Welcoming Change Whilst in the Realm of Agile Software Development

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One of the most difficult principles of Agile Software Development to actually implement is the principle of welcoming change. Two of the statements of values in the Agile manifesto are:

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over carrying out a plan
Both of these statements result in the theory that Agile Software Development welcomes changes from customers and other stakeholders in the project. The Software Development team aims to assemble feedback by developing frequent releases through developing the program in some iterations. A customer, changing their minds regarding the requirements of a project, isn't seen as a problem, which is often in sharp contrast to what sort of lot of methodologies approach the topic of requirements changing. This incorporation of feedback and customer involvement can be an important contribution to the success of Agile methodologies as it results in the development of software that customers want. Following this principle is not any easy task as the application of this principle needs to start at the beginning of a project. Guides to implementing Agile Software Development frequently mention the role of the executive sponsor, and other business oriented roles inside a company which have to buy-in and support an initiative to introduce Agile Software Development. But in a Software Development company that develops bespoke software directly for customers, the business enterprise people in the company have to understand and adhere to the principles of Agile Software Development likewise.

There may be support for Agile Software Development in a project of most members but the general perception amongst the business people is that it's one area which the developers do, and does not directly concern them. Just as much of the material on Agile Software Development does specifically concern Software Development teams, that's quite an understandable assumption to make. In a company developing bespoke software, the client needs to be made alert to the type of an Agile Software Development project, and a contract must be negotiated that is compatible with the chosen methodology. And it's really the business those who are associated with a project that always hold the responsibility of setting the customer's expectations for a project and negotiating the contract.

Customers not really familiar with Software Development expect that when negotiating a new project with a Software Development company that the process is quite like purchasing another goods and services. Your client explains what they want, they agree a price together with a delivery date, and the customer then waits for it to be achieved. The Software Development company will not want to challenge these expectations for the fear of making a customer uncomfortable, and potentially losing their business. This often results in a binding agreement that mirrors these expectations. The client continues to expect that the program, by the release date, will be ready and do everything the client wants, and they just need to wait.

However it is inevitable that the customer will need to provide feedback on the program and will be very keen to make some changes. In the above scenario the client will probably find themselves giving their feedback at a time towards the release date if they actually get to see the software.

These changes are unlikely to be very welcome to the program Development company at this point. Used these requests for changes results in friction between your customer and the Software Development company, possibly causing arguments between the company and the customer. The company will believe that these requirements wasn't specified originally once the contract was signed and demand additional cash to implement these changes. If the customer agrees, a new contract will need to be negotiated. However the company may consent to do these changes free of charge given that the customer is without a doubt quite upset that the software does not do what the customer wants. The more often these changes are handled free of charge; the company gets nearer to generating a loss on the project. In both these scenarios, the project will be late.

If the development team itself is wanting to be Agile and is developing the project in iterations, the case is frequently improved through getting feedback from the customer earlier on in the project. But if the contract remains to be the same, these changes will still be unwelcome to the business enterprise people linked to the project. They will be seen as a supplementary expense and the developers are going to be instructed to extend enough time on making these changes until a fresh or revised contract could be negotiated. Once the people perceive that changes will undoubtedly be happening between iterations and that needs addressing, they ought to recognise that a new approach is going to be required in future for making new contracts with customers. A highly effective option that they might choose is to try to breakdown the 'development' of the project into separate, ready planned phases and get this to the substance of the contract. This approach doesn't challenge the customer's expectations of being certain of the outcome of a project, therefore it appears such as a safe option. In the beginning of a project, a person is frequently quite positive they know what they desire to. Used, actually seeing and utilizing the software might probably make the customer think about the project in much more depth than that they had previously.

This phased method of making contracts is not going to solve the issue of welcoming changes and introduces new problems. Once the first phase of the project completes, the customer gets to use the software for the very first time and starts making requests for changes. As a consequence the next phase should be planned again. If the original phases were time estimated then the next phase will require a new estimation from the development team. And the business people will have to create a new contract for the next phase. Normally, this approach will demand a big administrative overhead for relatively small amounts of work. The customer may also be likely to get impatient over the length of time it takes just to get some more work done. More steps need to be taken to effectively develop within an iterative fashion.

In an ideal scenario, individuals setting the customer's expectations for the project could have bought in to the concept of Agile Software Development and grasp the principles involved. They might have the duty of also convincing the customer of these benefits and negotiating a contract that is effective with their chosen methodology. remote patient monitoring program Three typical customer expectations will be challenged during this process:

that they already know just what they want
that they can be sure of what to expect by the end of the project
that the Software Development company is exclusively in charge of the success of the project
To convince the customer that developing the project the Agile way may be beneficial; the benefits have to be emphasised:

That they can change their minds if they want, when they want
Their changes will be incorporated directly into their application quickly with minimal administrative overhead
They will not have to wait long to see their changes in the software
The application developed will be what they want it to be not now but what they need on the release date
They will have an important role in guiding the development of the project throughout its development
There are of course trade-offs for these benefits:

The customer can not be certain what they're certain to get at the finish of the project when signing the contract
The criteria for the success of the project changes with time and can not be stated explicitly in the contract as a detailed specification
The customer must take a keen role participating in the project. The project's success all hangs on on the potency of the collaboration between your customer and the Software Development team.
The customer will have to prioritise their changes, choosing which ones are developed first and which of them have to be dropped when necessary
A compatible contract will not state an in depth project plan, and make that plan a binding agreement for the Software Development company. General, advanced level requirements will be used because the success criteria for the project.

In exchange the contract will enable the customer to request changes to the project once the customer wants to. A formal definition of how changes are handled will undoubtedly be included in the contract. This definition will match the methodology used by the Software Development team. With most Agile methodologies this will mean that the development team will incorporate these changes in the next iteration following a change request from the customer. The contract will also not contain specific time estimations for advanced requirements. It'll instead contain an iteration schedule. A contract that welcomes change is a contract that does not must be changed.

While the process described is called change, this term doesn't accurately describe the all that is taking place. A changing business environment can motivate changes in requirements but what is happening most often may be the creation of new ideas for the software from both the customers and the development team. It really is part of the creative process that makes the program and it is definitely something that ought to be welcomed.