Critical Factors Influencing the Adoption of Basic and Scaled Agile Methods: A Comparative Study
Date
Authors
Zhang, Yinghui (Michael)
Lal, Ramesh
Supervisor
Item type
Conference Contribution
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Project Management Research Office, AUT
Abstract
This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of 44 primary studies to critically investigate the factors influencing the adoption of six major Agile methods, segmented into Basic (XP, Scrum, Kanban) and Scaled (SAFe, DAD, LeSS) frameworks. The analysis identifies key success factors (nine for Basic, eight for Scaled) and corresponding barriers. Findings confirm that top management support, effective communication, and training are fundamental enablers across both levels. Crucially, the study provides a comparative synthesis that distinguishes their focus: Basic Agile mitigates internal team process risks, while Scaled Agile addresses systemic coordination and enterprise governance challenges. Furthermore, we map the limitations and strengths of these methods onto Software Project Risk Quadrants, demonstrating that scaling is necessary to manage Execution and Environmental Risks effectively. This research offers crucial theoretical insights for balancing flexibility and structure in complex Agile transformations.Description
Keywords
Agile, Critical factors, XP, Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, DAD, LeSS
Source
Proceedings of the First New Zealand IT Project Management Research Symposium: Advancing IT and Engineering Project Management. 27th November 2025, AUT, Auckland. https://pmconference.aut.ac.nz/
DOI
Publisher's version
Rights statement
By submitting and publishing with NZPMRS, authors retain copyright in their work but grant the NZPMRS and the Project Management Research Office a nonexclusive, worldwide license to publish and disseminate the article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This license allows others to download and share the work for non-commercial purposes, with proper attribution, but does not permit remixing, transformation, or the creation of derivative works.