The review of milestones and deliverables show that the Agile Techniques project has achieved virtually all that it set out to. Any outstanding issues are currently being worked on outside of the Agile Techniques project. This can happen because the knowledge transfer from S23M has allowed our organisation to continue the work on our own. Knowledge transfer was a key goal of the Agile Techniques project. Our organisation needs to sustain the development and maintenance of quality software in a repeatable and predictable fashion without relying on external consultants.
Another area of major frustration and concern for the business was the application of agile techniques at what appeared to be mid-way through the project, giving the impression we were starting over. In a way we were, but would have had to even without agile techniques on the scene. This is because the previous analyst had left, and a new team had to go through the learning curve – they were effectively starting over anyway. All in all, the feeling of the team is that ultimately the project has not suffered as a result. I see this as testament to the techniques used, in that if we can regain so much ground on our first real-life application of these techniques, then it bodes well for when we are truly proficient in their use.
We now have a core team in our organisation – those that were involved in the Pilot Application Development project – that are proficient in using the agile techniques introduced as part of the project. The core team can apply these techniques in a repeatable manner without any hand holding from external resources. Other Business Analysts within our organisation have started to use these techniques in their work also. Whilst it is not possible to have the Pilot Application Development project team involved in all projects, the QA processes that resulted from the Agile Techniques project will ensure that other project teams have the guidelines and templates available to them and will be able to draw on the knowledge of the core team.
Ruben van der Lee
Deputy GM, Computer Services Group
