Is the Agile Development Method the Way to Go for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) In Saudi Arabia?

Abstract

Agile software development is based on iterative and incremental delivery of software to customers. It is mainly designed to serve dynamic and small team sizes, who are usually collocated in one place. These features make agile methodologies suitable to be applied in managing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where the number of their members is limited, and the nature of their projects is usually dynamic and flexible. This research tries to study the current state of SMEs' project management in Saudi Arabia and to what extent they are applying agile methodologies. A survey of twenty-six enterprises with different sizes reveals that most of the SMEs are following the core concepts of agile methodology, despite that more than half of them are not aware of the agile concept and its best practices. This result leads that agile methodologies are suitable to be applied to SMEs in Saudi Arabia. However, there is a need to spread awareness and deliver solutions to these enterprises that help them in adapting the best available agile practices and tools. Moreover, following these well-known practices would help to raise productivity and efficiency of their work.