme kept linking the findings…collaboration is contagious.

Challenges unique to the embedded market impeded early Agile adoption and, in many cases, will preclude full adherence to the methodology. Nevertheless, once iterative software development practices are successfully introduced, embedded engineering organizations are soon looking into additional ways of improving efficiency through expanding collaboration. Time and again, the initial taste seems to spur more interest. 

Importance of scaling Agile within organization, by use of Agile

Agile blog exhibit

The same spirit of reflection and refinement of processes that are central principles in the Agile methodology are encouraging users to investigate new approaches like scaled Agile, cross-domain integration, and DevOps. Many organizations that introduced Agile on a limited basis are now focused on scaling it to more of their organization by implementing the processes more deeply in existing projects, and expanding use of Agile methods to more teams and projects.

More insight:

Findings from VDC’s 2014 Software and System Development survey helped guide the above analysis. This year, over 500 engineers from a wide range of industries provided invaluable insight into their development and tooling plans, preferences, and pain-points. The full data set from this extensive, global end-user survey is provided to clients of VDC’s Software and System Lifecycle Technology and Engineering Trends Analysis reports. For further investigation and analysis about these trends, please see our most recent report, Agile and DevOps for Embedded Systemswhich is available now.