There are a lot of buzz words in the industry when it comes to describing a service or a product. We all latch on to some catch phrase and essentially use it until we've completely exhausted every possible scenario where it fits. Do you remember "value creation" or "RAD" or "ILM" (I think that one is still around). There are two phrases or terms rather that are beginning to be used in the same sentence and unlike some terms these two have caught the attention of executives at all levels in the organization but specifically those most concerned with the bottom line.
Before I continue you should really read The Butler's Group recent white paper on Exigen Services' global leadership in Agile Development. Download Exigen_Agile_Profile.pdf
The phrases/terms are Agile Development and Business Value. As a global service provider we spend lots of time explaining to potential clients why adopting an Agile approach can significantly change the landscape of their business. From Fortune 50 to start-up ISVs, Agile is officially beyond "trend" stage and is now used by some of the world's largest companies. Many of them are household names (it would not be right to tell you who they are in this article as we would be giving many of our client's confidentiality away) and in several cases have gone completely Scrum. They are, as I say, "Scrummy"...this is my affectionate term that I use to describe how companies feel about making the investment in Agile.
Back to the point...today's CFO who is concerned about time-to-market, product quality, market share and of course profit, is also taking an interest in how their companies are going to deliver results. In looking at the attributes and characteristics of an Agile engagement, several of the key disciplines and eventual results translate into business value for the CFO and other top executives who still think Scrum is something you do in Rugby rather than development.
When we say business value we are defining a conversation that allows IT to talk to the business in a language that has mutual understanding aligned with it. The productivity gains, quality metrics, collaborative impact and ultimately the iterative results speak volumes to executives who have experienced long delays, poor quality, high risk in the relationship and ultimately software that does not meet the business user's needs.
Do you remember the other famous term KPI? Of course you do, because you are still trying to figure out if they are indeed something tangible. In the world of Agile there is one major KPI; Velocity...
Velocity of work = amount of work
completed/number of days to complete work. If you are familiar with Agile projects then you know that Sprint, Release and Product Progress all equal a certain metric that is used to calculate velocity and this metric can be translated into how effectively and efficiently an organization can get to market. But not only get to market, but get there by having met the business user's expectations.
This all translates into value that IT has experienced thru delivering better, the business has experienced by getting access to the systems and applications they need to execute and the executive team and shareholders experience results...business value.
Agile is becoming a boardroom conversation and organizations that can deliver it effectively, globally and with industry proven experience will change the landscape...
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