How can Agile Methodology of Development Help in Better Software Delivery?

By the time a software product is ready to roll in the market, what if it loses its relevance completely? It usually happens when traditional plan-driven approach is adopted and the product development is unable to adjust to stakeholders’ progressing needs, changes in the marketplace and unforeseen technological challenges.

To counter these aforementioned issues, Agile Methodology of Development should be adopted. It is an inherently “iterative” approach that assess the direction throughout the development lifecycle, known as Sprints, at the end of which it effectively delivers a potential software product. Further, as teams can develop software at the same time they’re gathering requirements, “analysis paralysis” is less likely to impede them from making progress. Moreover, stakeholders have frequent opportunities to regulate the release of the product that is relevant and useful in the real world.

So with this methodology,  every aspect of development — from requirements to design — is continually revisited and so it is easy to change the product under development as there’s much more flexibility. Furthermore, it reduces development costs and time to market.

Five Key Business Benefits of Agile

#Building the Right Product: With Improved Quality, Visibility & Predictability

It’s quite common (in more traditional software projects) to deliver a “successful” project in terms of IT to later find that the product is not at par with the expectations. While with agile it could never happen as the emphasis is completely on building the right product.

Stakeholders tend to believe they know what they want as they specify high-level requirements for an IT or software-intensive product. However, the fact is they are mostly unable to imagine the problem accurately or it simply changes with time. Sometimes the technology is not quite as promised or the product does not actually work the way the stakeholder intended. So even though they thought they described their requirements clearly, most of the time, when they see the finished product it often does not quite solve the problem.

In such a situation, if agile development practices are used, using several short, time-boxed iterations a product could be devised that delivers the minimal functionality with high quality i.e. enough to get the job done. This approach makes it possible to demonstrate the product to stakeholders in the early stages and often enables them to decide that it meet their needs or not.

Agile methods can even help IT projects achieve release predictability as they are eradicate the problems such as - not able to use/learn the new technology; unclear requirements; or simply because the customers changed their minds after the development was nearly finished.

#Enhanced Business Engagement/Customer Satisfaction

Another most important benefit of using agile development is that it fosters positive, engaging and long-term working relationships.

Such are the principles of agile development that it encourage a cooperative collaborative approach wherein active ‘user’ involvement is asked for throughout the product’s development. This provides excellent visibility, both of the project’s progress and of the product itself, which in turn helps to ensure that expectations of key stakeholders are effectively addressed.

All that, along with the high visibility of the product and its developmental progress, and the flexibility to change when the change is needed, create much better business engagement and customer satisfaction.

#Risk Management

With agile practices, both early and parallel risk assessment and reduction could be prioritized.

The clear visibility in agile development helps to ensure that it is easier to respond to change.

Small incremental releases are made visible to the product owner and product team and any necessary decisions are taken at the earliest possible opportunity, while there’s still time to make a slight difference.

For risk areas where there might be multiple solutions and all the teams cannot agree on the right alleyway, multi-set development is considered. Herein multiple teams work in parallel on solving the same problem with different solutions and it most likely bring key decisions forward.

#Cost Control

When agile is used, the scope of the product and its features keep evolving. However, the cost could be controlled and fixed budget be allocated because the timescales are fixed.

 #Rewarding Experience

In the agile paradigm, instead of big specs, requirements are discussed in workshops; instead of lengthy status reports, collaboration happens around a task-board discussing progress. Similarly, it is discussed what’s right for the product, project and the team instead of making long project plans and change management committees.

This kind of cooperation and collaboration make agile development much more enjoyable for most people. It is a rewarding approach wherein everyone involved remains highly motivated and delivers high performance.

Conclusion

Agile development emphasizes on teamwork and calls for much more commitment and effort from everyone involved. So it can help companies and empower teams to continuously re-plan their release to optimize its value throughout development and allowing them to be as competitive as possible in the marketplace. Indeed, advantages that agile methodology of development offers are compelling.

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The Role of IT Organizations Is Changing - Top Changes That Are Anticipated!

