Agile Software Development Company

Agile Software Development Company

Agile software development is an iterative and flexible approach that values customer satisfaction and responsiveness to changing requirements. One of the key principles of agile is to empower the team and the stakeholders to collaborate and continuously improve the product. In this context, self-service is a powerful approach to give more autonomy and ownership to the team and streamline the development process.

What is a self-service approach?

In a self-service approach, users are provided with tools and resources to help them perform certain tasks on their own, without the need for assistance from support or development teams. This approach is commonly used in industries such as retail, banking, and telecommunications, where customers can access services and information through online portals, mobile apps, or other self-service channels.

In Agile software development, a self-service approach can be used to empower users to perform tasks such as:

  • Submitting and tracking issues or bugs
  • Requesting new features or enhancements
  • Accessing documentation and knowledge base
  • Viewing project status and progress
  • Providing feedback and suggestions

By providing users with these self-service options, Agile teams can reduce the burden on support and development teams, streamline the communication process, and increase user engagement and satisfaction.

Self-service means that the team and the stakeholders have access to the tools, information, and resources they need to perform their tasks and make decisions without relying on external dependencies or waiting for approvals. Self-service can reduce delays, misunderstandings, and errors, and increase transparency, engagement, and innovation. 

Benefits of a Self-Service Approach in Agile Software Development

  1. Increased efficiency and productivity: By allowing users to perform certain tasks on their own, Agile teams can focus on more complex tasks and reduce the amount of time spent on support requests.
  2. Improved communication: Self-service channels provide users with real-time access to project status and updates, which can reduce the need for communication via email or phone.
  3. Increased user engagement: By providing users with the tools and resources they need to perform tasks, Agile teams can increase user engagement and satisfaction.
  4. Better project visibility: Self-service platforms provide Agile teams with real-time access to user requests and feedback, which can help identify areas for improvement and optimization

Here are some steps to implement self-service in agile software development:

  1. Define the scope and objectives: Self-service can apply to different areas of the software development life cycle, such as requirements gathering, testing, deployment, monitoring, and support. It is important to identify the areas that can benefit from self-service and the goals that can be achieved, such as reducing cycle time, increasing quality, or improving user experience.
  2. Identify the stakeholders: Self-service involves different roles, such as product owners, developers, testers, operations, and users. Each role has specific needs and expectations that can be addressed through self-service. It is important to involve the stakeholders in the definition and implementation of self-service and to communicate the benefits and limitations of the approach.
  3. Choose the tools and resources: Self-service requires access to the right tools and resources that can enable the stakeholders to perform their tasks efficiently and effectively. Examples of tools and resources are:
  • Collaboration platforms, such as Jira, Trello, or Asana, allow the team and the stakeholders to communicate, share documents, and track progress.
  • Automation frameworks, such as Jenkins, Ansible, or Chef, enable the team to automate repetitive tasks, such as building, testing and deploying software.
  • Knowledge bases, wikis, or FAQs, that provide relevant information and guidelines to the team and the stakeholders.
  • Monitoring and analytics tools, such as New Relic, Splunk, or Google Analytics, help the team and the stakeholders gather and analyze data about the product and the users.
  1. Establish the governance and policies: Self-service can increase agility and innovation, but it can also pose risks and challenges, such as security, compliance, or quality control. It is important to establish clear governance and policies that define the roles, responsibilities, and rules of engagement for self-service. Examples of governance and policies are:
  • Access control and permissions, limit the access and privileges of the stakeholders based on their roles and responsibilities.
  • Change management and version control, ensure that the changes to the product are tracked, tested, and validated before they are released.
  • Quality assurance and testing, define the standards and criteria for the quality of the product and ensure that the self-service activities do not compromise the quality.
  • Incident management and escalation, which establish the procedures and protocols for handling and resolving issues and incidents that may arise from self-service activities.
  1. Monitor and optimize the self-service: Self-service is a continuous improvement process that requires monitoring and optimization to ensure that it delivers the intended benefits and that it adapts to changing circumstances. It is important to collect feedback and metrics from the stakeholders and to use them to identify the areas of improvement, the best practices, and the success stories of self-service.

Self-service implementation challenges in agile software development

Although the self-service strategy is the answer to the issues we described above, it too has its share of difficulties. At first glance, the difficulties in implementing the self-service strategy may appear to be the very issues that it seeks to address rather than the answer to those issues. Let’s examine a few of these difficulties:

  • These kinds of resources are necessary because you must have a solid awareness of the organization and its procedures.
  • You must be aware of the typical data demands that your business makes, which, once again, necessitates the availability of resources.
  • You must invest money upfront, therefore you need money as well.

