Modeling Distributed Agile Software Development Utilizing Cloud Computing: A Holistic Framework

In distributed agile software development, to conquer the problems raised by rapid development of complex products with ever changing technological advances and risks, there is a need of a model with specific tools and technology supported approaches to manage them. Distributed environment has challenges and complexities in many ways of over collocated teams. However, they seem to enhance the basic principles in which agile methodology thrives on. Agile projects and distributed projects are compatible and therefore practices, principles, tools, and techniques for distributed agile software development are introduced to the distributed teams to ensure that the agile projects become successful. Although cloud computing is well established for software system developments, its effect on agile methodology has not been extensively studied. This study outlines how agile projects can be modeled in the cloud-computing era, namely, seamless agile-cloud integration. We propose a model to improve Agile Methodology in distributed computing platform. This model has uncovered a gap between the distributed agile development phases that are overemphasized and the phases that require actual attention. In addition to this, emphasis on appropriate phases would help build desired software that can exploit the benefits of cloud computing in numerous ways.