agile as a change enabler

Agile as a Change Enabler 11th Annual Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference (2013)

Presented by:Andrew PittVP, Financial ServicesIntelliware Development Inc.

© 2014 Intelliware Development Inc.

http://www.intelliware.com/

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Outline

• What is “Agile”?

• The Change Enabler

• Case Studies

• Questions & Answers



What is “Agile”?




The Agile Manifesto

“Agile” is defined by the “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” as:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

• Working software over comprehensive documentation

• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

• Responding to change over following a plan




Why do Agile?

Agile development focuses on:

• Customer satisfaction, working software and delivery of value.

• Facilitating changing requirements, even late in the project.

• Communication and collaboration.

• Sustainable pace of change.




What Agile is not…

Some myths about Agile development:

• No Documentation

• No Upfront Design/Architecture

• No Planning

• No Process




The business side

Agile is also about effective business change management:

• Manage risk by focusing on business priorities

• Turn big ideas into concrete smaller components

• Expect business value regularly

• Get comfortable with not getting everything at once



The Change Enabler




Why does technology change fail?

Studies show time and again the top reasons technology projects fail are:

• Lack of end-user involvement

• Poor/changing requirements

• Unrealistic schedules

• Inflexible and bloated processes




Establish a vision and trust

First find the vision and then trust the path will be found

• Business and technology are now intertwined

• Do enough discovery and planning to identify the future state and direction

• Trust in the people, process and technology to get started

• Guiding principles articulate the vision without locking down the solution




Manage risk

Technology projects are fundamentally a risk management exercise

• It’s about planning, not the plan

• Break things into manageable pieces

• Disciplined process bring delivery reliability and anchors the project

• Manage risk actively, not just through “mitigation plans”




Deliver early and often

Projects need to deliver quickly to establish credibility, and then keep going

• Agile roadmaps are a great way to contain the discovery phase

• We like to have something (even a prototype) in 30 days or less

• Focus on business value and priorities to

• Continuous delivery is key to avoiding “late in the game” surprises




Process and technology enablers

A few key Agile process and technology enablers to consider:

• Design seed, standards and simplicity

• Collaboration (Stand-ups, code sharing, retrospectives)

• Automation (Build, test, and deploy)

• Continuous Integration and Deployment



Insurance Case Studies




Case Study: Agile Planning for ECM

Problem: Company with a myriad of systems and data sources for supporting business processes and no Enterprise Content Management (ECM) strategy. Multiple failed attempts to get a project off the ground.

Solution: Conducted a roadmap using Agile story writing to develop the high level vision, scope, technology solution and plan (estimates and timeline) based on prioritized business requirements.

Outcome: A business case was developed for a Phase I project that would address the high priority business needs, lay the foundation for the longer term solution and drive ROI to help fund future phases.




Case Study: Incremental Re-platforming

Problem: Company saddled with a cumbersome legacy back office platform. Multi-year discussions on re-platforming without ever building a business case.

Solution: Tackled claims management as a high priority area. Used agile practices to manage a large build and integration project.

Outcome: An award winning solution solved a pressing business need. Early and often delivery used to gain confidence in the new path forward.




Case Study: Mobile Strategy

Problem: Company with multiple product lines was falling behind the competition without any mobile offering. Debate internally on what to offer was preventing action.

Solution: Listening to the business and customers, an Agile roadmap was used to determine the right technology solution for the future state and what product line to tackle first.

Outcome: The company has a mobile offering that satisfies the largest user group and is providing real feedback for moving forward. Technology platform is being proven and adjusted as appropriate.




Getting Started

A few thoughts on how to get started (or maybe get unstuck?):

• Pick a project with the right ingredients

• There is no perfect approach

• Give people the tools

• Educate, but don’t procrastinate

