Agile Methodology

Security and Enterprise Agility do not usually go hand in hand. Also, the impact of security and compliance on Agility in today’s technological environment, which requires many companies to take such measures to ensure the integrity of their operations and preserve data confidentiality, should not be underestimated.

Definitely, the constraints that certain security and compliance measures impose suggest that Security and Enterprise Agility can hardly go hand in hand.

But, no matter how many developers there are in your organization, it is possible to do software development in Agile mode. Hundreds of writings praise the merits of this development methodology, so here are some of the most important points:

1.       Better match between deliverables and needs;
2.       Minimize the risk of slippage by splitting the project into “sprints” and these into “tasks” of short duration;
3.       Better communication between the various project stakeholders;
4.       Emphasis is placed on identifying and categorizing the functionalities that will have the most added value for the organization;
5.       In the “cost, time, functionality” trilogy, the challenge is to develop as many of the most important features as possible in the time allocated, even if it means removing features, unlike the Waterfall mode, which emphasizes features, all features, even if it means exceeding them over time.

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There are countless companies that have started their Enterprise Agile Transformation in recent years. With good reason, because no one would question the benefits of the Agile Method today; this is an obvious fact that is unanimously accepted in all sectors of activity.

So, contrary to what one might think, Agile is not the one who wants!

Not all organizations are ready for Agility considering that this implies giving more autonomy to business units and work teams and creating cross functional teams as well. Moreover, not all business leaders will necessarily welcome Agility with open arms.

Thus, more than processes, the Agile method calls for a work philosophy that encompasses both the personnel and structure of the organization.

The Agile Enterprise therefore calls upon a profound transformation of the organization. This comprehensive transformation will affect all facets of the Organization including Personnel, Organizational Structure, Strategy and Technology. That’s the path to a successful Agile Transformation.

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What is Agile methodology?  What are its principles?  What are the benefits of Enterprise Agile Transformation, turning your company in an Agile Enterprise?

The result of a search for continuous improvement in the software development process, the Agile methodology appeared at the forefront of ICT in the late 1990s in response to the excesses of major software development projects in terms of schedule, budget and quality of deliverables.

And this quest for continuous improvement in software development is in fact based on the search for added value for the company (project scope) and the optimization of the performance of software development teams within fixed schedule and costs as illustrated in the diagram below: 

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The assessment of software development performance, be it of a software development team or a software development project will vary greatly depending on the type of metrics used.

This request for performance assessment in software development projects is constantly coming back and is a source of major concern for Managers; which is quite normal considering the low ratio of projects delivered in time… and costs.

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The perception of software development performance truly varies according to management style; hence, performance assessment is, in fact, a question of perception. The performance assessment of a development team is closely linked to the management style and, more precisely, to the priorities it dictates; in software development as in any other activity.

Any manager would like to have an objective assessment of the performance of both his development team and his IT department as part of a software development project. The term “objective” is the key to the riddle here. Is there an objective method for assessing the performance of a developer, a development team or a software development company? Is there a key performance indicator in software development that really tells the truth?

In fact, one can hardly count the systems, methods, and nomenclatures that have been created since the beginning of the industrial era to evaluate performance in software development, as in any other field.

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Lean Software Development is the extension of the Lean principles to IT Products and Services Development and Management; more specifically, it aims at eliminating any type of work that adds no value to an IT product or service.^[1]

Lean Six Sigma is a methodology that relies on a collaborative team effort to improve performance by systematically removing waste,^[1] on eight types of operation: Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over production, Over processing, Defects, and Skills (abbreviated as ‘TIMWOODS’).

One shouldn’t underestimate, in a more and more predominant eBusiness and eCommerce environment, the crucial role IT has come to play in businesses’ primary activities of delivering value to customers.  IT often provides products and services that enable customers to find, order, and pay. IT also provides enhanced productivity and allows both suppliers and employees to better communicate, collaborate and produce / execute.

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