Developing a product must be done in a phased manner. It has to be well-planned and executed to get the desired results. Therefore the best way to start with any development is to plan. Previously projects in IT domain took the traditional way called the waterfall that will have a set of a defined process. This way is a conventional one and no need to look back until the result is obtained. Finally, when the output is tested and is fine then document the work and then deliver it.
But, in case if it is not up to the expectation, then the entire team brainstorm to fix the issue. This is really difficult because identifying the bug or the mistake by backtracking is not only time consuming but also consumes people and financial resources.
To overcome this problem the new method introduced called Agile really took the attention of all developers and project managers. In the last 20 years, we have seen huge benefits offered by this method. Most of the companies and projects are considering this method to develop their products. Let us highlight the top reasons why this method took the stage and what are the projects which must not fail to embrace this method.
Reason #1 – All are involved
Let us understand this phrase “All are involved.” It means there is no hierarchy where only managers will take part in meetings. All members responsible for completing the project are involved in the meetings. The Product Owner (PO) talks to the client about the requirement and the end product they are looking for. After this, the PO alone will not decide but discuss with the entire team. Even the quality team with the testing engineer is present in the meeting. They will also do the testing in parallel.
Reason #2 – All are involved at all stages
Does this discussion stop when the work starts? No, it does not at every stage the team meets on a daily meeting during the stand up to make a note of the progress. However, there is no question during this meeting but the only team shares the updates. During the sprint meeting, the entire team will discuss the completion of the current phase and will take work for the next sprint.
Reason #3 – All are involved at all stages and empowered as well
Do they get involved in stage means they take part in meetings to report updates only? No, they are authorized to share changes. In the sprint retrospective meeting, the team will talk about what went wrong and work towards improvement in the next sprint. The team makes a suggestion and no orders passed and hence they feel empowered. This makes them work enthusiastically. That’s the major plus in the model. Questioning won’t help anymore but must make people responsible for their action to solve all issues.
Reason #4 – All are involved at all stages, empowered as well as disciplined
Ok, now the question you will get in mind is? If they are allowed to work on their own, then are they lacking discipline? The answer is no because everyone wants to prove their talent in the open platform and hence correct themselves without anyone monitoring. This will make them self-disciplined. It is better than the traditional way where a manager is appointed to only question people who irritate them. Unlike here each one introspects themselves and do their work with utmost discipline.
Reason #5 – All are at all stages, empowered, disciplined and consistent too
What about consistency? Does the team stay disciplined always? Yes, they do. It is because they give commitment and they check their progress. But all this happen in an open forum. This means they own the responsibility to maintain their self-esteem. Therefore they will certainly work towards delivery consistently. The driving force is their commitment. No one forced them but they understand the heat of the situation.
Why agile?
Look at the top five reasons which make this method the best one for projects that need a quick delivery. Also, projects that will have changes every now and then can better use this approach to adapt to the changes. During every stage, testing is done and hence improvements can be done. Even innovation can be introduced in the middle of the work without affecting the finances and the time of the people. So choose this method over the old one to enjoy delivering the outcome per the client expectation.
Final thoughts
To summarize this is an iterative method where one can develop, check, recheck and redevelop, etc. Everything change is accepted and can be incorporated in the development. There is no roadblock of cost or time. People are well aware of the dynamic environment and hence they are always on their toes to deliver results to the client.
Also, there are no great managers required at high-cost to manage these people as they are self-made teams. They know how to prioritize the work and delivery on time as well. In short, the team is capable of delivering and customer satisfaction is the goal of these IT projects.
The additional plus point in this method is you can mix the traditional method wherever required. Even if your client is a conventional government entity, don’t worry. You can use an agile method at places required showing a larger picture of the traditional method. This is called a hybrid method. Here you can achieve success as well as satisfy customer within budget. That is the flexibility offered by this method in developing IT projects.
Get going to see more sea changes that agile methodology has in store to offer you by getting in touch with StarAgile who offers the best training in CSPO Certification, SAFe Training much more. The training they offer touch base every single concept in Agile and scrum methodology to make the learner a master all the agile concepts.
