Using return on investment to compare agile and plan-driven practices in undergraduate group projects

In this paper we describe our experiences of introducing agile practices into undergraduate group work by comparing the results to more traditional plan-driven groups. When considering whether to adopt an agile or plan-driven project management strategy in a commercial context, Return On Investment (ROI) is an important factor. We have adapted the ROI model to our analysis to assess what affect a chosen development approach has on the outcome of the groups' projects. In our investigation we observed seven software teams as they implemented a business information system. Two groups adopted agile practices, including fortnightly iterative delivery; the other groups were controls. We found that being labelled agile did not necessarily imply that a group's practices were more agile. Also, it was unclear whether the so-called agile groups delivered a better ROI than their plan-driven counterparts.