Project Profiles: Agile Implementation Services Training and Coaching
Financial Services
Project: Review/Assessment and Coaching
Objective: Our client previously built a “Software Factory” of 30+ teams to build and support their Application Software suite of offerings. The company was 4 years into practicing Agile/Iterative Methods and was looking to “review and assess” their Agile Practices to see how they were doing and where they could improve.
Solution: Eliassen Group’s Chief Agilist and Senior Agile Advisor met with Key Stakeholders from IT, team leaders and team members to review current development practices over the course of business days. Upon
completion, Eliassen Group returned to present and distribute a “Findings Report” that covered what was working well and where there opportunities for improvement were needed through a “Recommendation and Roadmap Plan”.
Our client moved forward with two Coaches to drive the development teams to improve their
Engineering Practices by applying better and more robust Test Automation and to use more standard
“Scrum” practices. The more mature teams were able to leverage newer methods of Agile (TDD/XP) and implemented more rigid “Unit Testing” practices in the earliest stages of development. The newer
groups were supported by standard “Scrum” rituals and methods as well as Automation advances and their “coaching” practices to utilize more streamlined and productive development patterns.
Retail
Project: Training and Coaching
Objective: Delivery Capabilities and Time-to-Market
Our client was piloting two enhancement projects for their website and Warehouse Management System and wanted these projects managed utilizing Agile/Scrum methods. The company looked to
Eliassen Group to provide the training and coaching needed in order to execute these projects within their set requirements.
Solution: To provide our clients’ team with a clear understanding of project roles and objectives, Eliassen Group developed customized training workshops and presented project roadmaps leveraging the
Agile/Scrum methodology. We then provided a small team of Agile coaches, in 2 locations, to ensure that the objectives were met within the scope of each project using Agile/Scrum techniques.
Outcome: Because of Eliassen Group’s Training and Coaching services, our client was able to increase the velocity
Software
Project: Training and Coaching
Objective: Ability to Scale, Increase Quality and Time-to-Market
Our client needed to assess their current software development and project management practices and determine how adopting Agile practices could improve the overall effectiveness, direction and delivery of their current projects.
Solution: Eliassen Group first assessed the existing practices our client was using to build and manage software development projects. We then implemented an Agile training program beginning with 2 pilot teams in order to educate the entire team on the process. Next, we began coaching the pilot teams resulting in the clients’ recognition that additional resources were needed in order to create two teams with a defined set of responsibilities and objectives. These teams were able to work within a clearly defined project strategy that improved the overall quality and delivery of
their current projects.
Outcome: Due to the newly defined process, our client was able to better control their delivery schedule and improve the overall product quality. The company is now leveraging Agile for all current and future projects as a result of this success.
Media
Project: Training and Coaching Objective: Delivery and Time-to-Market
Our client was in the process of redeveloping a website dedicated to one of their most popular brands and was unsure on how to tactically execute on their strategy. Although many things were uncertain, the one thing that was clear is that the company wanted to adopt an Agile/Scrum methodology throughout the assignment. As a result, our client looked to Eliassen Group to provide them with the expertise and guidance through our Agile Coaching resources to complete the project.
Solution: After a review of our clients’ project objectives and timelines with the key stakeholders, Eliassen Group provided the team with base-line knowledge of working within an Agile environment. We
developed a customized training program and presented to all active team members involved in the initiative. Additionally, to increase the speed and flexibility of the individual contributors, Eliassen
Group also provided 2 Agile coaches to implement Scrum into the scope of the overall project.
Outcome: Due to Eliassen Group’s training and coaching to help our client implement Agile into their environment, the company was able to complete assignments in incremental steps, allowing them the ability to show executive team members prototypes of what was being worked on as they were built. This allowed the executive team more frequent insight and to collectively provide feedback that would shape the direction of the overall initiative. Because of this success, the Agile methodology was rolled out across multiple projects
throughout the organization.
Media Publishing Firm
Project: Coaching and Training
Objective: Predictability, Time-to-Market, Support, Leadership Culture
Our client’s Executive and Development teams required education on the use of Agile practices for upcoming projects. Additional support was also needed to ensure an effective and successful adoption of the process.