These issues would seem to be the same ones that the self-service model aims to address. These are only the first difficulties, though. All stakeholders enjoy a smooth ride once an organization develops the self-service approach across all processes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a self-service approach can be a powerful tool for Agile teams to manage their workload efficiently while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. By providing users with self-service options, Agile teams can reduce the burden on support and development teams, streamline communication, and increase user engagement and satisfaction. With the right tools and processes in place, Agile teams can successfully implement a self-service approach and achieve their project goals more effectively.

Ask Essential Queries Before Hiring Software Development Outsourcing Companies

Ask Essential Queries Before Hiring Software Development Outsourcing Companies

You need to know how outsourcing can be a great solution that provides immense flexibility in meeting your business goals. Therefore when searching for software development outsourcing companies, it is important to find the right one. Handing over important tasks like custom software development to an external unit can save you a lot of time and money. But it also comes with risks which are very important to ignore. Choosing the right people to work always proves, at some level or the other, a leap of faith. We talk a lot about what your outsourced software development partner should be like:

  • Understand the needs of your business.
  • Make a solid plan to achieve your strategic goals.
  • Design a final product that looks, feels and functions according to your imagination.

Most software development companies will tell you that they do all that and more. The trick to reducing your risks is to hire a person who will actually do it. How do you do that? By asking the right questions.

Problems Finding Software Development Outsourcing Companies

Experts agree that there are several reasons why half of software projects fail. The same common, costly mistakes are often made. Work areas are underestimated, deadlines derail, and stakeholders fail to monitor progress. To avoid making your project suffer from the same fate, do your homework as well as ask these questions, and look at these telltale signs to determine if you are choosing the right outsourced software development partner.

Check in with your first resource

Before you ask any questions to software development outsourcing companies, ask for referrals from your network. While you will still need to assess things like cultural fit and cost, recommendations from satisfied customers are one of the safest ways to find a reputable company. Once you have a list of prospects, a Google search can help you research suggested companies and find others like them.

Conduct an internal assessment

When you have a healthy list of candidates, do a brief preliminary assessment on each:

  • Check if their website is on point or not. See quality of work, experience and expertise, company culture, and whether they demonstrate thought leadership in the industry.
  • Find out if they have a portfolio of projects. The portfolio reflects the value they bring.
  • You should be aware that they manufacture the type of software that you want to build.

Companies that match these three points with an answer should include it in your shortlist.

First Interaction

Whether it is a phone call, email, or video consultation, your first contact with any software development company should be to find out if they will prove suitable for your project in the most basic of ways, such as scope, budget, and timeline. Be honest with each company about their goals so that they can be clear with you about whether they can meet them.

Questions to ask the software development company

By the time this article is read, you are likely to find at least one or two potential partners. While there may not be an obvious factor highlighting the best candidate, there are ways to make the decision a bit more clear.

  • Ask about what is currently going on in the company. How many projects are they working on? Who are his major talents? How long have they been working with the company, and are they all knowledgeable in their area of expertise?
  • Ask them to describe their developmental abilities. Which approach do they use? How big is each team? Where are they located
  • Ask how they evaluate the client’s strategy, identify business goals, and build consensus. What drives decisions during the development process?
  • Ask about their communication process. Larger software development projects can take months to complete. Without good communication, your project is more likely to fail. At Winklix, we follow a practical agile method, which allows us to organize goals flexibly. Customers and customers are always welcome to attend scheduled meetings and progress the project.

Hopefully, these questions will help you get the answers you need to make a wise decision in your choice of software development partner. This is especially important for the success of your project. However, one of the things you want to keep in mind during this phase is how well the company is able to communicate overall with you. In other words, at the end of any conversation with them, do you think this is a partner you can trust? How well they communicate with you during the “knowing you” phase is a good indication of how the rest of the project will go.

Low Risk Outsource Software Development

At Winklix, the focus has been on providing an exceptional customer experience from the beginning. Our practical, transparent approach to software development ensures you:

  • Experienced and highly-skilled engineers who have the necessary expertise to make your project a success.
  • Strategic Consulting.
  • A point of contact and constant communication with our engineers.

It is tempting to choose a software development based only on questions about the budget, but finding out if the outsourcing partner is suitable for your needs and culture will, ultimately, help keep your project on budget and long-lasting. Will help beneficial relationships for all parties. To know more, contact us today.

Trending 7 Latest Technology in Enterprise Software Development in 2021

Trending 7 Latest Technology in Enterprise Software Development in 2021

Integration of top-notch technologies, implementing new development methods accordingly to customer requirements are key indicators that enterprises have become required to focus their efforts. Each year dictates new trending software development techniques and standing still is not an option. Conversely, becoming a leader in current trending technologies in software is the only way to gain an edge over competitors and meet the needs of their customers. Due to Covid-19, most of the business has been pushed online, due to which the enterprise software developers are ready to beat the trend. Our focus is always on emerging technologies and solutions that may prove to be artisans in promoting this market in the future. 2020 has turned into a blissful year for the enterprise software development sector.

