Analysis of Factors, Defining Software Development Approach

The issue of software development approach choice is one of the most controversial in software engineering research. Different authors argue whether Agile or Waterfall practices could be potentially admitted as efficient for developing software or there might be a place for their combination. Currently, the software engineering research is full of studies, describing the differences between these two baseline approaches, comparison of their characteristics and analysis of suitability. But the issue of reasoning why the specific approach has been chosen is potentially undiscovered area. This research paper addresses the analysis of difference between the ways how companies perceive the problem at hand. Specifically, the focus is put on requirements aspects and which factors do the companies consider, when defining the software development approach.