Situation

Epitomy (http://www.epitomy.com) were trying to bring a new product to market. They understood the importance of testing through the development process, but still wanted to adopt some Agile practices to improve productivity on a per sprint basis. They had recently lost a team member and I responded to the job description explaining how I could help them both move to an agile operating environment in 6 months and get the new product to market if brought on as a Consultant.

Task

Epitomy wanted to introduce an Agile approach to product development. They believed employing an iterative working model to allow them to use test driven information in the development of their new software would be an effective way of doing this.

Action

Together, we introduced a commitment based Sprint planning system and the team worked collaboratively and subsequently agreed to be mentored through the introduction of rapid development practices, test and bbehaviordriven development. The Agile practices adopted by Epitomy and I included TDD, Pair Programming, Daily stand-up, peer review, and some more in depth practices such as solid principles. There was always an element of ‘osmotic pressure’ in the process, with knowledge transfer being a constant element in the transformation of the organisation’s productivity.

Results

Epitomy and I went on a journey together and the team built on the outcomes to get their product launched. Together we had notably reduced the size of the team by a headcount, and yet still improved productivity by 25% as an output for the team. Despite having lost a team member, the Epitomy team showed a willingness to be flexible by adjusting their approach to work accordingly.They were coached into a sustainable, Agile working model and successfully took their new product to market.