Agile tracking of a Waterfall model project
Today Agile methodology is getting used widely across companies to handle software development effectively. Agile is more adaptive to changing realities surrounding a project. Such projects are able to respond to unpredictability and changes effectively.
While Agile is more adaptive, Waterfall methodology is more predictive. In a predictive method, there is detailed planning done for the future and thus it is easier to predict where the project will be at the end of a farther point of time.
I would like to share my personal experience in working in a project that managed to blend both of these methodologies for effective management and succeed in achieving customer delight. This project started off in the waterfall model. There was a very clear mandate on when this project needed to be rolled out. Accordingly a very detailed project plan was created with details of different phases that need to be executed with dates, deliverables, dependencies etc.
Today all CRM green field implementations are complex involving many semi-independent tracks having their own deliverables and interdependencies. The current scenario I am talking about involved a program that was rebuilding the entire infrastructure for their business partners and hence involved development of multiple applications that were to be integrated using an identified middleware. Also corresponding data conversion programs for sun-setting of current systems were to be executed simultaneously. So there were multiple tracks and teams in the program handling application development, middleware development, infrastructure, data conversion etc. There was an intense need to make the different teams work together as a well oiled machine with effective communication and tracking of the dependencies.
This is where we managed to utilize Agile methodology while still progressing forward on the milestones set by our waterfall methodology project plan.
The most acknowledged advantage of Agile methodology is the ability to provide tangible deliverables to the customer in short time periods utilizing incremental releases. Here we were no going to utilize this advantage. However another great advantage of Agile, the ability to ensure effective communication and collaboration between different teams and management, was what we wanted. Agile allows for effective flow of feedback, acknowledgement and assistance between the project teams allowing for creation of a more responsible and cohesive unit.
I will explain how we managed to do so in detail in my next post. If anyone has similar experiences or wants to share suggestions on Agile methodology, please feel free to comment.
