With the beginning of a successful transition in mind, here are a few ideas on using Agile in a legacy development environment.

Slowly Begin a Cultural Shift

Agile brings with it new terminology, principles and practices. Consider introducing the methodology with a smaller project, like a relatively minor enhancement to a legacy system or a new application of limited scope. This helps your team get used to the concepts and procedures of Agile without much risk to your daily operations.

Hiring someone experienced with Agile to serve as project manager or Scrum Master is a smart strategy for a pilot project, as their familiarity can help ensure everyone understands the methodology. This can be on either a temporary or permanent basis.

Project Manager Training Is Vital

Your project managers are key as Agile is introduced to other systems and departments at your organization. You either need to hire additional PM talent experienced in Agile and Scrum or give your current management staff the training to become successful proponents and practitioners of the methodology. Having your current project managers observe any pilot projects also helps introduce them to these newer concepts.

Although some traditional PM skills also apply to Agile, there are enough differences to warrant a training initiative or a succession of smaller, low-risk pilot projects to expose your managers and development team to this new way of building applications.

Analyze What Existing Systems Would Benefit from Agile

An analysis of your existing systems and overall environment is another necessary step in transitioning your shop to Agile or Scrum. Remember, Agile is a management process – not a technology – so even maintenance or enhancements on legacy COBOL systems would benefit from an upgrade in methodology.

In an increasingly fast-paced modern business world, improved efficiency and productivity play a huge role in the ultimate success of any organization. “Going Agile” helps make sure your company stays in the game!

Work with a Leader in Software Solutions

When you need additional insights on modern application development, talk to the experts at SDE USA. As one of the leading co-sourcing organizations in the business world, we can help your software project be a success. Schedule some time with us at your earliest convenience.

Read further if you are interested in understanding more about the duties of a product owner. Although first introduced as part of the Scrum framework, this role is now one of the most important on any Agile project team.

The Business Stakeholder Proxy

Business stakeholders remain an essential voice in any technology project. One of the advantages of Agile is its emphasis on streamlined communication. A product owner helps in this regard by speaking for this community throughout the project lifecycle.

Serving as a proxy for the stakeholders requires the product owner to be able to quickly make decisions. They must combine the insight of an experienced business analyst with the responsibility of an executive. As communication is a two-way street in Agile initiatives, they also must be able to present issues from the development staff to other stakeholders.

Empowered to Prioritize Requirements

As the single point of contact for the stakeholder community, product owners play a key role in prioritizing requirements, authorizing changes, agreeing to the project timeline and schedule, as well as acquiring funding for the initiative. These duties go beyond what a product manager does on technology projects using a different methodology like the Waterfall.

It is important for the product owner on an Agile project to maintain a positive relationship with the project manager or Scrum Master representing the development staff. This is another place where strong communication and analytical skills come into play. They must be able to properly model the requirements of an application while ensuring everyone on the business and technical sides of the project understand the tasks to be completed.

On most Agile projects, the product owner and the Scrum Master remain the two most important team members. Product owners combine the business knowledge and technical acumen to ensure requirements are properly defined and the chain of communication stays open. They work together to properly motivate the entire team.

Work with a Leading Software Solution Company

When you need additional advice on bringing your software project to fruition, talk to the experts at SDE USA. As one of the top co-sourcing development organizations in the industry, we are experienced in Agile as well as the latest in technologies. Make it a point to connect with us soon.

With a successful project outcome in mind, here are a few ideas on how to handle estimating when using Agile. Leverage these insights to keep your effort on time and under budget.

Customers Want to Know When Their Software Will Be Done

While estimating isn’t generally a focus of Agile – many feel it takes too much time better spent writing code – customers need to be informed when an application will be ready to use. Maybe they are planning a marketing initiative in concert with the release date? Whatever the reason, having some form of schedule helps make your clients happier – especially if you get the work completed earlier than expected!

Finding a middle ground between a full Waterfall scheduling effort and not doing any estimates is a good goal for an Agile project. The important thing is to build trust with the customer. Being able to show tangible progress throughout a project is one of the strengths of Agile.

Develop a Product Road Map

A simple schedule detailing when the functional areas of an application will be complete is a good basic estimate to share with the customer. This “product road map” gives them a high-level understanding of the various tasks within the overall project. If time allows, breaking down each individual effort into their subtasks helps improve the overall estimates.

