Agile Development

Software development process heavily regulated, regimented, micro-managed and restrictive?  GET AGILE!!!

At VistaTEC we understand that traditional methods of software development are not for everyone.  In today’s world, things change and they change fast.  Your company’s processes need to be Agile not only to keep up, but to try to get ahead of the market.

So what is Agile development and how can VistaTEC help you?

Agile software development refers to a group of methodologies that promotes software development by iteration, open collaboration, and process adaptability throughout the life-cycle of the project. It chooses to do things in small increments, with minimal planning, rather than plan at length. This helps to minimize the overall risk, and allows the project to adapt to changes more quickly. There is also an emphasis on stakeholder involvement. Meaning at the end of each iteration, the stakeholder is consulted about the product and comments are noted and acted upon.

Agile methods emphasise working software as the primary measure of progress. This means that you can:

   1. Get product to the market faster.
   2. Make improvements and modifications more efficiently and
   3. Increase your return on investment dramatically.

10 Principles of Agile Development

   1. Active user involvement is imperative
   2. The team must be empowered to make decisions
   3. Requirements evolve but the timescale is fixed
   4. Capture requirements at a high level
   5. Develop small, incremental releases and iterate
   6. Focus on frequent delivery of products
   7. Complete each feature before moving on to the next
   8. Apply the 80/20 rule – don’t labour over the esoteric
   9. Testing is integrated throughout the project lifecycle - test early and often
   10. A collaborative & co-operative approach between all stakeholders is essential

Localization & Agile Development
The agile development process suits a continuous translation model. That is why at VistaTEC our consultative approach to projects ensures that our clients get access to experts in the practice of agile development who listen and understand their objectives.

Localization needs to follow each iteration (both testing and translation) and our team of skilled and experienced localization professionals are there to advise and work with you at each step in the process. We would always recommend that localization be represented on your agile development team.

At VistaTEC our ability to plug in to your continuous workflow model and our adherence to your schedules mean that we are the ideal solutions provider to work through the agile development process with you.

If appropriate, we will seek to introduce value through new technologies or process such as machine translation to enhance the overall effectiveness of the development cycle.

Characteristics of Successful Agile Development

• Customer satisfaction by rapid, continuous delivery of useful software
• Working software is delivered frequently (weeks rather than months)
• Working software is the principal measure of progress
• Even late changes in requirements are welcomed
• Close, daily cooperation between business people and developers
• Face-to-face conversation is the best form of communication (Co-location)
• Projects are built around motivated individuals, who should be trusted
• Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design
• Simplicity
• Self-organizing teams
• Regular adaptation to changing circumstances

Let’s take this forward……
Contact the VistaTEC Productivity Solutions Group today at productivitysolutions@vistatec.ie for a FREE consultation with an experienced member of our team.