Implement Agile Practices That Work

Deliver on time and improve communication with the business to minimize project failure.

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Introduction
Todays application development is hard to manage due to increased scope
and decreased timelines. Poor communication amplifies the problem.
This Research Is Designed for an Agile
Evangelist who:

This Research Will Help You:

Is tasked with rolling out Agile within a team or

Determine suitability of Agile for your current

organization.

Needs to understand the risks and gaps that

currently exist prior to rollout.

Has to prove Agile effectiveness using metrics

prior to wider rollout.

organization.

Determine the most appropriate projects for

Agile adoption strategy based on complexity,
duration, importance, and ownership mapping.

Apply best Agile processes to a pilot project.

Calculate the people and technology costs to
implement Agile.

Conduct a multi-project rollout.

Communicate with stakeholders.

Info-Tech Research Group

Executive Summary
App Dev Managers are under increasing pressure
to perform more, with less time available to reach
markets. Stakeholder miscommunication is being
manifested through costly rework.

Agile offers the ability to clarify communication

processes in the form of easy-to-use, mix and
match practices. Scrum, a frequently adopted
process, should be the foundation of your Agile
implementation strategy.

Assessing fit:
1. Evaluate organizational metrics: team,
management, technology, and culture.
2. Analyze pilot project metrics: complexity,
duration, importance, and ownership.

Migrating to Agile requires a deep understanding

of its philosophy. Appreciate how its components are
integrated in order to optimize your implementation
results.

Any transition to Agile should start with an

assessment of how your organization currently
operates. Selection of champion early adopters, a
suitable pilot project, and the right metrics
measurement is critical to stakeholder buy-in and
success.

Optimizing implementation:
1. Organize the appropriate roles
2. Adopt Scrum processes
3. Track costs
4. Measure performance results
5. Communicate with stakeholders

Info-Tech Research Group

Make the Case for Agile

Whats in this Section:

Recognize the limitations of the traditional Waterfall

methodology.

Understand the benefits of Agile development and why

it is critical in todays fast paced IT world.

Sections:
Make the Case for Agile
Assess and Prepare Your
Organization
Choose the Right Pilot Project
Rollout Your Agile Pilot
Measure and Communicate
Success
Prepare for a Wider Rollout
Summary
Info-Tech Research Group

Project failure is still prevalent

Only a sliver of todays IT projects are considered on time and on budget,
meaning that traditional development methods are not delivering results.
Poor communication
Most development teams experience a
disconnect between themselves and the end
user. From a CompTIA poll, 28% of
respondents reported poor communication to
be their greatest cause of project failure*.
When communication suffers, development
teams have a poor understanding of the true
needs and expectations of the end user.

Root cause of project failure*

Poor
communication
28%
41%

Unrealistic deadlines
Business needs are rapidly changing as
organizations try to maintain their competitive
advantage and react to the shifting needs of the
market. Development teams struggle to
accommodate these changes, resulting in
projects being delivered late.

Insufficient resource planning

Development teams fail to initially understand
all the requirements needed to fully execute the
project. This often causes them to fall under
budget.

13%

18%

Insufficient
resource planning
Unrealistic
deadlines
Other

Other causes of project failure include poor project

requirements; lack of stakeholder buy-in/support;
undefined project success/closure criteria; unrealistic
budget; insufficient or no risk planning; and lack of
control/change process.
- *Rosencrance, Linda. Survey: Poor communication
causes most IT project failures. Computerworld, 2007.

Info-Tech Research Group

Business models are consistently remolded and adjusted

Business strategies and requirements are constantly evolving and teams are
having trouble catching up.
Business needs change too quickly

Whats needed

The success of your project or application is

often dependent on how quickly you can react to
changes in requirements.

Planning: Defers formal organization, until the

business determines it is important for delivery.

Businesses struggle to keep up with change as

applications are delivered with many features
never or rarely being used.

Prioritization: The most important requirements

are executed in the current iteration, even if it is a
modification of a previous delivery.

Unused features in software development are

attributable to features specified in some upfront
planning phase, before their ratio of cost to value
was considered or known.

Focus: Since development teams work closely

with their customers, they are able to make
changes after each iteration to ensure that
priority features are being worked on.

We had problems with some of our earlier projects using a Waterfall approach
where we got to the end and the customer would tell us that it was not what they
were looking for.
- Jason Burrow, Software Architect
Info-Tech Research Group

Traditional development processes limit you to obsolete

techniques
Waterfall and other traditional processes and practices are delivering
undesirable results.
Lack of stakeholder interaction

Unpredictable future

Changes to a product are difficult and disruptive during

the release cycle. Stakeholder communication is pertinent
during the entire application life cycle.

