Anyone who works in a consultancy surrounding the technology world has encountered one of the hottest buzz-phrases in the development project management world: agile development. You’ll often hear this phrase thrown around to clients and investors. You may even use it yourself. But if you set yourself up as an agile shop, will you suddenly be more successful with your clients and investors? Probably not.
Agile development has taken the programming world by storm, and for good reason. Being agile, by the very nature of the word, means you should be more adaptable, more honest with your outcomes and develop better software than your non-agile counterpart.
The idea is sound in theory, but when you add in budgets, deadlines, and the importance of impressing a client, this sound theory can quickly slam into the wall of reality. Target dates not being met, client’s confused about why their website looks half-done, and general misunderstandings about ‘target’ and ‘reach’ goals, can turn a shop from one of agile confidence into a five-alarm fire.
When assessing a new project, and the correct development flow to follow, it’s important to evaluate a few key client indicators before answering that seemingly harmless question, “what type of development flow does your shop follow?”
- Does this client just want things done or do they want to be a part of the development process?
- Are the deadlines hard-and-fast, or general targets for completion?
- Has the client been involved in development projects before or is this a relatively foreign or infrequent occurrence for them?
- Does the client see everything as a ‘required’ feature or have they been able to differentiate between ‘nice-to-have’ and ‘required’ features?
The answers to questions like these will help you assess whether an agile strategy is really the best fit for this client. Answers more towards ‘get it done’, ‘hard deadlines’ and a long list of ‘required’ features, might mean this client is not a great fit for an agile strategy.
It’s important to keep in mind that agile is only one of many different workflows available, and shouldn’t be the only game in town when it comes to finding the right fit for you and your client. Client’s and developers are all unique, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to managing a successful project. A professional development shop understands this and is versed in a multitude of workflows to adapt to the needs of their clientele. Whether that workflow is agile, or not, is a decision you should make only after careful consideration of the type of client you have in front of you.
If you have questions about agile development, contact KnockMedia at 1-800-889-9316.