From past many years, IT organizations were structured to play the traditional role of keeping corporate information accessible and safe, deal with hardware, software, communications, security, and other areas. They used technology as their primary structure. The situation, however, has started to change rapidly.

#Focus & Competencies
From being a technology provider, IT will have to shift focus to building capabilities in areas of sourcing management (internal as well as external), delivery of IT services, and/or creating and exploiting a framework of business processes and relationships.

#Complexity Re-engineering

IT will have to reduce technology complexity that inhibits business flexibility and efficiency, particularly in the areas of applications, legacy hardware and sourcing. This will mean preparing for service-oriented architecture (SOA), business process management (BPM) frameworks and utility computing.

#Partnership sourcing

IT will be called on to improve partnership sourcing by exploiting outsourcing outcomes and incentives defined in business terms.

#Enhance Organizational Learning

IT has the potential to improve the performance of knowledge workers in customer, supplier and partner organizations. So IT organizations will be actively drawn in to add information value to existing products and services and create new information-based products and services.

#Help Marketing and Sales Departments

On an average, 30% of us spend roughly a third of our waking hours using mobile devices, so it makes sense to contact customers via mobiles. This presents a unique opportunity for marketers to leverage the power of IT to directly connect with their customers via mobile apps. Here, IT will be helping in creating, integrating and streamlining multiple new online/offline channels that are efficient and flexible for doing business with customers, suppliers and partners.

#Structural-level Changes

The primary drivers for IT’s structural changes will be - business alignment, process focus and service excellence. So when IT organizations transform at structural level, structures based on IT service and on assets of business process and information shall gain popularity and will be increasingly implemented. In general, however, it is best to select IT organization structure to maximize the most important business asset and in relation to the IT organization type. (read Gartner research on the ISCo model)

#Functional-level Changes

In context of functionality, IT shall take up several new and significant roles – one being that of meeting #GenMobile’s expectations for the workplace. This observation is based on the following key findings by Aruba Networks in their 2014 global study wherein they surveyed 1,000 global IT professionals.

• There has been 51% rise in mobile/remote working across global organizations and 77% increase in #GenMobile employees using mobile devices for work.
• To support #GenMobile mobility demands, 71.1% of IT departments increased their investment in Wi-Fi.
• There has been increased support for BYOD as 58.7% of IT professionals say their companies have already fully embraced employee BYOD or implemented new policies to support it.

Personal mobile devices are on the verge of becoming the technology of choice in the office, IT will need to work towards creating all-wireless workplaces. These workplaces will work only on Wi-Fi and use automated guest and BYOD security and even the office appliances will be mobile-friendly. In such futuristic places, IT will have to maintain security integrity and assure effortless operability with any (or all) devices, all the time.

Our Concluding Thoughts!
Businesses are finding it imperative to take this new role of IT forward for an agile, efficient and effective enterprise, here are a few things they should consider. 

In the short term, focus should be on strategic goals for creation of IT processes that follow choice of value contribution and business asset focus. Later, they may identify relationships, competencies, resource needs and sourcing options for deployment. Also, a design pattern of IT position should be made that follows enterprise structure prior to development of the organization chart. 

In the long-term, the goals, assets and processes, not the organization chart, should be used as an ongoing management tool. 

Most important would be a continual review of all the aforementioned strategies.

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Why Customer Experience and Operations Needs Digitization?

“Digitization is an opportunity and not a risk to guard against”. 

To switch to a business model that’s truly digital, a major revamp of technologies used, organizational structure, data models, measurement frameworks, and operating models is required. Moreover, it’s ongoing. Despite the challenges, businesses are increasingly finding it imperative to engage digitally with their key stakeholders, suppliers, partners, employees and customers. Business are moving towards digitization because if they don’t, the competition will disrupt their business model. 

Digitization has several other benefits too, including, but not limited to the following:

• It helps guide the activities and resource allocation needed to give customers a great experience
• It help companies cut costs and improve turnaround times by several orders of magnitude
• When incorporated with data mining, it empowers companies to look for problems early and best deal with them

How Digitization is Helping Companies - Some Examples!

