In the business of software development, delivering the best results within the optimal time is the best you can do to serve the clients. Quality project deliverance yields satisfied customers that keep the wheels of any business spinning.
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) circumscribes many Project Management tools and techniques that in essence keep a project running. Projects have different levels of complexity. A lot of factors weigh in when it comes to deciding which process models, tools and techniques are required to accomplish the obligatory upshots.
As far as the process models are concerned, there are basically two to be named- Waterfall Model and Agile Model. While waterfall is a gambling model of software development, Agile is the iterative model that ensures trouble-free, well-timed and section-by-section delivery of a particular project.
Even though Agile and Waterfall models have their own pros and cons, we are going to converse only about Agile Model of Software Development in this article…
What is Agile Methodology?
Agile methodology of software development endorses the ‘continuous iterative model’ of development and testing in the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) of a particular project. There is time-to-time concurrence of development and testing activities that will help the team in finding any possible occurrence of errors in a prompt manner.
Webdura has several prominent projects of which TROVA is one. TROVA is an online gig platform with the conduct of social media. It is an all-in-one platform where people can find a whole lot of business under a single roof. In the TROVA page, the business creators congregate with the prospective customers thus enunciating a virtual commercial space in the web world.
TROVA follows the Agile model of software development that ensures a smooth deliverance of the application’s performance with minimal errors at each development stage. As an online gig platform, TROVA is inclined to recurrent updates. There is always a new feature to be added that can be accomplished within less than a sprint. The collaboration of our team with clients in the Agile model has always helped in minimizing errors irrespective of how complex or simple a new requirement is!
Webdura follows the Agile framework for all of its projects. It is our delight to walk you through how TROVA perfectly exemplifies the Agile model of software development in the coming parts.
TROVA follows continuous releases and continuous feedback with iteration of Agile Project Management. TROVA has several advantages like development speed, improved teamwork, fine-tune to the latest market trends etc.
How Workflow is managed in TROVA under Agile Framework?
- Team Communication
Through Slack communications, TROVA team members are always task-coupled. There is frequent communications happening between team members so that the information shared by the client is properly communicated- basically everyone is aware of what the new requirement is!
Topic centric chat rooms, groups and DMs (Direct Messaging) can all be handled through Slack thereby bridging any possible communication gap between TROVA team members. Through a public channel like Slack, our team can find alternate ways of communicating other than mails and texting.
Slack also integrates with other third party platforms like Google Drive, Trello, GitHub, DropBox etc. making the process flow smooth and easy to manage.
- Task Management
How do we manage tasks at Webdura? We have a multitude of techniques that capitulates the best possible results for our software development. Trello is one such digital board through which our team creates lists involved in different processes that can be accessed and managed by our whole team.
TROVA has different lists like Backlog, Up Next, In-Progress and Done whereas each task corresponds to a card that can be moved across the lists in the due course of its progression.
What are the advantages of such digital Kanban boards?
ü Ease of setting up tasks
ü Quick sharing
ü Access to conversations during project development
ü Traceability despite being asynchronous
Task Management can be managed translucently through digital Kanban boards. Sometimes the project demands for more customizable solutions for managing tasks. For robust task management and incase of a requisite for adding additional functionalities, Webdura switches to even more innovative tools like Jira Software.
So why does Jira supersede Trello? Well Jira enables our team to jump between projects quickly, facilitates workflow and board customization and prioritize tasks as per the sprint planning.
Jira Software allows the TROVA team to manage information, develop workflow and assure CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment).
For guaranteeing CI, Webdura makes use of Jenkins, an open source automation server where plenty of plug-ins are provided to build, deploy and automate software development. With more plug-ins installed, the functionality of Jenkins can be scaled to an advanced level.
The safe guidelines of lean production can be applied to software development too through Amplify. We continuously aim at optimizing the development process through lean development practices. Amplify ensures CI/CD while strictly adhering to the principles of lean production in software development.
Additionally, through Daily Standup Meetings TROVA development team shares daily status, what action plans they accomplished the previous day and what they will be doing the next day. If any impediments are noticed, it will be discussed and elucidated. If the team is unclear regarding any of the stories, it shall be made clear at this point. The Scrum Master will facilitate the Daily Standups.
- Development
Once the development phase starts, the cross-functional management of design and workflow has to be intact. At this stage, Webdura utilizes Zeplin where the developers, testers, architects and others can access a common workspace to ensure the tasks are assumed precisely, designing is carried out appropriately and the workflow is in accord!
TROVA also has Figma that supports the team in designing together from start to finish. Team collaboration is practiced best through this cloud-based design tool. Figma uses Slack for communications and when there is a design edits occurring, it will be updated through Slacks to the team- this is an advantageous element when it comes to live designing. The simple, flexible and real-time updating features of Figma has helped the TROVA team to be in pace with each other.
Agile Implementation through Kanban Model
Kanban is a technique used to execute agile and DevOps software development. Timely communication and work transparency are what is required for the Kanban framework. The team members can keep track of their work items from the Kanban board at any given point of time. The Kanban board is thus a digital project management tool that visualizes work, reduces work-in-progress and improves efficiency and team productivity.
In the Kanban process, the team should ensure continual delivery whilst making sure that they are effectively achieving assigned tasks and not over imposed to accomplish the same.
Kanban is the ideal framework that TROVA tags along especially for accomplishing projects undertaking Agile and DevOps software development. In TROVA, Kanban is what ensures prompt communication of team velocity and work transparency.
Our TROVA team pins the work items on the Kanban board thereby making sure that the teams are on the same page as far as the tasks- completed , ongoing and forthcoming- are concerned.
The Kanban board visualizes the entire work spectrum for the easy and systematic understanding of the team catalyzing their daily work routine. The cards, columns and Continuous Improvement (CI) in Kanban board facilitate work execution qualitatively as well as quantitatively.
What are the Advantages of Agile Methodology?
- Quick and incessant results lead to customer satisfaction
- People interactions (customers, developers and testers) are prioritized than processes and tools
- Technical fineness and design distinctiveness
- Change Management perfectly handled
- Late changes in requirements can be smoothly updated
Conclusion: Choose the A-Factor!
Agile Methodology is not claimed as the perfect flawless approach for software development. There are certain downsides to it like poor effort assessment for large projects, unclear communication from the side of the client etc. However, these are disadvantages that can be nullified considering the outcomes that the approach can give.
For our project Webdura uses Agile methodology for better management and getting updated with clients more often. For many projects, the A-Factor has always proved to deliver the best possible results and that is why we emphasize on choosing the Agility Factor!
