As for why Agile, Dodds said it reflected the nature of systems building.

It is about going from an inward focus, efficiency/cost reduction, and highly structured approach to one that is outwardly focused and fundamentally social, he said.

With the Cloud, mobility, big data, and social business permeating the IT environment, Dodds sees Agile helping to drive management thinking far beyond the realm of software development.

According to Dodds, 37 per cent of software project outcomes in 2010 were found to be successful, while 42 per cent were considered challenged and the remaining 21 per cent were failed.