Determining Release Criteria

Instead of a project due date, work with the customer to develop a set of criteria that must be met before an application gets deployed into production. This allows for more flexibility to build the most essential parts of an application first, leaving any non-essential functionality as enhancements. This approach is also more compatible with the Continuous Deployment model used by many enterprises in today’s business world.

As noted earlier, this style of estimation also helps build trust with your clients. They are able to see working functionality in production earlier compared to an older methodology. Work on enhancements can proceed without spending an inordinate amount of time creating estimates and a schedule.

Work With a Leading Software Solutions Companies

When you need additional advice on bringing your application idea to fruition, talk to the experts at SDE USA. As a top software development firm focused on Agile and co-sourcing, we can help your business achieve a new level of success. Connect with us soon!

How does your organization best market the successes you’ve achieved through co-sourcing? Keeping your sales team in the loop as far as the new possibilities of your project team helps keeps new opportunities flowing through the pipeline. Let’s take a closer look on how to turn one successful project into many.

Access to the Experts in the Industry

Co-sourcing gives your firm access to technology experts in many different areas, without making the expenditure on permanent hires. In short, the team gains the additional flexibility to better handle a myriad of different project types. This needs to be a major point used by your sales staff when out in the field.

This expertise goes beyond the technology side of the shop. Co-sourcing gives you access to talented professionals in other areas, including marketing and specific business domains – all relevant information for your sales team.

Interest in Agile Continues to Grow in the Business World

Agile continues to grow in relevance in software development as companies leverage the methodology as an operational advantage in an increasingly competitive business world. In fact, you are now seeing departments outside of IT in many businesses use Agile techniques to make those areas more efficient. As news of these transformations gets around, potential clients are more likely to listen to the Agile success stories presented by your marketing staff.

This provides a great opportunity for additional project work around helping businesses transform their operations to take advantage of Agile techniques. Access to experts in the methodology – either through co-sourcing or your internal talent – needs to be a key item in your organization’s marketing message.

Co-Sourcing Lets You Work With the Best

Ultimately, following a co-sourcing model for your company’s staffing needs offers an opportunity to your organization beyond just one successful project. As you gain experience building different types of innovative solutions, you are able to show your current clients what you’ve learned. Use these “wins” as part your sales staff’s expanded marketing efforts, bringing the company’s message to potential new customers.

Work With a Leading Software Solutions Company

If you have additional questions on the advantages of co-sourcing, meet with the experts at SDE USA. We also know the latest methodologies and technologies to ensure your projects end up as successes. Schedule some time with us at your earliest convenience.

Here are a few insights on Agile and Scrum with the hopes of making an informed decision on changing your team’s methodology of choice. You’ll gain a better understanding of the entire process along with knowing how the executive team can help ensure a successful project outcome.

Initial Considerations of Agile

Ultimately the final choice of Agile as a methodology lies with the CIO or another executive serving in a similar role. The CIO needs to place a project manager experienced with Agile or a Scrum Master in charge of the initiative. Both persons then work together to figure out the scope of the project along with the resource planning to ensure enough technical talent is available for the work.

Following this plan is a great way to begin the project on the right foot.

Assuring Buy-In From the Project Team and Business Stakeholders

The CIO needs to get everyone associated with the project – other executives, business stakeholders, the project team, etc. – together so all are on the same page regarding the timeline, scope of work, deliverables and quality metrics. While the PM generally handles the communication flow throughout the project lifecycle, having the executives involved at a project’s initiation is smart.

Managing the Budget

Budgetary concerns of an Agile project require close management by either the Scrum Master/PM or possibly the person working with the CFO or other C-Level executive. This guarantees the availability of resources – personnel, equipment, Cloud server space, etc. – throughout the project. Don’t let budget issues adversely impact the delivery date of your software product!

Keeping the Project Running Smoothly

Once again, even though the project manager or Scrum Master is the key person as far as managing the daily routine of a project, the C-Level executive serving as the project owner needs to keep their finger on the pulse of the overall effort. If there are any scope changes or other issues requiring a decision “from above,” it is important to be available so no delays happen.

Work With a Leading Software Development Company in the USA

When you need additional advice on leveraging Agile to bring your project to fruition, talk to the knowledgeable team at SDE USA. One of the foremost software development organizations specializing in co-sourcing, we can help assure a successful result. Connect us today to work with a leading software solutions company.  

With a successful project outcome in mind, here are a few tips on managing a co-sourced development project. Leverage these insights to ensure your team delivers a great application under budget!

A Baseline Project Plan is a Good Start

Any technology initiative needs the right documentation to make sure everyone starts off on the right page. Of course, these include the requirements and specifications for the actual development work – either for a completely new application or an enhancement or fix to an existing one.

