(Length: 19 pages)

Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

Agile development processes explicitly de-emphasize tools, but tools are nonetheless crucial to Agile projects' success. Tools for software configuration management (SCM), unit testing, and software builds and build management are key success factors on Agile projects. Other tools are less crucial but can still add value. As more IT shops begin using Agile practices, the demand for tools that support these practices — notably refactoring, test-driven development, automated testing, continuous integration, collective code ownership, and management — will increase. Only lightweight solutions need apply for Agile shops' dollars, and even those will have to compete against open source solutions, which Agile teams largely prefer at present. There is no standard tool set for Agile teams; each team must carefully examine its particular situation to determine what tools to adopt.