Customers are not expected to worry about the development methodology used in developing their software. However, the fact is, they do worry! They worry about things like –
– What if the development team has not understood my requirements clearly? – What happens if the end product does not match specifications?
– Does the development team have a clear domain knowledge to really understand what I want my product to accomplish?
For development teams, the above translates into practical technical challenges. After all, customers are not expected to be explicit at the beginning of a project regarding what they want from the product. This is because a product is the result of an idea and only when the idea takes shape does its real identity emerge. Product specifications are therefore dynamic and as a result incorporating changes when the product is nearly mature can cause confusion to the development team, resulting in bugs and issues which in turn can lead to delayed timelines and added costs.
Secondly, more often than not, hardware and software requirements are finalized at the outset. However, as the product evolves, the chosen tools and hardware may not be completely suitable, once again leading to cost escalation and slipped timelines.
Thirdly, there can be discrepancies if customer requirements are not clearly understood. All flaws come to the fore at the end and by then it may be too late. Incorporating changes can result in shifted deadlines, increased costs, and delayed releases – all of which can add to the overall cost of the project.
Scrum
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel and one method which ensures that software companies empower their customers to react to market needs is the Agile / Scrum Methodology. Trigent, for example, routinely uses Scrum project management framework with engineering best practices across several projects.
Agile methodology is a conceptual framework with multiple methods for software development. One of the most popular methods is Scrum which minimizes risk and maximizes profits. As a lightweight framework, Scrum comes with broad applicability which empowers iterations and increments during the project’s evolution. It also focuses on team and task management and this becomes crucial for projects which are constantly being viewed and reviewed by both project owners and end customers.
To know more, download whitepaper: Building Software in an Agile Manner
