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!

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.

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 look at some of the potential problems associated with co-sourcing an application development effort. They offer some food for thought before deciding on a software engineering vendor for your project.

When It Comes to Software Development Vendors — Choose Wisely

Perform an adequate due diligence when searching for a co-sourcing vendor. This includes researching their client list and project portfolio, as well as asking for recommendations from your professional network. Going with an experienced firm with a top-notch reputation needs to be the goal.

Anything less carries the risk of an unsuccessful project and little to no return on your investment.

Make Sure Your Current Team Is Properly Integrated with the Co-sourcers

If you employ your own programming staff, using an external development team on a software project may ruffle a few feathers. It is important to deal with any problems quickly to ensure employee morale doesn’t suffer. Properly integrating the team is vital, especially if your own staff will be responsible for code maintenance in the future.

Remind your programmers to treat this as an opportunity to learn new technologies and potentially a new methodology. Ultimately, exposure to different programming styles is good for their career growth.

Because of this close interaction between your staff and the co-sourced team, take care to ensure the chosen vendor has a company culture similar to your own. This helps to build a camaraderie and collaborative spirit which is vital in the Agile era.

Security Issues Are Paramount

Take extra care to ensure your chosen vendor has a sterling reputation for security. Any relevant non-disclosure agreements and similar documentation need to be handled before work starts. Make sure there is a plan for the secure delivery of any source code and documentation.

Mitigate Any Concerns by Partnering with a Top Co-sourcing Vendor

You are able to lessen any worries about these and other potential downsides to co-sourcing by choosing a top ranked, experienced software development vendor, like SDE. Our co-sourcing project model ensures a collaborative effort leading to a successful project completion.

When your company is in the market for an co-sourced software solution, consider a partnership with SDE. As one of the leading software development companies in the industry, we can help make your project a success – no matter its scope or complexity. Contact us at your earliest convenience.

Let’s take a look at some of the positive aspects derived from co-sourcing a software development project. They are sure to provide a few insights to help make a final decision.

Lets You Focus on Your Core Business

Co-sourcing a software development project allows you to focus on running the company’s business. That benefit is also one of the major reasons Cloud-based services are popular today at many organizations. It is a point carrying even more weight if your organization isn’t in the technology industry.

Letting the development experts handle complex software engineering projects is generally a smart strategy.

Software Development Firms Provide Expertise and Innovation

The best software development organizations boast significant technical expertise; able to provide the innovative solutions that stand out in the modern business landscape. It really doesn’t matter if your application is designed for mobile devices, desktop computers, the web, or all three. Leading development firms also leverage the latest methodologies, tools, and techniques allowing them to work quickly and efficiently.

Even working with your in-house development team, co-sourcing a project with a top co-sourcing firm helps you close a technology skills gap.  In short, it is important to choose a company boasting both tangible experience and close familiarity with the high-tech state of the art.

Cost Effective over the Long Haul

Sure, it is possible to build a software project for your company in-house. But is that truly cost effective over the long term? The expenses incurred in hiring software development talent and building the internal technical infrastructure to support the software engineering process are large, especially for smaller companies.

Co-sourcing provides a measure of cost certainty compared to the potential black hole of building your own in-house development team.

Successfully Managing Risk

Any software development project comes with its own measure of risk. In this scenario, isn’t it better to rely on an experienced co-sourcing team used to the development process? Successfully managing risk involves the understanding of what tasks are better left to the experts.

The advantages to co-sourcing a software development project are numerous. Consider these points while formulating your company’s ultimate decision.

When searching for a talented and innovative software development company for your application, look no further than SDE. Our co-sourcing model ensures a transparent and cost-effective project aimed at the success of your organization. Connect with us at your earliest convenience.