Is Agile Software Development Innovative? A Software Developer Perspective

Agile methods are often claimed to foster creative software development that leads to original software product innovation. Research backing the claim primarily focuses on the effects of Agile practices on team dynamics and customer demands. While recent studies have begun to question the positive impact of Agile methods on creativity and innovation, the experienced local impact of agile methods on individual software developer’s creativity has not been examined. We ask: whether agile software development supports or inhibits creativity among software developers? We use grounded theory to analyze 31 open-ended interviews with highly experienced software developers across diverse sectors, organizations, and settings. We find that Agile practices reduce individuals' creativity as it obstructs developers' engagement in creative processes promoting radical product innovation. The study contributes to IS development research by demonstrating that agile methods only under specific conditions promote creativity and calling for further studies on such conditions.