Approximately 70% of large IT projects do not give the expected result within the given time and budget available. In response to the waterfall method, where software was first fully specified and built, the Manifesto for Agile software development was drawn up. The 4 values and 12 principles describe a different way of working that reduces lead time for delivering products and makes the risks of the project manageable. The derived methods include Scrum, Kanban and Lean Software Development. This approach fits in this decade in which technological environments are changing rapidly.
Scrum
The popular scrum method has 3 roles, 3 activities, 3 lists. From the list of products, a selection is made based on most added value for the operational line, the least complexity and least technological risks. These are given the first priority. This product backlog, managed by the product owner, is used during sprint planning.
During the sprint planning, the team determines, together with the product owner, which products and tasks will be included in the next sprint, the next iteration of 2-4 weeks.
The daily scrum meeting, the “standup”, is facilitated by the scrummaster. This supports continuous tuning and learning. The faster mistakes are made, the faster the improvements are made and the lessons learned.
The work stock is made visible with the kanban board and is updated daily.
This “pull” workflow is effective so team members don’t wait for each other.
Moreover, no more is delivered than the end users can accept and can be implemented. These workflow summaries are preferably connected to a document management system (DMS).
The second generation
The second generation Agile methods addresses a number of shortcomings. Activities at the beginning of the work process:
- Aligning with the organization’s objective
- Involving stakeholders in a product
- Taking technical innovations according to architecture principles
When in control:
- When the acceptance and implementation, when is the sub-product finished?
- What is lead time for the implementation of the “minimal viable product (MVP)”, how are the risks addressed?
For the transition of the entire organization to an Agile method, the SAFE framework is used.