Combining Lean and Agile

Combining lean and agile

An ideal solution that combines lean and agile would:

1. Measure true ROI

ALM solutions in the cloud would measure the impact of continuous improvement initiatives by tracking improvements in overall throughput, velocity and cycle time. This would, in turn, aid organizations to measure dollars returned for dollars spent because the new ALM solutions will be able to provide hard data that would attach dollar benefit values to features rather than just business cases.

2. Enable real-time visibility within and between teams

Agile development requires all team members to share near-instant visibility into the status of features and commitments. ALM tools need to set up virtual team rooms that radiate needed progress information and support the team members' natural signaling. This is even more critical for geographically dispersed teams who need to effectively work together across time zones. This is an imperative for teams spanning various countries and continents.

3. Provide the right information in the right format

Analytical databases that are hosted in the cloud enable companies to build the roll-up and drill-down reports unique to their business. This avoids the limits of outdated, canned reports provided by other vendors who can't deliver the insights required to confidently redeploy resources and investments as needed. Having a data warehouse in the cloud makes it easier for organizations to manipulate and consume critical organizational information.

Conclusion

The benefits of a network-based agile process management system go beyond discrete improvements to provide overall visibility into the progress of multiple product lines. This kind of control is vital to effectively managing and coordinating multiple teams. By reviewing progress in real time, managers can understand what has been accomplished while assessing backlogged elements for a more accurate assessment on delivery. The end result is a rewarding work environment that yields a high level of success.

Alan MacLamroc is the Chief Product and Technology Officer for CDC Software. Alan is responsible for global IT for the organization. He is also responsible for all company products, technology strategy, product management, software engineering, quality assurance, performance and systems integration. He can be reached at amaclamroc@cdcsoftware.com.