  Context: Success with agile methods in the small scale has led to an
increasing adoption also in large development undertakings and organizations.
Recent years have also seen an increasing amount of primary research on the
topic, as well as a number of systematic literature reviews. However, there is
no systematic overview of the whole research field. Objective: This work
identifies, classifies, and evaluates the state of the art of research in
large-scale agile development. Method: We conducted a systematic mapping study
and rigorously selected 136 studies. We designed a classification framework and
extracted key information from the studies. We synthesized the obtained data
and created an overview of the state of the art. Results: This work contributes
with (i) a description of large-scale agile endeavors reported in the industry,
(ii) a systematic map of existing research in the field, (iii) an overview of
influential studies, (iv) an overview of the central research themes, and (v) a
research agenda for future research. Conclusion: This study portrays the state
of the art in large-scale agile development and offers researchers and
practitioners a reflection of the past thirteen years of research and practice
on the large-scale application of agile methods.
