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March, 2021

Scale yourself: Use Agile

Agile-blog

What is Agile & why is it Important?

This way of working has become the most talked about topic in the past few years and yet unknown to many! One would be living in a stone age of Technology if this term is still unheard. Agile is everywhere: You name it and there you have it.

Since Agile is not a methodology but a mindset, there is still room for it to grow not only in the software development spectrum but across other businesses as well such as manufacturing, food & beverages, automobile industry and more. Agile mindset is a great asset to help businesses grow and come up with new products & services. Although Agile does not fall under the traditional business management techniques which are generally taught in top-notch business schools around the world, the good part is that the Agile mindset will not only survive in the coming years, but it will also show us the way to develop our mindset in business.

It`s not a surprise to hear why the new age organizations are trying hard to implement this. So, it’s important to understand what Agile means and why it is important.

Agile History: From where it all started

Going back to the history, the term Agile is derived from the Latin term “agilis” which means “nimble or quick,” and from the term “agree” which means “to set or keep in movement”.

Why is it becoming popular?

Agile has completely restructured the way the software industry works. This way of working has definitely boosted the success rate of projects by creating a great and new age work culture. With respect to the other ways of working, Agile process is quick enough to adjust to changes requested by the clients throughout the development lifecycle.

What is Agile Project Management?

– As per the Agile Manifesto (2001) approach, Agile project management is an iterative approach to product delivery & it incrementally starts from the very start of the project instead of trying to deliver the entire product at once near the end.
– Agile works by breaking projects down into little bits of user functionality, prioritizing them, and then continuously delivering them in 2-4-week cycles called iterations or sprints. The customer’s priorities are well analyzed, prioritized and the team estimates how much time work will take in an iteration, as well as how to do the work.
– Performance is measured by customers at the end of the iteration. The lessons learned in each iteration are captured in retrospectives and used in future iterations. In this way, the products are constantly improved and the process for developing them also improved.

Need for Agile Principles and Agile Methodology

Do we know why some organizations are tending toward Agile Project Management?

Agile Project Management helps:

– To create a High-Quality product
– In providing Higher Customer Satisfaction
– Faster ROI
– To increase Product Control
– To help increase team performance, improve customer satisfaction and increase project versatility
– To be able to respond to market dynamics well

– Companies to embrace the idea of delivering business value early in the process making it easier to lower risks associated with development.
– During the project, end-user involvement is encouraged, providing visibility and transparency. There is continuous planning and feedback throughout the process, delivering value to the business from the beginning of the project.

Need for Agile Trainings:

– Agile trainings can clear up many misconceptions / misunderstandings about the operations of Agile.
– It can also help expose the underlying Agile concepts and clarify the differences between the various implementation method.
– Having all project team members (both technical and business) attend common training, ideally in the same class, can eliminate some of these problems. The shared understanding among the team members strongly increases the probability of the team inspecting and adapting together using a common language and practices, thus reducing conflicts in the future.

Conclusion: “Future in the Market”

Agile ways of working have become mainstream today and most of the organizations which leverage Agile ways of working and the culture of Agility are going to dominate their industries in coming future. Those organizations that do not take advantage of Agile are going to struggle to retain both customers and talented employees. At some point, their lack of business agility is going to threaten their very survival. Think about it, scale yourself because it’s now or never!

And it’s rightly said:

“Agility is principally about mindset, not practices” – Jim Highsmith

A culture built on trust

Alex Thompson Culture March 12, 2021
A culture built on trust

It’s been a little over 2 years since I’ve been with TVS Next. I joined them as a Business Analyst from a traditional IT Services MNC, hoping to explore how the role is played out elsewhere – how different a BA can be. This time with them has made a world of difference to me not just in a professional capacity, but also as an individual. The one underlying factor I could connect across all these great experiences that I’ve had here is trust — and that’s what this blog is all about.

Confidence in their processes

An ex-colleague of mine had referred TVS Next and I went for the interview expecting a typical Q&A session. Only, it was a very different interview process from what I’d experienced before. It felt more like a series of discussions rather than actual interviews. It felt good knowing that the people interviewing me already trusted my credentials — and they basically wanted to understand my thought process, my preferences, how I approach a problem etc.

I had other offers, but I chose TVS Next firstly because of my great interview experience, and secondly because TVS is a brand name that I felt proud associating myself with.

Expertise counts, not the years in the system

My first 2 months here was a time of heavy learning – about the projects, the company, the people and their practices. My first project involved a healthcare product that needed to be built from scratch. Even though I was quite new in the system, I was part of the team chosen to travel to Delhi to meet the client.

My first client meeting through TVS Next was a unique experience and will stand out for me for a lot of reasons – starting with my own understanding of how a particular tech stack is positioned to what kind of delivery experience the client can expect. But what was incredible to see, was how everyone on the proposal team complemented each other. It’s not just the CX or the delivery head taking the lead, everyone had a part to play. And being new did not matter. I dived right in being the BA. I was given the opportunity to build the trust directly with the client, despite having more senior folks on the team.

Proving your worth as a newcomer in a team and a new employee in an organization comes easy when you’re entrusted with responsibilities right from the start.

Value for individual beliefs and expectations

The learning here is continuous. So is the opportunity to improve yourself. Every 6 months there’s a systematic self-assessment that is quantitative as well as qualitative, based on your understanding of the agreed KPIs and KRAs. In a way, you’re the first to know what kind of career path you’re on and you’re going to be.

I’ve been doing projects end-to-end, but now I feel more equipped to get into a fully consulting role. And this came up in one of my review conversations. We discussed how my interests could align with the organization’s and how together we could explore this opportunity to make it work. The transparent nature of these conversations is one of the other things that I like best at TVS Next.

It’s the people that make the culture

The whole environment here is casual. You simply walk up to someone and end up having an amazing conversation. It’s incredible how even the leadership doesn’t sit in rooms. There isn’t this “boss” culture. Instead, we try to find solutions together to make things better, rather than a “your problem” kind of mindset.

There are people who joined along with me that I’ve built a bond with. We’re all from different roles and backgrounds, so even our casual conversations are a mix of tech and project discussions. It made learning on the job easier.

Most of my project discussions are within a cross-functional team and this becomes insightful and makes decision-making faster. In addition to these team-level conversations, there are thoughtfully curated wellness meets, inspirational talks by external speakers and more such avenues for me to engage with people within and outside of TVS Next. It’s that wholesome nature of being in the office that I miss during these times of extended remote work. Now, I can’t wait to go back to office!

Like what you read? Join the Nexian family. Check out our open positions at tvsnext.com/careers.

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