Agile Transformation

Transform and Adapt to Agile Methods

Agile transformation is the process of converting an organization organized around sequential step-by-step processes, to agile methods that support continuous delivery of software in a lightweight and flexible manner.

What are the Agile Challenges

Today, everyone is claiming the use of Agile principles in their software development projects. It’s the new catch phrase and everyone is jumping on the bandwagon; both software developers and customers alike. Companies claim to be Agile but dig a little deeper and you’ll discover that nothing has really changed except of the use of the buzzwords.

There are several challenges usually encountered as organizations transition to this new way of operating according to and quoting the Scrum Alliance:

Resistance to Change – perhaps the most frustrating roadblock is resistance. It can come in many forms, active or passive, overt or covert.
Misunderstanding the Process – because Scrum introduces such fundamental change to the way people work, there's room for great confusion in its daily implementation, experts say. It's common for people to think they understand Scrum but to confuse old terminologies and methods with Scrum processes and terms.
Failing to Adapt to Changing Roles – transitioning to Scrum shakes up roles throughout teams, departments, and even the entire company, and that can be scary. Managers, for example, may fear a loss of authority or control, while team members may have trouble stepping up to a group-driven process.

What Is Agile Transformation

Historically in the software business, organizations have used traditional software development processes and methods that are inherently inflexible and introduce risk since the stakeholders are not as involved in the development of the solution; and between the initial concepts and actual delivery of the product, the priorities and requirements of the customer can change. This has led to epic failures in software development projects in the past such as the FBI's Virtual Case File system and the Healthcare.gov website because of budget overruns and non-functional software.

To combat these types of failures, organizations have adopted more agile methods that support continuous delivery of software or other products in a lightweight and flexible manner. Agile transformation is the process of refactoring companies to achieve this agility in their organizations by adapting to change and applying radical shifts in attitudes, values, and ways of thinking to deliver software products and achieve positive business goals. In effect, this is a change in the organizational culture and crosses all levels of the management hierarchy.

By transforming and adapting to agile methods, software development projects can be a collaborative process with stakeholders to develop iteratively, release frequently, focus on the customer, and collaborate through a cross-functional team applying each iteration into workable software product over comprehensive documentation and detailed planning.

How We Do Agile Software Development

Our Agile software processes are affirmed by the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and Agile Software Development processes. We have adopted Agile’s flexible process in our software development to write and release code iteratively while applying a disciplined and structured approach to ensure both traceability and quality remain intact through the development process.

DS2’s philosophy is to ‘Release Early, Release Often’ providing an incrementally working solution to our customer right from the start. This enables early solicitation of feedback to ensure the project is on track and that it will meet the needs of the intended user. This is in sharp contrast to other more rigid models such as the Waterfall process, which only deliver a solution at the end of the entire process.

Learn more about our Agile Software Development process

How Agile Transformation Benefits Our Customers

Business environments are increasingly volatile and complex, and companies realize the world around them is changing rapidly. Change is inevitable. Adaptability is crucial to survival. Companies that can adapt and apply agile transformation to their organization are more likely to succeed.

The scale of effort can seem daunting and complex at first, but when you realize the alternative is failure because of an inability to continuously adapt to change… it is then that real change can begin. The benefits of transformation can lead to a high-performing organization where the culture fosters and encourages collaboration and transparent communication. The result will be a transformed team and organization that is self-sufficient and self-organizing, optimized to produce results instead of failures.

Organizations tend to ignore the cultural and change-management implications of applying agile principles. Also, the cultural implications of an agile transformation cannot be over emphasized. Successful transformations require change across the board; from the bottom all the way to the top. Adapting to change must happen at the working team levels up to the executive level. The buy in at the executive level is essential and will influence the culture of the organization thereby increasing collaboration between functional, cross-functional, and distributed teams to produce a more empowered and high performing enterprise.

How We Can Help Transform Your Organization

Many of our staff are certified as Agile Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and Agile Developers. We are also involved with, and have certified instructors for, the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) which helps businesses address the significant challenges of developing and delivering enterprise-class software and systems in the shortest sustainable lead time.

Agile development is in our DNA and DS2 has extensive experience applying agile processes for our customers. We stand ready and present every single day to help and coach our customers on agile practices. This is what sets us apart from the competition. We offer agile coaching and agile transformation training to our customers for those who are unfamiliar with the process to ensure that both the development team and the customer understand the process and are truly engaged as stakeholders. This ensures a successful project for our customer and us, providing a win-win situation for all involved.

DS2 software engineers and managers are highly qualified and have certifications in Agile development and leadership to help coach your organization through the process: