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2017/10/09 17:06:11

Supersets, relays and high-speed sports cars races – sports agile approach to project implementation process

The main difference of methodology of agile from last methods of development consists in understanding that during the project everything can change. Therefore important it is also necessary to consider these changes that the project deliverable most fully satisfied its business objectives and carried out assigned tasks. Experts of GKS (JSC Gruppa Sistematika) told about the most popular flexible methodologies of development and experience of their application in the heading TADetails.

Content

In implementation process of all variety of the GKS projects implements different classes of information systems: with different functionality (ERP CRM ECM etc.), directed to all categories of users: from clients, partners to top managers and the staff of functional divisions.

Within all these implementations agile philosophy elements are applied. This philosophy created a class of methodologies of project management which includes: Scrum, Kanban, XP (eXtreme Programming), Lean, FDD (Feature Driven Development) and others.


Key characteristics of philosophy of agile are formulated in the manifesto:

1. People and interaction is more important than processes and tools;

2. The working product is more important than exhaustive documentation;

3. Cooperation with the customer is more important than contract negotiation;

4. Readiness for changes is more important than following to the initial plan.

Thus, without denying importance of the fact that on the right, after all is more appreciated that at the left.

The main lack of former cascade approach to project management that no living man all things can and initially to analyze and describe a task so ideally and in detail that during the project there were no changes and turned out at the end the necessary result. Some parts often clear up only in the course of work on the project. Possible inaccuracies at information transfer between people are added to it. The error which is the most difficult for correcting is an error at a problem definition stage when it is necessary to redo work.

Scrum

One of the most popular flexible methodologies is Scrum. In it work is separated into accurate short cycles which are not recommended to be increased on duration. The project team passes precisely on a cycle, at the same time it works as a uniform command with the customer. At the beginning of each cycle the task is set, after its termination results are represented and discussed with it. Actually the customer is directly involved in a project team during development. On the following cycle the new task is set or specified current if requirements changed. Thus, work is performed by a prototyping method by gradual approach to a final result of the project.

Though Scrum methodology is also called flexible on approach to achievement of the end result, at its use rules of work are rather tightly regulated, including recurrence, duration of cycles, joint participation in a project team of the customer and the contractor, the organization of process of work of a command.

It is possible to compare Scrum to the fitness training organized by the principle of supersets. Exercises in such training are executed in a tough sheaf with each other with accurately fixed number of repetitions and intervals of rest between approaches that helps to achieve desirable result in time.

Important difference of Scrum from a traditional project management methodology is that in the classical scheme detailed examination and requirement analysis of the customer is initially conducted, the terms of reference, work on which happens further without deviations, form and affirm. At application of flexible methodologies the analysis and refining of requirements does not stop before obtaining the end result, and the initial vector of development can change on the project course.

Other difference is that the command always works together with the customer, he is not torn off from the project, and actively involved in all processes happening in the project.

One more important difference – transparency of process of work on the project. The customer sees intermediate results upon termination of each operating cycle, has an opportunity to make changes to final release. In traditional methodology the result of development is represented to the customer only at the end of the project and if he is dissatisfied, work should be redone.

Kanban

One more of popular flexible methodologies – Kanban. In it the panel for visualization on which cards visually note the current problems and stages of their accomplishment is used. All production stages are separated into columns: "to accomplishment", "in process", "on check", "is made", and specialists note at what stage there is each task, and consistently transfer her further.

Main idea of methodology of Kanban: each task should be as soon as possible carried out. The status of accomplishment of tasks is regularly traced and if something "hung up" at one stage, resources of a command are thrown on this section to shift process of accomplishment of a task further and to complete it as soon as possible.

The technique of Kanban can be compared to relay: each participating athlete of relay aims to complete the phase as soon as possible and in time to pass the baton on the next stage.

XP (eXtreme Programming)

Efficiently hard work over the project the XP method (eXtreme Programming) in which many variations behind one workplace there are two specialists is. For example, the developer writes the code, and the customer right there checks the received result.

XP can be compared to a car racing when the driver and the navigator drive the car.

GKS often executes difficult large-scale projects in which it is impossible to provide all subtleties and parts right at the beginning and to specify in terms of reference. Need of use of flexible approaches to accomplishment of such projects is obvious. Experts of GKS in sales of complex projects aim to achieve that the result was useful, operable, met requirements of the customer, and the created GKS of a system were long and effectively used. It is especially important in projects of custom development of information systems in which in each case the new unique software product which did not exist earlier is created, and amendments of a task appear on the project course.

During the work on projects with the help of flexible model of development when the direction of development is specified on the course, there can be a question: how to keep track of the status of execution of the project? Unlike cascade model where work goes step by step, and the standing tasks are carried out consistently, so, it is possible to estimate how many they and what part of the project is implemented, at agile development are an open question.

For its solution managers of projects of GKS use a special report form about the project status which contains a relevant list of implementable functions of a system and documents and a stage of their implementation and allows the customer to keep track of the status of project implementation.

