Chetan Bhagats latest book, 2 States rightly proves how
tough but crucial it is to bridge gaps. Though Bhagat has hit the Indian
mindset, the idea holds true for the IT industry as well. In an age when
software development is mostly done by offshore teams, companies are
increasingly realizing the significance of bridging gaps and adopting agile
methodology.
Simply put, agile methodology is a software development
process that aligns cross-functional teams in different locations, hence,
enabling frequent interaction among them, higher transparency in the work
process, and constant feedback from the client. "This brings value to the
customer and improves the quality of products," points out Pete Deemer, founder,
GoodAgile, a leading scrum training institute in Asia. Also, frequent
interaction among all entities ensures that issues get resolved quickly without
putting development at stake. This enables timely delivery of the final product
and cost-savings as well.
This is unlike the traditional waterfall approach, whereby
work happened in a linear format, mostly with one-way communications. Usually
the client dealt with the analyst, who passed the requirements to the architect
for designing. This was then passed over to the implementer, and then to the
tester. After testing, it was sent back to the implementer, from where the final
product directly went to the client. This left little scope for the client to
interact.
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Although Agile Pete Deemer,founder, |
Gradually, Vikas Hazrati, |
Considering this, agile seems as an obvious choice for
CEOs. However, the industry has been slow in its adoption. This could be partly
because agile is a very new methodology. The idea was first taken up in the US
during the mid 90s when a couple of companies started adopting agile methodology
for their internal IT development. Later, around 2002-06, it propagated to the
European countries, and only recently has it come to India.
Xebia has been one of its early adopters in India. Vikas
Hazrati, director, technology, Xebia India recalls, "Back in 2007, we were
assigned to develop an information management system for ProRail in the
Netherlands. We decided to go for agile methodology, whereby two teamsone in
the Netherlands and the other in Indiawere put into it." As a result, the
self-organized team of twenty-one developed the product within eleven months in
a limited budget.
"Gradually, customers have started asking for it, although
the initial hesitation is still there," informs Hazrati.
Most of the big IT companies includingTCS, Cognizant,
Wipro, and Infosyshave taken up agile methodology on a pilot basis for at least
one of their projects. Apart from being an altogether new methodology, it is the
IT professionals mindset that is acting as a major hindrance for agile. As
Deemer explains, "Although agile practices are simple, but the challenge lies in
changing the attitude. Project managers are tuned to assign tasks to their
teams, while agile enables teams to be self-organized." While this instills a
sense of ownership among team members, it may not be welcomed by project
managers."
"Adopting agile is like re-writing how we build software,"
says Deemer. However, considering the global popularity it has attained in the
last few years, he is looking forward to its adoption in India. "Apart from
Bengaluru and the metros, Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, and Triavandrum appear to be
the upcoming hubs for its adoption," he points out. Hazrati adds that companies
from telecom, BFSI, retail, hospitality, and travel sectors have started
adopting agile. "Basically, agile is for any company, belonging to any industry
or region that intends to develop IT in the right way," he sums up.
Monalisa Das
monalisad@cybermedia.co.in