‘Agile’ as a buzzword and a methodology has caught the eye of the financial industry. Most financial organisations aspire to become Agile. And why not? Taking software delivery as an example. It allows for a shorter lead time from kick-off to coding. Furthermore it de-risks testing and implementation by keeping the business involved throughout, so the ROI can be far higher. However most large, well-established financial services organisations are much more experienced in, and prepared for, the more traditional Waterfall approach.
When going Agile, does it have to be all or nothing?
It’s going to be All…
To follow the methodology to the letter, a number of critical items must be in place:
- Knowledge of the methodology
- The right operating model to support it
- Availability of business personnel
- Software to support Agile development
- System, hardware and infrastructure environments that are flexible and able to respond quickly to demand
- Effective release and configuration management, for regular and rapid deployment
A full organisation wide Agile transformation is achievable with the right level of support, but it is a daunting task.
So it’s going to be nothing then…
Well, maybe not completely nothing, but you need to avoid slipping in to Waterfall masquerading as Agile.
Projective has the experience and expertise of combining classic Waterfall and Agile within the same organisation. It is possible to integrate Agile components with immovable legacy Waterfall constraints by using scrum roles, following sprint timelines, prioritisation through backlogs, and then dovetailing Agile delivery with legacy back end systems that run on fixed release cycles.
Now we have dipped our toes, is it all or nothing?
It is possible to effectively trial Agile within your organisation by targeting one or a small number of projects. You can effectively manage a delivery incorporating key elements of Agile methodology in the organisation’s operating model or infrastructure, without having to affect significant change and incur big cost. This kind of delivery can help an organisation better understand the journey it would need to take to become Agile, and go through a full transformation with their eyes wide open.
We help our clients with full transformation to Agile and subsequent delivery. For further information go to our Delivery Excellence or
Operational Excellence service offering.