JultikaUniversity of Oulu repository

Startups are newly created companies with little or no operating history and with limited resources and markets. Software startup are aiming to develop cutting edge software products under highly uncertain conditions, overcoming fast-growing markets under multiple influences. The significance of startups for economic development is growing in software business due to their ability to quickly create innovative technologies and their potential to scale to a wide market. The objective of this thesis is to identify and analyze existing scientific literature regarding software development methodologies and practices used in startup companies published between Jan 2006 and Dec 2016. A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the previous research on software development methods and practices in startups. A review protocol was developed and used as a procedure to conduct the review. The data was collected from three databases i.e. IEEE Xplore, Scopus, ISI Web of Science. This research identified 30 relevant primary studies out of a total 1249 papers to answer defined research questions. The result show that agile and Lean Startup methodologies are the most used methodologies across startup companies. Due to the flexible nature of startups, tailoring specific methodology is a common practice among startup companies. Additionally, a total of 95 software development work practices are extracted from primary studies. This thesis concludes that software development methodologies in startups are informal, customized, and highly dependent on the experience of project managers. It is also noted that principles related to these development methodologies are not strictly followed due to limited resources and uncertainty in the market. Furthermore, the results shows that software startups choose development methodologies and practices which are flexible, light-weight and allow rapid changes.