Key Benefits of Agile Development for SAP – Part 2
Agile Development for SAP Benefit #2 Visibility
The second classic benefit is full visibility and it’s closely related to the first benefit of reduced risk.
Because we don’t have a large spec to build off we have to talk to the customer frequently, this can take many forms but the most common are:
- Product Managers / Developers present user stories to the organization/ customer in Show & Tells
- Product Managers attend daily stand ups
- Product Managers are part of the sprint planning team
- Product Managers attend sprint retrospectives
This is important because we catch “hey that’s not what I wanted” early in the cycle. We definitely don’t disappear into Code Caves (you know who you are!) to geek out on cool tech that nobody wants or needs.
Agile Development for SAP Benefit #3 Adaptability
Is adaptability even a word?
The third classic benefit of Agile Development is Adaptability. Being adaptable allows the ability to course correct, to deviate from our original plan and look for new solutions.
We need to be adaptable because we can’t foresee all of the issues that we will have to overcome. Frequently we will also question the problem that we’re solving and sometimes this results in the problem definition changing.
Now, because we’re not locked into the straightjacket of a spec, and because the customer and supplier accept the inherent uncertainty in this approach we can adapt as our knowledge of the problem and solution evolve.
In my next agile blog I’m going to share some of the traps that I’ve avoided and walked into! Like estimating, cultural challenges and loss of control to name but just a handful.
In the meantime, if you want to see how to run Agile for SAP check out this ebook.
