Change is constant. You know that.
So whether it takes the form of a fickle customer who keeps changing the requirements of a software project or something much bigger like an industry shift, you must anticipate change. There’s just no way around it.
More important, however: you must be able to redirect quickly and still produce high-quality work that meets the needs of your customers and markets.
That’s why you can’t rely on rigid plan-guided approaches to software development. Those outdated methods force your team to finalize critical details and executive decisions too early in the process, making it extremely difficult – if not impossible – for you to adapt to change. You simply can’t maneuver quickly enough to keep projects on track or to satisfy your customers.
However, Agile software management offers you the flexibility to adjust on the fly, meet stakeholders’ needs, and resolve issues that undoubtedly will pop up. Because you work in short intervals, testing each step of the way, you can catch problems early, make adjustments as needed, shorten delivery and release phases, and outperform competitors.
Agile software management and the Scaled Agile Framework for enterprise (SAFe) for larger, more complicated infrastructures allows you to:
1. Satisfy customers
With feed-back oriented Agile processes, customers can weigh in and request adjustments throughout the course of the project – and you can easily make those changes – so customers are happier with the end result.
2. Begin work faster
Because you can flesh out and tweak projects as you go, you don’t need to spend months outlining specs. You need to plan just enough to get started.
3. Catch problems early
Bugs and other problems don’t make it past early iterations, so you avoid costly and time-consuming rework.
4. Keep everyone on the same page
Everyone from the c-suite down can track the project, ensuring that you meet all stakeholders’ expectations.
5. Improve productivity
With full transparency, regular communication, and the ability to address problems as soon as they occur, your team works more efficiently and gets more done in a shorter amount of time.
6. Forecast more accurately
You can more effectively set timetables for project completions and ship dates. In addition, you can more closely forecast expenses, keeping the project on budget.
It’s simple. Problems occur. You adapt. Changes are required. You adapt. And you do so without killing your productivity or bottom line. Ultimately, you end up with a better end-product and happier customers.
7. Align and adapt your processes that are consistent with your enterprise
Agile and Enterprise SAFe provides a natural view of the organization that is not constrained by specific object types or their relationships. This allows you to align your practices around common process objectives while providing the capability to adapt them to your unique needs and culture, including the ability to customize not only actual roles or practices, but any aspect to that process, value-flow, or cultural aspect.
8. Outperform competitors
Agile embraces the most important management responsibility: to measure improvement, progress, and return on investments (ROI). The flexibility that Agile offers means that management can better leverage processes to support short delivery cycles and release phases and outperform the competition.
9. Apply Agile processes organization-wide to drive efficiency
Scrum only covers development teams, but the need to remain lean and agile is a constant throughout any organization. Tempo’s Agile tools support these processes and initiatives throughout your business, including marketing, HR, and legal. Planning, tracking, and reporting on projects and issues is a need that remains constant company-wide.
Support your teams with productive, humane, and sustainable tools that deliver long-term value.
Atlassian’s JIRA is a project and issue tracking software platform which enables users to capture and organize issues, assign work, and help teams get the job done.
Tempo for JIRA simplifies your Agile efforts, offering flexibility to your team leads, project managers, and scrum masters to adapt and pivot as circumstances require, while also adapting to fit your broader organizational goals. Tempo supports Agile methodologies throughout the full lifecycle of software development projects, from defining requirements, through funding and development, to operations. Our mission is to empower teams to create, improve, and deliver on time and on budget, matching strategic goals with reality. Our solutions enable teams work smarter, easier, and more efficiently.
Whether you are brand new to Agile software management, have dabbled a bit, or are a full-on expert, Tempo’s solutions can help you follow Agile methodologies – all while staying lean and increasing your productivity.
Used alone with JIRA and JIRA Agile or in tandem with one another, our full suite of solutions will improve your planning, budgeting, tracking and adapting.
