Collaborative Development Method for Improving Uncertainty Management in Agile Software Development

Abstract

Software development projects frequently face uncertainty arising from evolving requirements, communication gaps, and inconsistent coordination among stakeholders. This study presents the Collaborative Development Method (CDM), an agile framework designed to strengthen collaboration, improve requirements engineering practices, and support uncertainty management throughout the software development lifecycle. CDM integrates collaborative activities, requirements traceability, user story validation, and continuous alignment between business objectives and technical implementation within a structured development process. To evaluate its effectiveness, an empirical study was conducted with software developers from Moroccan software companies. The measurement model was first validated using confirmatory factor analysis, and the proposed relationships were then examined through a Robust Least Squares regression model after diagnostic tests indicated violations of ordinary least squares assumptions. The results show that collaboration among project stakeholders, structured communication, requirements traceability, user story validation, and business–technical alignment significantly improve perceived uncertainty management. In contrast, the use of a Domain-Specific Language for structuring user stories and adapting iteration length to functionality size did not demonstrate a statistically significant effect. These findings provide empirical evidence that CDM offers a promising framework for improving coordination, requirements management, and decision-making in agile software development environments.