Using Kanban method elements, the GKS joint command consisting of the contractor and the customer notes postadiyno that it is made whether the document is ready, whether function is implemented, whether it is tested and is set on production environment.

Examples

Let's review the examples illustrating application of flexible methodologies in the GKS projects.

Project 1. A personal account of the client for the power company

The customer from the power industry for whom the personal account of the client was required addressed to GKS. Main goal of the project: the client can be connected to the electric networks without arrival to office of the energy company.

At the beginning of the project the direction of works was conceptually set and also there was an industry standard what functions should be implemented in a personal account of the client of such company. The project was executed by a joint creative command with the customer. Special attention was paid to development of design and design of the user interface of a system, convenient and clear for clients of the company.

The joint project team was regularly gathered, discussed what there has to be future system, based on discussion models of the interface prepared and the dynamic prototype of a system was shown, then it was again discussed, adjusted and again shown to a project team. Several times the concept of the interface was processed. As a result it is iterative was a system which suited the customer and was pleasant to clients is developed.

Thanks to features of flexible approach during system development wizards – the dynamic instructions explaining to the client clearly what to do and where to address in his situation were thought up. By drawing up instructions relied on frequently asked questions with which clients address to the company. The purpose it was intelligible, to explain with language clear to the client how to undergo the procedure necessary to it.

The customer was especially interested in implementation of this project because Russia participates in the world ranking of investment attractiveness of Doing Business where one of evaluation criteria is availability of power infrastructure to entrepreneurs. Successful implementation of this project and start of a system in operation in total with many other projects allowed to upgrade the rating of investment attractiveness of Russia among other countries of the world.

Project 2. A corporate system for insurance company

The task of development of the corporate accounting system of individual requirements of insurance company was set for experts of GKS. Work was conducted together with the customer. He was directly involved in determination of business requirements, testing, implementation of results on production environment and training of personnel for work with a system.

In the project Kanban approach elements were actively used. All tasks were conducted in an accounting system and managements, each of tasks went through all necessary stages: initiation, formation of business requirements, determination of a priority and inclusion in the development plan, the analysis and development of functional requirements, design, development, testing, installation on production environment and implementation.

Each such task was considered as the mini-project which participants of a command aimed to carry out from beginning to end as soon as possible, according to a task priority. The project board carried out monitoring how many tasks were on each of stages: setting, development, testing. If there was an overload on setting, additional resources of analysts of the customer or contractor were added there if on development – resources of developers were redistributed. Work was organized so that business users could receive required result as soon as possible.

Project 3. The system of project document flow for the energy company

In this project a system was created by step-by-step prototyping and demonstration of intermediate results to key users of the customer. Documentation of a system was executed in parallel based on demonstrations of a working prototype of a system.

The project task was to create a convenient electronic management system for technical project document flow in the company and to implement regulations of electronic approval of the project documentation. Before all technical project document flow in the company was paper that was extremely inconvenient. It delayed for months approval process as the staff of many branches of the company, and respectively a possibility of the beginning of construction of facilities for which consumers waited was involved. Also the risk of loss of documents increased.

The system developed by GKS allowed to transfer process of document flow to an electronic form and to carry out approval much quicker, in the parallel mode to approve difficult technical documents according to sections according to a responsibility matrix of divisions. As a result the customer had an opportunity to carry out approval of bigger volume of the project documentation to a short time, as much as possible to parallelize work as way of simultaneous connection to the system of technical experts of geographically distributed divisions and branches of the company. Also during the project the electronic archive of the project documentation with convenient remote access for all interested divisions was created.

The software platform of Documentum xCP selected from the project allowed to prepare quickly a working prototype of a system on early project stage and to show it to the key users who entered into the working group of the project from the customer. All wishes and notes of users were entered at once both to terms of reference, and to a working prototype of a system. Further passed to discussion and implementation of the following system module.

Actually working system appeared along with the project documentation on it. Thus, consecutive completion of a prototype of a system allowed to implement the final result suiting the customer.

Additional benefit of such approach to the project was that key users of the customer did not need to read the large volume of the difficult technical project documentation and to try to visualize for itself the IT solutions offered in it. The received result in the form of a working prototype of an information system could be looked and given to it the offers and notes at once. As the result, in the shortest possible time was succeeded to receive the ready system suiting the customer, to put it into operation and to connect users.

Influence of agile-methodologies on cost and terms of project implementation for the customer

According to experts of GKS in sales of complex products, the cost and terms of the project at its implementation using agile-methodologies become optimal as assessment of the tasks implemented in the project is made while each task becomes clearest and relevant. All concerned parties understand need of its implementation and the requirement, at the same time approach to implementation and necessary resources are defined.

Approach allows to carry out a task within restrictions of the budget and precisely to the required term as contractors undertake not a global major long-term problem, and implement precisely what is required at present to the customer.

See Also

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