Going Agile: Never be ‘almost done’

Almost 20 years ago, before Lelander existed, I led an eight-person team on a journey to replace a legacy web application. Little did we know, the project was full of undocumented features. More aptly put, there was no documentation at all. Time and time again, a crucial feature from the old app would come up, threatening to prolong our timeline. Even though we were doing great work, the weeks turned into months, and the project became a slow grind into the abyss. Eventually, the client pulled the plug on the project because they lost confidence in us ever being able to finish it.

Missed Opportunities/ Agile Rescues Regrets

I sure wish we had known about Agile back then. Not only could we have navigated the project more efficiently, but we might have been able to bring new ideas into reality. Agile’s iterative nature ensures continuous adaptation to evolving market trends – a lesson we learned the hard way.

Prevent Project Failure

Software project failures often go unnoticed since they never reach the hands of users. This results in wasted funding, time, and resources. At Lelander, our commitment to Agile methodology and native delivery ensures that progress is regularly shared with both product owners and users.

Sprint to Success

Instead of delivering the entire project at once, Agile breaks it into short, focused sprints. These entail a clearly defined set of tasks organized in the timeframe. During the sprint, daily stand-up meetings are held to discuss progress, blockers, and plans for the day, fostering communication, collaboration, and quick issue resolution. The team aims to deliver a potentially shippable product increment by the end of each sprint, allowing for a rapid feedback loop from customers and product owners. This iterative feedback loop is crucial in keeping the development process aligned with evolving customer requirements.

Agile: Built for Product Owners

The Agile framework is Product Owner-centric because the product owner has the authority to make decisions on behalf of the users. At the beginning of each sprint, we collaborate with the Product Owner and select a set of backlog items (features, user stories, or tasks) to work on and ship within a specific timeframe. This decision-making power helps maintain a clear direction for the development team and ensures that the product meets customer expectations.

Manifesto

“Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.”

One of the core principles of Agile is the ability to respond to change and adapt quickly to emerging market trends or shifts by reassessing priorities and adjusting the development approach accordingly.

Agile’s impact extends beyond project completion. It involves continuous risk identification, assessment, and mitigation throughout the development process. Product iterations are handed to customers regularly, eliminating the risk of competitors shipping the product at an earlier time. With Agile, you’re lowering risks by addressing these incrementally in each sprint so the team can respond promptly to emerging challenges, ensuring that no task is “almost done.” As each sprint is completed, we’re all a step closer to project success.