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.

With an eye towards a better understanding of the role and its duties, here is a closer look at the Scrum Master.

The Glue that Holds a Scrum Project Together

As noted earlier, a Scrum Master shares some of the responsibilities as a project manager in a typical technology initiative. Development teams in an Agile project, on the other hand, largely manage their own assignments; they are essentially self-organizing. While the Scrum Master shares a measure of responsibility for the success of a project with the product owner, that latter person ultimately has more authority.

So what does a Scrum Master actually do during their workday? In short, they serve as the glue that holds the entire project together. Anything from leadership to inspiration and administration is part of their daily routine.

Typical Duties of a Scrum Master

Scrum Masters may not actively participate in daily Scrum meetings, but they handle all the legwork to facilitate those standups, including scheduling and notification. Helping the development team manage their burndown chart is another important duty. They also assist the team with the planning of each sprint, sometimes with input from the product owner.

Serving as a communication buffer for the team ensures they are able to stay heads-down throughout each sprint. The Scrum Master also handles the scheduling for sprint reviews and retrospectives. These kinds of administrative tasks are vital in improving the overall efficiency of the project effort.

Being able to translate technical information into something easier to understand is a necessary skill, as the Scrum Master works closely with the product owner and other business stakeholders to make sure everyone understands the more complex parts of a project. Fostering a collaborative environment among the entire team may be their most important duty.

Ultimately, making sure the process doesn’t interfere with the project timeline is the sign of a successful Scrum Master.

Work with a Top Software Solutions Company

If your organization needs additional assistance on its next development project, consider the talented team at SDE USA. As one of the top co-sourcing shops in the industry, we offer expertise on process and technology to ensure a successful outcome. Connect with us as soon as possible!

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 ideas on how to leverage Agile for the benefit of your entire organization – not only your software development team. Soon, your company will truly be a 21^st century business.

Business Agile Outside of Software Development

Agile is definitely making inroads in areas unrelated to application development. According to the Harvard Business Review, NPR uses the methodology to help devise and schedule radio programming. John Deere and Saab leverage Agile techniques in their engineering and manufacturing processes.

Many other organizations in nearly all business sectors are now using Agile outside of IT. The bottom line is simple. Embracing Agile brings your company benefits that go beyond faster code development.

Steps to Implement Agile at Your Business

Analyze the areas within your company you feel would benefit from Agile process improvement. Research other businesses using these techniques in those same areas at their organization. Armed with this information, prioritize the departments within your business where implementing Agile makes sense.

Determine the expected costs to transform those departments’ operations to Agile in addition to the anticipated benefits. This gives your managers and staff a goal to aim towards during the implementation process. Consider a pilot project with one smaller department before transforming your entire organization.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the expertise of your IT team to help get the rest of the company “talking” Agile. Any Scrum Masters or project managers would be well-suited for this role.

Metrics Are Vital for Determining Success

Knowing the right metrics for each department is an important part of determining whether Agile is making the positive impact you expected. Ensure your entire management team has access to a reporting system so everyone can offer input on the process as it reaches other areas within your organization. This transparency is especially important with something as revolutionary as Agile.

Once your pilot project is determined to be a success, use what was learned as the rollout is repeated within other departments. Soon, your entire company will reap the benefits of higher productivity.

Work With a Leader in Software Solutions

If you need additional advice on Agile, talk to the experts at SDE USA. As one of the leading co-sourcing application development companies, we are experienced with Agile projects at businesses of all sizes. Connect with us as soon as possible.

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.

Here is a list of a few common myths about the methodology to help ensure your organization has the right information before embarking on its first Agile undertaking. Leverage these insights as part of your team’s decision-making process.

“Agile Is Just a Fad!”

Even considering its over 15 years of use throughout the technology industry, Agile still gets labeled as a fad by some. Maybe some of those pundits feel the same way about rock music? As software products get more complex, combined with a competitive business world, Agile is necessary to ensure applications are completed successfully while still staying at or under budget.

“Agile is Unproven!”

The technology industry is filled with companies boasting a number of successful Agile projects. Organizational structures – such as DevOps – leveraged to support the methodology, are another sign of its maturity. It is obviously a proven way to make software and other projects succeed.

“Agile Is Only for Software Delivery Projects!”

While Agile was first developed for software projects, the methodology has been proven successful for other undertakings – technical or not. The same core principles apply whenever a project needs to worry about the cost-time-quality triple constraint. In short, most projects would benefit from Agile.

“Agile Projects Don’t Deliver Quality!”

Some technology professionals feel Agile only leads to fast, haphazard work of little quality. Actually, the methodology focuses on delivering quality throughout the software development lifecycle. Agile prioritizes the output of processes, guaranteeing the best possible solution is produced quickly.

“Agile Keeps Business Stakeholders out of the Loop!”

Compared to other software development methodologies, Agile helps business stakeholders stay informed while fully understanding a project’s completion date and how much it will ultimately cost. Its adaptive nature means the risk of cost overruns are minimized and delivery dates will be met.

In short, Agile is a proven methodology worthy of being used on software (and other) projects of all sizes.

Work With a Leader in Co-Sourced Software Solutions

When your organization needs additional insights on the software development process, consider speaking with the knowledgeable team at SDE USA. As one of the top application engineering organizations in the country, our co-sourced staffing model means projects are completed successfully and within budget. Schedule a meeting with us at your earliest convenience.