Additionally, a detailed project plan, including a baseline and a listing of all roles and responsibilities is a must. If your co-sourced talent is working remotely, bear that in mind when creating a schedule for daily meetings and other interactions.

Open Communication Throughout the Project

Never assume your baseline document covers everything required for a successful project. Be sure to communicate with your team on a regular basis using the phone, video chat and text messaging. Closely follow your regular meeting schedule with the entire team, but also leverage one-to-one discussions as necessary.

Bug and Issue Tracking is Important

Make sure everyone has access to a good bug/issue tracking application – JIRA, YouTrack, etc. – throughout the project. This is an important part of guaranteeing no vital problem gets missed, which is a risk on a co-sourced project spanning different continents. Spending part of each daily meeting going over updates to the tracking application data is a smart strategy.

Keep Your Team Engaged and Motivated

Keeping your project team engaged throughout the development lifecycle can become difficult with a dispersed group. While getting everyone together for a group lunch may be impossible, be sure to take steps to build camaraderie among your staff. Use incentives to motivate everyone to give their best efforts from day one – this helps keep things on schedule; preventing crunch time from creeping up before the final deadline.

Work With a Leader in Co-Source Software Solutions

If you need additional insights on using a co-sourced staffing model on your next project, talk to the experts at SDE USA. As a leading international software development organization, we are well versed in state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies, ensuring a successful application delivery. Schedule some time with us at your earliest convenience.

If your organization is new to Agile or experienced in its use, here are a few tools that need to be on your radar. Research these and others with similar functionality to help improve the efficiency of your software projects. Good luck!

JIRA for Agile Bug Tracking

JIRA is one of the more popular options for project and issue tracking on Agile projects as well as those using an alternate methodology. It focuses on bug tracking functionality but provides a measure of project management support as well. JIRA is a proprietary application, but it is free to use by nonprofit organizations.

The application is currently used by 25,000 customers of all sizes, including Skype Technologies and the Apache Software Foundation.

Another Agile Bug Tracking Option

YouTrack is another bug and issue tracker application; this time leveraging a web-browser interface. The proprietary application easily integrates with a host of popular source code repositories, including Git, Subversion and CVS. When choosing any Agile tool, consider its ease of integration with other applications used at your software development organization.

Agile Project Management Tools

In many cases, it is better to use a tool designed specifically for project management instead of some half-baked PM functionality within a bug tracking application. Active Collab is a web-based PM application with an open source licensing model that makes it easy for organizations to try out first. Basecamp is another browser-hosted project-management option, but it does come with a commercial license fee.

How to Decide What Agile Tool Is Best?

When performing due diligence on Agile project tools, take advantage of any free trial periods to see how well the application integrates with your team’s current library of software. Obviously, open source tools provide more flexibility to “try before you buy.” Research any online reviews in addition to asking trusted associates within your professional network for their take.

Ultimately, the opinions of the developers and SCRUM masters on your team matter the most, so be sure to closely consider their insights before a final decision is made.

Work With a Leader in Co-Sourcing Software Solutions

If you need additional advice on improving the software development process at your organization, talk to the experts at SDE USA. One of the country’s leading experts on Agile and co-sourcing, we can add value to your next software initiative. Connect with us at your earliest convenience.

What follows is a quick analysis of this important issue facing high-tech companies in the country. Consider these insights before formulating your IT staffing plan for 2017 and beyond.

The Status of the H-1B Program Under the Trump Administration

Attorney General nominee, Jeff Sessions, has long been a critic of the H-1B program. He introduced legislation last year to cut the amount of visas available to large outsourcing companies, noting the amount of American jobs allegedly being replaced by foreign labor. His boss, on the other hand, has criticized the program while also calling it a valuable way to retain valuable technology talent.

With 65,000 IT workers and 20,000 students able to work and study in the United States due to this program, any reduction in the amount of visas will affect companies across the IT world. This is one of the main reasons the technology industry continues to lobby for an expansion of the program.

Possible Changes to the H-1B Program

The IEEE and other tech industry groups want the lottery system currently used to award visas to be replaced by a policy offering them to companies with open positions paying the highest salaries. Sessions included a similar clause in his 2015 legislation. This would limit outsourcing firms from taking advantage of the program only for cheap labor.

Another group, backed by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, wants the program to award visas to companies who sponsor foreign workers for green cards allowing them to work in the country on a permanent basis. Tech firms need to expect changes to the H-1B program, but what exact form those changes may take is anyone’s guess at this date.

