On the surface, very little has changed in software development project methodologies in 2012. Waterfall has continued its dominance, remaining constant at 36 percent of all projects. Meanwhile small amounts of growth have been registered by V-Model and Agile as formal definition of project methodology became more prevalent.

On closer inspection, Agile has continued to rise in popularity with 72 percent of organisations now following Agile in areas of their IT projects, up from 50 percent in 2010.

Planit Testing Index 2012: Software Development Projects by Methodolodgy

As many organisations trial Agile, there have been some growing pains but generally feedback is positive. Agile posted good results across the board, with over half of respondents registering it as more successful in every category:

74 percent saw improved team collaboration in Agile projects;
81 percent got to market at least as quickly under Agile; and
82 percent found Agile addressed requirements just as well if not better.

When analysing against project outcomes, organisations that primarily followed the V-Model tended to be most successful, with 42 percent of projects being completed on-time, on-budget and on-scope. The V-Model also had the least number of projects postponed or cancelled, at just 5 percent and 3 percent respectively.

Planit Testing Index 2012: Overall Success of Agile vs. Other Methodologies