We saw what the future might look like with AI-assisted development software. Not to mention the huge investment in robotic process automation (RPA) and progressive web applications (PWA). Some trends such as reduced code and no-code development also threaten to disrupt the sector. According to research and markets, the global market for low code development is on track to reach $ 187 billion by 2030 from $ 10.3 billion in 2019.

Expectations from 2021

The coronavirus epidemic has forced many people to go online unprecedentedly. In fact, online sales grew 45% year-over-year for the 2020 financial year. Not only this, experts predict a 10.9 CAGR in the enterprise application software (EAS) market over the next five years, reaching $ 26. 724 billion in 2025. These figures provide a significant boost to enterprise developers looking to build modern business apps.

According to experts, it is important to understand how the EAS sector is growing to help you stay ahead of the curve. In this post, we’ll discuss the trending seven latest technology in enterprise software development trends in 2021, which is: 

  1. Low-Code to No-Code Development

We have already mentioned the possibility of low code development. Fewer code platforms implement drag-and-drop editors that allow non-developers to build flexible apps in less time. We are likely to see more in 2021. However, we are also predisposed to heralding a new era of no-code coding.

As the name implies, no-code coding does not involve creating applications that write any code. Drag-and-drop editors in low code development are moving to allow new news to build apps without writing a single line of code. The no-code market will grow by 28.1 CAGR to reach 45.5 billion by 2025.

  1. Rise of artificial intelligence

Revenue from AI alone reached $ 156.5 billion in 2020, an increase of 12% from the previous year. But we can see even more growth in 2021 as more businesses and applications carry AI. Machine learning, the branch of AI dealing with computer algorithms that automatically improves and is gaining popularity through experience, not to forget deep learning.

The enterprise software development industry is poised to benefit from more intelligent machines. For example, we can implement IA to automate the development of applications. Some AI solutions can test tasks to reduce costs and help your organization be more agile.

  1. Native App Overflow

Businesses gradually realize that native applications are the future of e-commerce. Combining the strengths of both applications and traditional websites, technologies that provide endless benefits such as native app branding, speed, and trust have moved into the market today. Native apps are also freed from restrictions surrounding mobile applications.

Progressive web apps (PWA), in particular, are proven to be artisans in changing the way people access online content. They are simple, lightweight, and intuitive. Like apps, PWA branding is easy to use and boost. In addition, PWA offers a traditional and more rewarding website experience that makes it a win for both consumers and brands.

  1. Trends in big data and IoT

Big Data and IoT are all set to change the world in 2021. When the full potential of these two is realized, we will have a connective world where computer solutions are embedded in our day-to-day lives.

But this does not mean that we will not necessarily see significant applications in both fields. For example, embrace yourself in 2021 for a “data-as-a-service” solution. Das will eliminate redundancy by giving businesses access to accurate data in real-time.

  1. From Cloud to Edge

Cloud computing is already large. About 40% of conversations about enterprise software are likely to be around cloud computing. The value of cloud-based applications reached somewhere around $ 150 billion in 2020. Wherever you go, enterprise developers provide unique solutions for their customers.

We will see more trends in 2021, but with slight changes. Instead of using the cloud as we know it, enterprises are transitioning to edge computing, where resources and information are stored next to the consumer.

  1. Micro Services for Enterprises

Micro-services architecture is a new approach that organizes applications as a collection of loosely coupled services. In short, blocks of code that handle different tasks are stacked together, creating micro-applications.

A wide range of micro-apps are then offered to enterprises. Think of them as plugins in enterprise applications that users have become experts in customizing to meet their unique needs. Although still in the infant stage, we are expecting to see a substantial growth in this area in 2021.

  1. The Continuous rise of blockchain

Blockchain is here to stay, with the most successful cryptocurrency bitcoin already in place at the center level. But blockchain uses more cases than cryptocurrency. For example, the blockchain Covid-19 is playing a central role in vaccine shipment and management.

These two examples are the only clues you need to know where the blockchain is – this is the future. According to markets and markets, the blockchain market is expected to grow from $ 3.0 in 2020 to $ 39.7 billion in 2021.

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Final Thought

The enterprise software development sector will continue to see revolutionary trends in 2021 and beyond. Given this, you need to keep pace and improve to stay on top of your competition. Develop a strategy to reap the benefits of these innovative emerging technologies. If you need help determining which solutions are best suited for your long-term benefit, contact us.