IT has become the major component of the success of “born digital” companies such as Amazon and eBay, giving them a clear advantage over their traditional counterparts. So many others are taking the leap for reasons, discussed below.

To Build Brand Strategy

Australia Post has built a new center for the digital delivery of mobile and online products and services after allocation of A$2 billion to pursue a digital strategy and tap into new revenue sources

For Agility

Singapore’s DBS Bank has rolled out 19 mobile apps covering its various services that allows customers to use smartphones to make payments and send and receive funds. 

To Enhance Customer Experience

GrabTaxi, a Malaysian transport startup, has launched a location-based app to help people book a cab ride. The app allows taxi drivers to provide a geolocation service, and an integrated back-end payment system. It also allows family members to track a user’s ride and maintain a driver rating system and all this to enhance customer satisfaction during peak traffic.

Capability Assessment

Having realized the huge significance that digitization of customer experience and operations has to play in the modern era, if you are not digitally-ready - determine your state of digital readiness and start your journey - NOW.

The starting point is a structured approach to assessing your digital maturity based on the ‘big picture’ of what digital engagement means to the business and to go about integrating the two sides of a digital strategy: digital customer experience and digital operational excellence. 

For Digital Customer Experience

#Start with brand strategy & properly define it

For every digital channel, incorporate the mission and value proposition of the brand to translate top-level business objectives into an actionable plan. Call out those aspects of customer experience that are most critical to your company's aspirations for differentiating itself. 

#Start activities and processes that support the defined experience

Start performing a different set of activities or the same activities differently to combat competition. Adopting a partnership-driven mindset would work well rather than building everything on your own.

#Guide digital channel investments

Prioritize investments in interactions that fulfil the brand promise and avoid wasting money on chasing new shiny digital capabilities. It is best advised to make informed decisions and chase only those features that might work for your company.

For Operational Excellence 

Operational excellence leads to a low-price offer for the market and helps build customer intimacy – a strong emotional bond with your customers by providing the best possible service. It is important for the long-term success of any business.

• Review and map your processes (new product/service development, sales and customer relationship management, operations, etc.) in detail and infuse a digital process plan to enable better decision making, performance tracking, and capture customer insights.  
• Scan the market for tested and ready-to-implement technologies that have established tangible proof of success. 
• Simply automating the existing processes won’t help. So, cut the number of steps required, reduce the number of documents and develop automated decision making. 
• Give employees access to digital processes and machines that help them do their jobs better, smarter and with more meaningful impact to the business – in a way re-engineer IT.

Conclusion

A few years ago, digitization meant an IT support team and at the best having a website for the business. But today, it is like a cohesive strategy that treats all digital channels as core to delivering, meeting and exceeding customer expectations via a more thoughtful approach that considers the entire customer journey.  

In context of businesses, meaning of digitization has changed and is evolving. Don't wait friends, catch up quickly! 

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Top Technologies Business Should Focus on in 2015

Having worked in the tech industry for close to two decades, Aequor best understands how enterprises willing to run at the speed of change should adopt new business tech trends. This is emphasized as the landscape of tech firms and that of the whole tech industry is constantly shifting. Every other day, there are new products and innovations that push you to take bold steps to squeeze out better financial performance.

To add to the plight, there are often well-funded startups and other aggressive competitors amidst this competition and even customers are seeking enhanced performance, better features, and more flexibility at the lowest price point possible. In such testing times, if businesses have to hit the ground running in 2015, focusing on the top trending technologies that we are unleashing - will greatly help.

Internet of Things

The findings of PricewaterhouseCoopers annual Digital IQ study clearly indicates that the number of things connected to the Internet will be only surging in the future, starting 2015. While in 2015, there will be roughly 25 billion 'things' connected to the Internet, this figure will go up at an astounding rate reaching 50 billion by 2050.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is capable of freeing a huge chunk of the IT from the restrictions of legacy software and hardware licensing data center models. Also, it shall open and revolutionize the way IT delivers services and how the users access information, applications and business services. Here, Hybrid Computing, Containerization of Cloud and DevOps and continuous delivery practices will be the important ones.

