The Principles behind the Agile Manifesto
Every company out there eventually acquires a process that becomes embedded in their culture. CodeCoda’s belief in excellence has brought the Agile manifesto as a most vital day-to-day tool. We live it, breathe it, and manage to achieve a high balance and innovation level through it. If we are the fuel, Agile is the engine that burns it clean.
As an established IT managed services provider, we adopted many principles that remain our trusted guideline to customer excellence.
Uninterrupted delivery
Our highest priority remains customer satisfaction through early and continuous delivery of useful and usable software. Every early delivery reduced the discrepancy between the set plan and the initial execution. Although the first delivery is crucial to both customer and provider, all subsequent deliveries carry equal importance, must come regularly and without delay.
Any delivery disruptions have the power to erode the delicate relationship between a client and its vendor. We deliver working pieces of software frequently, every week or month, with a shorter timescale preference. If our work in progress reaches a stage where client feedback is possible, we immediately use the opportunity and send it for a review.
Allow late development changes
We welcome changing requirements, even in late development. We also use the Waterfall methodology, but when it comes to doing changes after things are already in full swing, Agile comes to the rescue. Our approach is such that it harnesses the customer’s changes, especially with an apparent competitive advantage. We understand that project success relies on sternly following an approved plan. However, keeping an open mind helps maximize the potential gain or effect. In the business of custom software development, the mere thought of making changes mid-development causes most programmers to hold their heads with both hands. In our work line, potentials for improvement overrule the planned route. In the name of excellence, we readily discuss, approve, and implement late development project changes.
The Right Team for the Right Job
Excellent software products always come from a team effort—our teams of specialist’s range in skills, knowledge, work ethics, and aspirations. Bringing a diverse crowd like this into a common denominator can sometimes seem like the work of magic. Designers have entirely different mindsets than developers, and both taken together are nothing like the business people that become their clients. To make any project a success, everyone must participate throughout all the project phases. With Agile’s simultaneous workflows, our teams work closely together, share accomplishments and problems, and deal with both collectively.
Special projects like best architecture designs always emerge from self-organizing teams. At regular intervals, the team members should reflect on becoming more effective, adjust their behavior, and aim for a better route forward. But the initial requirement is the internal motivation of your team, on an individual level.
Flawless Customer Communication
The most efficient method for conveying information within a development team is face-to-face conversation. We use emails or live chat work as a complementary form of a dialog. However, unless the client determines their favorite communication channel explicitly, face-to-face makes a difference, especially on project milestones.
Must work
Your software engineers may be the best professionals on the block, but if they fail to deliver working prototypes, they might as well choose a different calling. We sternly believe that whatever you decide to submit to your customer must be a working tool. It sounds overly simplistic to keep up with project scope and expectations, but it often saves projects that deviate from the desirable or the possible.
Suppose you buy a toaster that doesn’t work. Before you find the opportunity to return or replace it, you are stuck with metal junk. But this is even more valid in software development – the product is practically invisible to the client unless they can interact with a working version, showcasing at least some of the planned functionalities.
Before you present the first operating version, the client’s impression comes solely from what they read in the contract. Having a neatly organized project documentation is more than just a good idea. The prototype must work and match what the customer expected. Prototypes should give a glimpse of the final product without looking unfinished or have some semi-completed functionalities.
Aim for the best, and prepare for the worst
Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility. This condition means that specialized experience increases the options you have in front of you dramatically. We noticed that it also promotes essential aspects of personal and professional development. Our Agile manifesto has it clear – the process of getting better never stops.
Simplicity
Project complexity is for the project manager and developers to deal with. Technology is precious for its ability to organize complex processes into an easy-to-use final product. What great apps have in common is their simplicity when it comes to using them. All the under-the-hood action makes it possible, but technology’s complexity remains outside users’ interaction. We have this notion embedded in our mission and never compromise the usability aspect of our projects. Our customer-centric approach prevents us from stepping out of this boundary. Simple is better – this is what we came up with in tech in the first place – to simplify what we already have on our plate.
The role of the Agile approach for project success
Agile promotes sustainable development. The constant and indefinite pace between all participants under its influence is incredible. Sponsors, developers, and users are all groups with entirely different sets of motivations, desires, and expectations. Yet, they coexist in one ecosystem where everyone involved enjoys their benefits and where progress gets rewarded.