Companies currently suffering from a technology skills gap or struggling to find talented IT workers should consider following a co-sourcing model. This lets your current team work with offshore tech professionals leveraging Cloud-based technology to facilitate communication and collaboration. It allows for cost-savings without using the visa program.

Work With a Leader in IT Co-Sourcing

When searching for a top-notch company as a co-sourcing partner, look no further than SDE USA. Well versed in the latest development technologies as well as state of the art methodologies like Agile and DevOps, SDE can help bring your project to a successful conclusion. Schedule a meeting with us at your earliest convenience to work with a leading software development company.

Does iOS 10 enable businesses to fully embrace a mobile workforce? What follows are a few insights to help your organization decide whether Apple’s latest mobile OS makes sense in your office.

Apple’s Corporate Partners Help Enable Enterprise Mobility

Despite Android’s larger market share, Apple enjoys a more robust corporate partner community with its mobile operating system. iOS 10 led to an expansion of these partnerships. Enterprise customers are able to easily find many quality business apps for deployment to their employees’ iPhones and iPads.

Designed to match interested enterprises with software from business application providers, Apple’s Mobility Partner Program (MPP) lets organizations outfit their inventory of iOS devices with the necessary apps to run their business. This includes mobile software from companies like IBM, Docusign, MobileIron and more.

Ultimately, organizations are able to get their staff operational and productive as quickly as possible, without spending hours perusing the iOS App Store.

iOS 10 Facilitates Enterprise MDM

Apple also recently entered a partnership with Cisco that facilitates iOS MDM (Mobile Device Management) at businesses. Developers writing iOS-compatible business apps as well as network administrators responsible for device management benefit from a more efficient environment.

Even without using the Cisco management tool, network administrators are able to perform version updates on both Mac OS and iOS devices using one MDM application. iOS 10 also expands on iOS 9.3’s security features – including “supervisor” mode – helping  keep corporate data and applications safe across the entire mobile device inventory.

Other iOS 10 enhancements include improved device interconnectivity with the Universal Clipboard, allowing employees to easily share work on each other’s devices. Support for VPN IKEv2 EAP-only mode offers secure VPN access. This wide range of new security features and additional functionality make iOS 10 worthy of consideration for any organization looking to embrace enterprise mobility.

When your organization is searching for help with an application idea or possibly some co-sourced technology talent, look no further than the professionals at SDE. An experienced and innovative software development company, we can help your company’s project be a success. Connect with us as soon as possible.

As the preeminent smartphone operating system, the Android platform offers enterprises a chance to supercharge their operations by taking advantage of mobility. Let’s look more closely at how Google’s mobile OS can make a difference at your office.

Mobile Devices Already Being Used for Business

A 2014 study by IDG Enterprise Mobility revealed two-thirds of all smartphone users and nearly half of tablet users perform work-related tasks on their devices. It is easy to assume those numbers have risen over the past two years. The business world is definitely embracing mobile technology.

With companies increasingly adopting a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) strategy, combined with strong MDM (Mobile Device Management) and governance policies, employees feel empowered to use their own mobile devices at the office. In fact, the enterprise mobility market is expected to grow to over $266 billion by the end of the decade.

Android Use Growing at Enterprises

Despite Android’s relative dominance in the smartphone market, Apple’s iOS still garners more business use in this post-Blackberry era. Those numbers are beginning to change. Earlier Android versions suffered from security issues, but recent updates fixed many of those problems by leveraging data encryption and providing safer access to an organization’s IT services using Security Enabled Linux.

SE Linux enables sandboxing, which prevents nefarious malware from accessing important applications and data. This makes network administrators more comfortable about employees using their Android devices on the company network.

Best Android MDM Practices

Google recommends administrators responsible for the office MDM policy restrict users from downloading applications from sources other than the Google Play store. Ensure any devices in use at the office regularly receive Android security updates. Additionally, segregate all user and business data on each device so personal apps can’t access company data, and employees’ own photos and content remain private.

Most importantly, all corporate data needs to be encrypted across the network, along with each employee’s personal mobile device. Requiring a password or PIN when logging in to a smartphone or tablet provides another security layer. Following these insights helps your organization take advantage of Android at the enterprise.

If your organization needs co-sourcing help to bring an application idea to fruition, talk to the technology experts at SDE USA. Our talented staff is well versed in the latest software development methodologies, ensuring a successful project outcome. Speak with us at your earliest convenience to work with a leading software solutions company.