6 Adopting Agile
Main Things to Understand while
“Are you Agile?” This is probably a question you’ve heard every so often — at meetings, conferences, dinner parties etc. While it is important to devote yourself to Agile practices, it is important to be clear on what really is Agile development.
What is Agile? Agile methodology is a set of software development principles that helps a self-organizing cross functional team/teams develop software through iterative development process. Through Agile methods, the team would have to induce frequent inspection and adaptation techniques that encourage teamwork, enable accountability and aid in self-organization.
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Scrum is a term closely associated with Agile. It is a subset of Agile and is a lightweight process framework aiding in Agile development. It is the most widely used process framework. It is lightweight because the overhead of the process is kept as minimum as possible. Scrum is slightly different from other Agile processes by the specific concerns and practices that it follows.
Let’s get back to Agile, our topic of discussion Before diving into the world of Agile, you need to be clear on a few things like:
1. If the Decision is Made, Act Quickly If you are planning to move to Agile, then why wait? Start right now. The transition has to be smooth and clean. If you think your company can become Agile one fine morning that cannot happen. Don’t wait for January 1st or the next month to become Agile. Start the process today because moving into Agile is not an overnight process. Agile principles are counter-intuitive, it is not easy to break the old habit and manage projects through Agile.
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2. Is the Management Involved in the Process? Agile technology is not a standalone thing; the project teams and the management are working together for this. The management level members also have to start acting as per Agile principles. So that means:
· Being present when important and strategic decisions are made · Instigating a level of trust among all the team members · Understanding that errors can happen and accepting them · Tweaking the organizational culture — not simple, but can be done. It is not that difficult after all, is it?
3. There are Structural Changes In any software development company that you look at, you can see a team of developers, a team of analysts and a team of QC/QA analysts. In Agile, the allegiance is more to the team and less to the manager. The project/product is the most important center of attraction with the teams staying together, and managers having lesser duties. This is the structural change that we are talking about.
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4. There are Role Changes too In Scrum, you have the Scrum Masters, Product Owners and the team. The product owner is not the same as the product manager. And the Scrum Master is not the same the Product Manager. There are changes in roles when you are Agile that the concerned people should be aware about them. Apart from all things that we’ve mentioned above, there are certain other things to note as well:
5. What the Management has to do
· Managers must take care to handle only as many projects as their organization can handle.
· Multi-tasking wouldn’t be a good idea and so would trying to spread resources across various projects. It would be perfect if you could finish one project and then start another, rather than starting so many and not reaching anywhere.
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Operational decisions must be entrusted to the Agile project managers so there is no need to wait for the green signal from the top management all the time
· The project complexity will not change just because you’ve adopted Agile methodology; because to err is human, and to learn from them is also human
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6. The Success lies in Knowing which Projects to take Agile It is imperative to understand what kind of projects is suitable for Agile methodology. You can use Agile for highly complex and unique projects with tight deadlines. If the team that is building the project is new, or if the project itself is new, then Agile methodology would hit the nail right on the head. It isn’t of much use when the project is a repeat of what has already been done.
So, Who needs Agile Development? Agile methodology would work when the project is unique. Urgency is a major factor for Agile approach. It helps keep the intensity and focus of the project in line with client demands. Apart from that, Agile would be suitable for companies who have the following problems:
· Missed software requirements · Client not happy with the delivered project · Client asks for immediate revisions in project · Unhappy and unsatisfied team members · Your software doesn’t get released as planned · Versions might be revamped, with the promise that new ones are in the making (this might never happen)
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The Final Points Adopting Agile methodologies Transitioning into Agile is not a quick and overnight process. It is based on three different kinds of structures: (1) Waterfall or Water-Scrum-Fall — Here the focus of the organization is on running the project. A project team is also decided, combined by functional structure on matrix management. Each one focuses on his role/function. (2) Transitioning — Here the focus is on delivering high quality products through projects. There will be an Agile team structure. Each person focuses on the product and the project. (3) Agile — Here the focus is on delivering products and solutions. Importance is also given to Agile teams. The focus of the team is on the delivery to customer part. Moving from traditional project management structures is a paradigm shift. Through Agile technologies, it enters a trust culture where responsibilities are delegated equally. Having a good Agile structure with adequate control mechanisms would help you achieve better results.
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