# Hybrid Computing will help businesses create a unified environment for operations, besides combining and coordinating multiple cloud services, internal network and application resources.

# Open Source Container tools like Docker (a VMware tool) will help bundle up several different pieces of software and run them on a single server without interference thereby enhancing interoperability between cloud platforms and tools

# DevOps and continuous delivery practices shall enable the rapid deployment of new functions and features leveraging the full potential of cloud application development and the closer integration of various process areas quickly and cost effectively, especially for organizations who are adopting Agile development methodologies.

Big Data

In 2015, we'll see more enterprises switching focus to big data as they will need technology to assist in compiling the droves of data being delivered about a customer's every movement and promoting the use of data to fuel customer engagement improvements.

# Analytics spending will increase; cloud-based and mobile analytics, interactive and responsive analytics, and specialist & niche BI will monopolize the trends. 

# “Big Data” won’t remain tied to tech companies. New sensors and drones will revolutionize data collection in agriculture and land surveying industries.

# Analytic infrastructure -- the applications, services, utilities and systems that are used for either preparing data for modeling, estimation, validation, scoring, or related activities -- will become critically important in 2015.  Using data mining - these will be applied to a foray of industry verticals including - homeland security, infrastructure management, intelligent transportation, healthcare and bioinformatics, text mining, and social media as well.

Mobility

Companies will have to protect their data from security breaches and scares because data volumes are growing geometrically and more sophisticated, organized crime and nation-sponsored attacks in the cyber space are expected.  There’ll be fast growth of security startups who sell security services to SMEs [small and mid-size enterprises], such as fraud checks, scans, pen tests, et al.

As mobile devices are more contained, restrictive and a safer platform, so businesses will opt for them. The shift to mobility is likely going to happen quickly as it seems like the best solution. 80% of the global workforce would need Enterprise Mobile Apps specifically tailored to meet their needs to make the best use of technology on the job.

So mobility could be the next $100 billion opportunity in future, starting 2015.

Conclusion

A quick roundup of what businesses should focus on in 2015 to become more competitive and drive profitability.

• Make use of a common software 'ecosystem' that can take in all the data in a unified way.
• Derive actionable insights from the quantum of data analyzed, not to mention data is increasing dramatically
• Avoid system fragilities
• Usher in more intelligence in infrastructure monitoring
• Perform 'deep dive' analytics on the huge amount of infrastructure data that is accessible
• Identify and defend against security threats more quickly
• Work with enterprise mobile apps, email and browsing

Nevertheless, it is up to you how you make your 2015 a big year.

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Aequor Wins CIO Review Certificate of Recognition

For being the Top 20 Most Promising Pharma and Life Sciences Consulting providers, Aequor has been awarded the CIO Review Certificate of Recognition. For our achievement, we have also been exclusively covered in the March 2015 Issue of CIO Review magazine. Aequor is a customer driven company and so we have directed all our endeavors towards achieving maximum client satisfaction.

Our efforts have paid off and this recognition has infused more confidence in the whole Aequor family. What makes it even more special is the fact that it comes direct from a distinguished panel comprising of CEOs, CIOs, VCs, analysts and the editorial board of the CIO Review magazine. This shall help us in our future endeavors, as we continue to deliver quality-oriented customized solutions to each of our esteemed client in a timely manner.

Most Promising Pharma and ‪Life‬ Sciences ‪Consulting‬ Providers 2015

It is an accomplishment that has given us the opportunity to also acknowledge (on a renowned platform) that we have been able to create a niche in the highly competent domain of healthcare. Our highly customized solutions have helped life sciences and pharma companies in implementation of automation solutions and rendered support to over 1900 lab applications.

This is a crucial area in R&D wherein use of automation helps in increasing the efficiency of researcher’s manifolds. Aequor has also provided consulting in the area of quality and compliance thereby assisting in right alignment of every company’s investments.

In the future, while Aequor assures to remain committed to deliver quality services to its customers at a much faster pace, we are also eyeing acquisitions to expand our reach in the sector and our core skills. We have already taken a step forward and made six acquisitions in the past few years.

Keep a close watch on this space for more updates. Here we will continue to connect with you.

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