Three Reasons to Include Agile in Your Software Engineering Strategy

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Digital platform and product development is at the center of modern enterprise business strategies. Agile adoption supports software engineering because it helps teams move fast, work efficiently, and continuously innovate to deliver high-quality products and services.

By 2023, digitally transformed enterprises are forecast to account for 53.3 trillion U.S. dollars – more than half of the overall nominal GDP. Today, it is impossible to ignore the need for digital platforms and product development. However, despite the massive projected economic impact, software engineering journeys remain a challenge for many.

When teams need to work more efficiently and rapidly adapt to change, software methodology matters. With distributed teams on the rise, sometimes across the globe, an Agile approach is ideal for getting software to market in a dynamic environment. Through the principles of Agile, software development adapts to change and enables teams to deliver a better customer experience.

There are many reasons for Agile adoption. However, these three reasons support Agile for digital platforms and product development:

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1. Agile Adoption was Big in 2020

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a rise in Agile adoption. A Digital.ai survey conducted in May 2020 revealed that 43 percent of organizations experienced increased momentum for Agile adoption over the prior 90 days. Further, 33 percent increased or expanded Agile adoption in the previous 90 days to help manage distributed teams.

The pandemic shaped the future of work in many ways, and despite economic challenges, organizations increased their focus on Agile Adoption -as seen in the survey. However, despite its growth, there is room for more adoption across the enterprise – because it is less likely that all teams are Agile across the organization (only 18 percent according to the State of Agile report).

2. Successful Agile is Profitable

Agile allows organizations to quickly respond to market changes while maintaining software quality. At its best, Agile enables the organization to keep up with demands and continue delivering an excellent customer experience – the key to any successful software engineering strategy. Further, Agile adoption is profitable for many.

The Harvard Business Review demonstrated proof of Agile’s effectiveness when it reported that 60 percent of companies experience revenue growth and increased profits after using an Agile approach. Non-agile methods, such as waterfall still exist today – but the siloed and inflexible nature of the methodology can make it more difficult to accomplish successful digital platform and product development in the rapidly changing business landscape.

Although Agile methods show evidence of strong ROI, careful consideration must be taken before adoption. It is imperative to understand the ‘how, when and why’ before implementing the approach. The path to Agile maturity is not always clear and easy. According to the 2020 State of Agile report, 54% of respondents adopted agile methods, but were still maturing and not yet at a level of high competency. Before jumping into Agile or any software engineering approach, a company must carefully consider all possible options.

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3. Agile Adoption Opens the Door for Innovation

Rooted in collaboration, Agile methodologies can help teams meet rapidly changing deliverables that challenge software engineering initiatives. When teams across the organization take on this Agile approach, work becomes more efficient and less time is wasted on unnecessary cycles of work. This leads to more engaged teams who have the ability to focus on innovation and delighting the customer, rather than getting bogged down by siloed processes.

With a coordinated and adaptable Agile approach, teams are freed up to experiment and find new ways to improve the customer experience. While companies invest more in digital platform and product development, they gain the ability to innovate while continuing to deliver high-quality products and services.

Agile development focuses on continuously improving the customer experience. According to the core principles of Agile, the “highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.” By incorporating Agile adoption into a software engineering strategy, the enterprise advances the customer focus and is ready to adapt at any given time to market change. For these reasons, an Agile approach should be strongly considered for any software engineering strategy.

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Source : JAXenter