The arguments for an agile approach to IT,
particularlyagile software
development, are well established, writes
BT's agile advocateRoger
Leaton.
Organisations can minimise the impact of business change by
increasing collaboration between the business and IT functions. The
IT department can then deliver prioritised functionality faster and
more frequently, thus reducing budget overruns.
Many problems arise on large IT projects because software
development teams do not adapt the project to reflect continually
changing customer requirements. Business priorities evolve during
the project lifecycle, making it virtually impossible for the
customer to predict all their requirements at the start of a
project that could last months or years.
Clearly, a more flexible approach to software development is
needed, which has led to the emergence of the agile approach to
development.
Implementing agile IT within an organisation such as BT is
challenging. BT's IT function employs more than 14,000 people,
6,000 of them offshore, and 80,000 people in the business need to
collaborate with IT for various reasons.
To transform an organisation this size to a radically different
approach is a long-term undertaking. In the three years since BT
started its agile initiative, agile software development has been
rolled out to about 30% of our IT projects. It is very much a work
in progress.
The important thing to remember is that agile is not just a
technical solution but a business-wide activity that
requires input from the business as well as IT. Agile can
enable businesses of all sizes to maintain flexibility and manage
change, but only if they allow and support these changes. Two of
the key success factors for agile are senior management support and
the involvement of a business decision-maker in the development
teams.
Agile transformation should be approached in small steps, with
functionality delivered in smaller, more frequent increments all
the way through a project. Each step should then be evaluated
before deciding on the next activity. The business constantly sets
the priorities and the IT function responds.
Because each delivery phase is short, the incremental costs are
modest. And because each phase delivers standalone business value,
it can generate profit quickly. Capital expenditure is limited and,
even if a project is cancelled before completion, there is business
value in what has already been delivered.
The key is to deliver what the business needs at project
completion, not what was required when it signed off the project.
That is the main difference between agile and traditional software
development. It is important to do the delivery right, but it is
more important to deliver the right thing.
Like agile software development itself, the transformation of
the organisation to the agile approach should be gradual and
focused. Businesses must recognise that they can - indeed, must -
mix old and new approaches to development and provide the right
support systems to manage the interface between agile and
traditional teams.
Agile need not stop with the IT department. Within BT we are now
considering applying the same agile principles to other business
functions. Agile is not an overnight solution. But the benefits far
outweigh the time, effort and risk involved. Agile can, and does,
transform any organisation.
Roger Leaton is agile advocate at BT
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