Planning for uncertainty is unrealistic and unsustainable.

Whether it be internal technical issues, or an unexpected
move by a competitor, having enough flexibility to react to
these changes keeps stakeholders informed and is
financially responsible.

Condemned by an idea

Mediocre products

Since all ideas are developed at the beginning of the

release cycle, there is no room for expansion or
innovation. The product is condemned to be as good as
its original idea and it is difficult or nearly impossible to
tailor the project to accommodate market changes.

A process that does not support continuous change

management produces a rigid and uncreative product.
New and innovative ideas introduced to the market midrelease cycle can push a product to be less leading edge
and more commodity.

Software applications developed through the agile process have three times the success rate of the traditional
Waterfall method and a much lower percentage of time and cost overruns. The Standish Group defines project
success as on time, on budget, and with all planned features.
- Cohn, Mike. Agile Succeeds Three Times More Than Waterfall. Mountain Goat Software. 2012.
Info-Tech Research Group

Embrace Agile to reduce churn and effectively react to change

in requirements
Emphasizing collective
progress ownership
motivates team members
to work through issues in
a professional manner.

Collaboration

The most important

requirements are
executed in the current
iteration, even if it is a
modification of a
previous delivery.

Prioritization

Iterations

Continual
Improvement

Provides more
opportunities for
feedback, as features
are tested and released
after each process
increment.

By having regular
briefings, the team is
able to self-manage
improvements and can
better focus on
innovation efforts.

Agile facilitates change and allows the development team to change direction every iteration. The cost of
change is low and it provides an opportunity for the customer to reassess the features for inclusion in the
current iteration based on value and business ROI.

Info-Tech Research Group

Agile is a proven methodology

Pragmatism should rule when looking for evidence of project success rates.
Agile alleviates common pain points
Of those who have implemented Agile:

52% of teams enhanced their ability to

manage changing priorities

58% increased their productivity

54% of teams increased team morale
50% of teams enhanced their software

Agile helped increase communication,

collaboration, and transparency.
- Jim Wetzel, Former Project Management Office Director
Helped us deliver more value to the customer.
- Jason Burrows, Pacific Blue Cross
Agile has opened the flood gates of innovation.
- Senior Director

quality

51% of teams experienced accelerated timeto-market

55% reported reduction in project risk

44% reported better alignment between IT
and business goals
Source: VersionOne, LLC. Survey: The State of Agile
Development. 2007.

Info-Tech Research Group

Use Info-Techs Agile Readiness Assessment Tool to

document and track your Agile implementation
Each tab in this tool will help you assess readiness and the impact of rolling
out Agile in your organization. This tool will be used throughout this toolkit.
Ensure your evaluation is accurate by including
multiple business and IT stakeholders from
various departments in the details gathering,
evaluation, and discussions.
The Agile Readiness Assessment Tool:
Info-Techs Agile Readiness Assessment Tool can be used to
collect information about the appropriateness of Agile for your
organization given your existing team, culture, and project
constraints. It will show opportunities where implementing Agile
can increase productivity and reduce costs.

This tool will help you:

Find the gaps in your organization, departments, and teams.
Select a test pilot project for your initial implementation of
Agile.
Ensure Agile opportunities are rolled out in an efficient
manner.

Info-Techs Agile Readiness Assessment Tool.

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Establish an Agile rollout plan

Use a systematic and choreographed rollout strategy for a smooth Agile
implementation.
Step 1
Readiness

Step 2
Pilot

Determine what may

be preventing you
from reaching your
desired Agile state in
your organization.

Pick the right pilot

project with the
appropriate duration,
complexity,
ownership, and
importance.

Dont jump into Agile

before establishing
the appropriate
organizational
environment.

The pilot can be used

to develop a proof of
concept for wider
Agile rollout.

Step 3
Implement
Start your Agile
implementation by
instituting scrum
processes with your
pilot.
Document the tasks
that you were able to
complete and note
any blockers and
complications.

Step 4
Measure

Step 5
Rollout

Track the appropriate

metrics to validate the
pilot as proof of
concept.

Rollout Agile on a
broader scale using
lessons learned.

Understand your
sprint velocity and
effort overhead to
improve project
predictability and task
completion rates.

Choose one of
several methods for
spreading Agile
development
throughout the
organization.

How To Use This Toolkit:

Run through this toolkit multiple times with multiple projects to gauge the success and suitability of Agile in your
department and organization.
Fill the organization and project level gaps identified by the toolkits readiness and appropriateness
questionnaire.
Track the effort point burndown and velocity of your pilot project using scrum.
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