Why Agile methods? This is a question many business leaders ask us.  When we are asked this question we reply by asking them the following:

•  How expensive is it to miss deadlines?
•  Can you afford to not deliver results and value for your customers?
•  How much does it cost to fix errors that are found far down-stream in a testing phase of a traditional development model?
•  Can you afford to not be able to respond to changes in customer demands or industry policy?
•  What is the impact of not having visibility into a project and being able to effectively mitigate risk?
•  Can you continue to operate in an environment that does not embrace and utilize learning feedback loops and continuous improvement?

After business leaders begin to truly and honestly think about these questions, the conversation is less about why Agile methods and how do they get this implemented in their respective organizations.  Business leaders quickly realize that the cost of not adopting Agile methods far out weight the cost of implementation.  They recognize that by not moving to an Agile framework has deleterious impact on success and it impedes their current and future ability to compete in the marketplace. There are a plethora of positive benefits from using Agile methods that run the gamut, which include but are not limited to the following:

• The ability to manage and respond to changing priorities/requirements
• Increased productivity
• Improved visibility at both the project and portfolio levels
• Alignment of IT activities with business objectives
• Reducing risk
• Improved software quality
• First-mover advantages
• Improving team and department moral.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list but it certainly touches many of the issues organizations confront on a daily basis.  Contact 4R Solutions today to further discuss how implementing Agile methods can be a game-changer for your organization.