Value has to be Engineered not Managed: Shift Focus from Managing to Engineering

Introduction

In today’s fast-paced world, delivering a product quickly with high quality is more important than ever. With constant market & requirement changes and customer demands, it’s crucial to be able to adapt quickly and efficiently. This is where the Agile Iterative approach comes in. By breaking down the development process into smaller, more manageable chunks, engineers can focus on delivering value and improving efficiency. In this article, we will discuss the key principles of Agile Iterative development and how to implement them effectively.

Key Principles of Agile Iterative Development

1.Value-Driven Development

The Agile Iterative approach is all about creating value. Instead of focusing on strict timelines and deliverables, the focus is on delivering value to the customer. This means that engineers need to have a clear understanding of what the customer wants and how they can deliver that value quickly and efficiently. By breaking down the development process into smaller, more manageable chunks, engineers can focus on creating value and delivering it to the customer.

2. Continuous Improvement

Agile Iterative development is an iterative process, which means that it’s always evolving and improving. By continuously assessing and improving the development process, engineers can ensure that they are delivering the most value to the customer. This means that engineers need to be constantly looking for ways to improve the development process and eliminate waste.

3. Collaborative Approach

The Agile Iterative approach requires a collaborative approach. This means that engineers need to work closely with other team members, such as designers, product owners, and other stakeholders. By working collaboratively, engineers can ensure that they are delivering the most value to the customer and that they are addressing any issues or concerns that arise quickly and efficiently.

Implementing Agile Iterative Development

1. Use the Right Tools

To implement the Agile Iterative approach effectively, engineers need to have the right tools. Tools such as Notion, Jira, and Slack can help engineers stay organized and communicate effectively. A notion is a great tool for keeping track of tasks, while Jira can help engineers manage their development process. Slack can also be a useful tool for real-time ad-hock communication, allowing engineers to collaborate with other team members quickly and efficiently.

2. Standardize Minimum Team Sizes

To be efficient, it’s important to keep the team size to a minimum. This means that the team should consist of only those who are essential to the development process. By keeping the team size small, engineers can work more efficiently and effectively, as they won’t be bogged down with endless meetings or other distractions.

It’s also important to note that team size will vary depending on the size of the company and the complexity of the project. However, as a general rule, a smaller team will help keep the development process more efficient.

For example, in TejaSoft, we recommend that for an early-stage MVP need startup, a team of three individuals is sufficient for a single stack. This would consist of an architect, project manager, team lead, QA, and three developers. For mid-sized companies, a team size of five is recommended, and for larger companies, a team of seven is recommended (including efforts of DevOps, Database, Product Manager, UI/UX, test automation, etc).

The goal is not to have a large team for the sake of billing. Rather, the goal is not to debate min team size beyond or lower than this min. By keeping the team standard, everyone on the team can be more focused and productive, and the project can be completed more efficiently both on time and budget more so with the least risks due to team attrition.

In addition, it's important to have strong leadership in place to guide the team and ensure that everyone is working together effectively. This includes having a VP of Engineering, Engineering Managers, and a CTO who can provide both strategic and operational support to the team.

3. Clearly Define Roles and Responsibilities

To ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal, it’s important to clearly define roles and responsibilities. Each team member should know what they are responsible for and how their work contributes to the overall development process. This helps to minimize confusion and ensures that everyone is working together towards the same goal.

4. Focus on Engineering Value

As mentioned earlier, the Agile Iterative approach focuses on engineering value and wealth creation at scale potential. This means that engineers need to be focused on creating value for the customer and avoid too much development noise to rapid changes in requirements and avoid spending time on patching the patches i.e. make the product as green as possible most times.

By focusing on engineering value, engineers can ensure that they are delivering the most value to the customer and that they are continuously improving the development process.

5. Eliminate Unnecessary Distractions

To be efficient, it’s important to eliminate any unnecessary tasks. This means that engineers should focus only on the tasks that are essential to the development process not on estimates, deadlines, PPTs, endless patching (have a support team instead) that are supposed to explain the work to 5 years old kids :), etc. This helps to minimize waste and ensures that the team is working as efficiently as possible at the best professional level.

6. Monitor Self Efficiency

To ensure that the team is working efficiently, it’s important to monitor self-efficiency. This means tracking progress, looking for areas of waste, and addressing any issues that arise quickly and efficiently.

7. Prioritize Communication and Collaboration

Effective communication and collaboration are essential for an agile iterative approach to work. Team members must be able to share ideas, offer feedback, and work together towards a common goal. Some ways to prioritize communication and collaboration include:

- Use agile ceremonies such as daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives to keep everyone on the same page.

- Encourage open and honest communication between team members to promote a culture of trust and collaboration.

- Utilize collaboration tools such as Slack, Notion, and Jira to share progress updates, track tasks, and collaborate on projects.

- Emphasize the importance of feedback and encourage team members to offer constructive criticism to help each other grow.

8. Focus on Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is at the core of the agile incremental & iterative approach. It involves regularly assessing and evaluating processes, tools, and methodologies to identify areas of improvement. Some ways to focus on continuous improvement include:

- Conduct regular retrospectives to reflect on what worked well and what needs improvement in the previous sprint.

- Use metrics such as velocity and efficiency index to track progress and identify areas of improvement.

- Encourage team members to experiment with new tools and methodologies to see what works best for them.

- Continuously review and refine the product backlog to ensure that it aligns with the goals of the project.

9. Marketing and Sales Shouldn't Be the Priority: A Case for Prioritizing Engineering

In some organizations, marketing, and sales can take priority over product development. While these functions are important, they should not come at the expense of engineering quality products.

By investing in good engineering tools and processes, organizations can create products that are more effective at meeting customer needs, which can ultimately drive sales and revenue. In other words, prioritizing high-quality engineering can actually help support marketing and sales efforts in the long run. Make sure Engineers are not behaving as Marketers and Sales and take engineering shortcuts to avoid doing the right things.

10 Lighter is Better: Eliminating Unnecessary Management Tasks

When it comes to engineering, it's all about building a great product that meets the needs of your customers. However, many teams get bogged down in endless meetings and management tasks that take away from the actual development process. Instead of focusing on value creation, teams end up spending more time managing tasks and tracking hours.

Stop bothering about obvious efforts, and skills needed. Each organization should have debates about min team size needed.

Conclusion

The agile iterative approach is a robust methodology that can help teams build better products, faster and brings high quality.

By prioritizing value creation over scope control, teams can stay nimble, respond to change quickly, and deliver high-value products. By investing in proper engineering with good tools, minimum standardized team sizes and roles in each tech stack, and focusing on communication, collaboration, and continuous improvement, teams can work efficiently and effectively toward their goals. Such approaches can avoid Management, Marketing, and Sales overheads by at least 80% as compared with usual IT Services.

Instead, spend the saved time and cost directly on Engineering to see products succeed with 4x better probability (due to atmost engineering work and value focus). Stay away from MBA-style execution unless you are a billion $ establishment. While both MBAs and Microservices can be valuable, they are not always necessary/relevant, or affordable for small or medium-sized businesses.