EDITORIAL ‘Lots done, more to do’: the current state of agile systems development research

Agile systems development methods emerged as a response to the inability of previous plan-driven approaches to handle rapidly changing environ-ments (Highsmith, 2002). Originating from the so-called ‘light-weight’ methods and promoted through the publication of the Agile Manifesto (2001), the agile method family have become highly prevalent in recent years. Meantime, agile system development research has gained momen-tum, as is evident from the increasing number of dedicated journal special issues, conferences, conference tracks and workshops. However, practi-tioners and consultants have largely driven the creation and dissemination of these methods. Agile research has lagged behind practice, as is often the case with new and emerging phenomena in Information Systems Development (ISD). Current shortcomings in agile systems development research Despite the fact that existing agile system development research should be lauded in that it is very applied and relevant to industry, the current bod