Measuring customer contribution to the agile software development process : a case study

Agile project management and software development practices have become widely accepted in the industry and much of the currently published literature focuses on the developer's uptake of the methodology. Although it is commonly known that customers play a key role in Agile project success, the extent to which they can influence a project is not as well understood. This case study measures the contribution of customer involvement to the success of Agile projects. The study demonstrates that active customer participation is one of the top three factors for successful Agile projects. It also demonstrates that successful Agile projects have customers that are "knowledgeable, committed, collaborative, representative, and empowered". Similarly, the study shows that successful Agile projects have customers who transfer domain knowledge to project team members efficiently and effectively. The study concludes with recommendations for developers and customers that maximize an Agile project's potential for success.