Running a Marathon Through Digital Transformation & Agile Development

Technological Dependence Is Becoming a Key Differentiator In Office Management

Business has changed. The current shift to a cloud-based approach for tech industries has shaped the way in which executives prioritize their long-term goals. We’re no longer living in an environment that’s able to distinguish between a software company and one that isn’t. As tech adoption continues to expand its reach, companies abandon legacy infrastructures and replace them with scalable, agile networks.?

Project and office design has been altered, with digital transformation as its main catalyst. While the pandemic has been understood as an obvious cause for the rapid increase in software products and the flourishing of the tech industry, it’s the public mindset that directly influences most executives’ decisions now. Rapid responses to the changing needs of the customers, and the need for scalable and adaptable solutions lie in the back of every CEO’s mind - and with good reason.

Plancorp’s Sara Gelsheimer suggests that “going into business is like training for a marathon”, referring to the intense levels of training and preparation it takes to survive in a fast paced environment. Strategic business models that put the long term goals ahead of everything else tend to yield the best results: otherwise, burnout and fatigue might render your business non-competitive.?

This is where the best agile practices and building a great team come in - Building a team that is able plan on multiple levels including customer collaboration, take advantage of?time ranges and probability, and offer full transparency from planning to execution. In other words, both agile practices and team tasks should end up complimenting each other.?

Frustrations with technological versatility, team management, and productivity abound in almost every industry at the current moment. Finance, healthcare and even outliers such as the restaurant industry have faced an increasing need to increase their digital adoption measures without having a proper handle on the requirements for a good business model. Responding to an increasing demand depends, however, on the proper agile development practices.

Just like a marathon demands months of physical and mental training, CEOs must take their time to build their company’s strategic models and their team. Building up your aerobic capacity and endurance, practicing with smaller sprints - these are tasks that can also be equated to what industry leaders need to do.?

Navigating Growth

While the agile manifesto was signed over twenty years ago, many industries guide themselves based on previous software development practices.?

Military applications, for example, have just recently ditched contract awards for agile collaboration between developers and testers in numerous sprints, according to DefenseNews. We’ve seen the effects of this slow adoption, as many viable products are laid to waste once they release due to the systems those products were meant for having become obsolete.?

This level of inflexibility has had a secondary consequence, which is the difficulties many new companies are having when adopting just the “bits and pieces” of the entire agile methodology. While we can’t enforce a mandatory shift for shorter development cycles, we do have a responsibility to inform about how this restructuring can improve productivity issues and avoid the loss of precious resources.?

Even if this is a nonlinear system, there are certain key aspects that must be taken into account if one aims to reap all of the benefits. In essence, Agile methodology is about time management. Time is what determines whether an organization’s teams will be able to manage a changing environment and have the appropriate response. Time decides the span in which the team will need to deliver working software, with mere days making the difference between a successful release or a subpar deployment. Lastly, time influences sustainability, whether or not the team will collapse, and if users will continue to maintain interest in the product.

The best way to handle this level of chaos is through simple measures. The best software architectures, the most productive sprint sessions, and self-organizing teams all derive from reliance on pragmatic strategies. Breaking down the project into smaller chunks or units, establishing clearly defined tasks and goals, or even proper risk assessment measures are good places to start.?

Transformation, Longevity, Survival, The Team

Training for a marathon and being a CEO is about longevity and survival. On one side you want your body to increase its aerobic capacity, while for your business you must build solid strategies and have the ability to transform, in both cases to increase your chances of survival.

Just like a lack of practice would lead to a deficient marathon performance, so too would a bad employment of agile measures yield missed go-to-market goals and unscalable products. As an organization, we believe that organizations need to thrive in an ever changing technological environment, and proper practices made with pragmatic measures are the key.?

However, even if training and running a marathon or being a CEO depends on you, having the right team on your side will help you make less mistakes, achieve your goals and make the experience a true joy. A combination of simple measures, mixed with the right team of engineers and developers is often the key for a perfect experience.

I’ve been at the forefront of Teravision's growth for 19 years, and seen the effects of these practices myself. While the rush of new advances in the digital age are unstoppable, I believe this is just the portent of future opportunities on the horizon. Through our repertoire of clients, we’ve seen how just a slight change in the business model can offer better solutions than endless sessions of brainstorming based on outdated models. As such, we strongly recommend Agile adoption in order to bring about a better age of motivated developers, successful ventures and product longevity.??

This Sunday, November 6th, I will be running my first marathon in NYC. I have been training and planning it for months. I plan to execute my strategy one mile at a time but ready for the unexpected in order to take advantage of it and cross the finish line with a smile on my face and 3:50 on my watch. What will your marathon look like?