Solution: Eliassen Group’s team of Agile experts delivered a customized workshop to the Executive team and presented a project roadmap leveraging the Agile methodology to provide the team with a clear understanding of what is needed to ensure success. Workshops for the development team were also presented to prepare them for upcoming projects along with the tools they needed to remain successful. Additional coaching was provided to the development teams to support the project roadmap to ensure a successful outcome.
Transformation and Adoption
Retail Firm
Project: Transformation and Adoption Objective: Quality, Time-to-Market, Flexibility
Our client was new to the Agile methodology and needed to execute on a project involving the
implementation of a Robotic Warehouse Management System. As a result, they looked to Eliassen Group to provide Agile Coaching Services that would provide better quality, more flexibility, and faster time
to market.
Solution: Eliassen Group determined that there were skill shortages that needed attention in order to execute on the selected project. As a result, Iteration Managers, QA staff and Developers were placed onsite. Meanwhile, our Agile Coach drove the adoption of Scrum as the primary project management practice ensuring that key objectives were completed on-time providing the flexibility they needed to complete the project quickly and efficiently. Additional technical practices including
Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Continuous Integration (CI) were adopted providing better quality to key aspects of the current project.
Retail
Project: Transformation and Adoption
Objective: Our client’s technology department had a history of scrapped projects, missed deadlines and poor quality.
Substantial waste was embedded into the development time in support and maintenance efforts.
Additionally, there was heavy up-front investment in requirements, even though the scope of the projects
Solution: Eliassen Group provided a “review” of our client’s current state – this included a review of the physical environment, team project management and development activities, project distribution, quality and technical debt, and infrastructure and presented the results of the assessment to the Technology Senior Leadership team.
Eliassen Group then provided Agile Team and Executive training services to educate the client’s entire IT organization on Agile Practices. Once complete, the IT organization had a consistent
baseline of knowledge of Agile methods. Simultaneously, Eliassen Group provided Agile Coaching to a selected pilot team through the adoption of Agile practices. Based on the success of the pilot project, Agile practices were rolled out across the entire IT organization.
Web Publishing Firm
Project: Transformation and Adoption Objective: Quality, Time-to-Market
Due to poor quality within the software development process, the client requested an assessment of their current project management practices to determine where improvement was needed.
Their time-to-market deadline was fast approaching and the company needed to increase internal efficiencies and shorten the development process in order to meet their objectives.
Solution: A series of training sessions were provided for specific projects and we utilized our Sr. Agile coach to work with the team during the rollout phase. We applied innovation games to prioritize specific
tasks which significantly reduced portions of the product development process.
Web Publishing Firm
Project: Transformation and Adoption
Objective: Transparency, Quality, Time-to-Market, Flexibility
Our client lacked the visibility and flexibility required to change the direction of current product development projects as market requirements changed. The main objective of the organization
was to change the approach to the development of projects to better align with shifting business requirements and market pressures.
Solution: Our team implemented Scrum into the operations team in order to gain visibility into current projects to determine where the major setbacks were. After closely examining the action items required to
meet critical deadlines, it was determined that the product could be released in several phases depending on the prioritization of specific features and functionalities. We then split the project into several
engineering tasks and set goals that were much more manageable and realistic to meet.
Project: Enterprise Agile Transformation
Objective: As the proof of the business benefits of Agile Practices become more widely acknowledged, Fortune 500 companies are looking to apply these principles across their enterprises. As a result, Eliassen Group’s Agile Practice was asked to participate in an aggressive Enterprise-wide Agile transformation at a fortune 150 bank that would impact 12 lines of business and nearly 5000 associates.
Solution: Eliassen Group was able to quickly scale a team of high-quality Agile Coaches to meet this challenge. We worked with a central change management office to address this multi-dimensional
effort – including large-scale training, Change Management, Delivery, Enterprise Architecture, and Culture. In addition, Eliassen Group worked with individual lines of business to provide team-level Agile Coaching working with hundreds of newly formed Agile teams. These Coaching and Mentoring services were provided to individuals going through a dramatic change in the way they work with business colleagues and the way they deliver software.
