Agile Project Management Methodologies

Dunstan Thomas is a leading advocate of Agile, a well-established methodology where product requirements and solutions evolve. Agile Project Management is an iterative method of determining Requirements for Software and for delivering projects in a highly flexible and interactive manner.

What is Agile ?

Requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organising, cross-functional teams. Dunstan Thomas provides consulting services to enable a client to review its processes and to suggest recommendations on the implementation of an Agile methodology.

Agile is increasing being used in business to ensure rapid development and delivery of software to meet the ever increasing competative business landscape. To achieve quicker development cycles, Agile stimulates the practice of automating software building and testing, to increase productivity, ensuring continual delivery and help show clear progress throughout a software project. Areas such as configuration management, incorporating automated software builds and automated testing, are essential for true Agile development.

Dunstan Thomas provides consulting to help organisations adopt technologies such as

• Microsoft - Team Foundation Server (TFS)
• Sparx System – Enterprise Architect (EA)
• AutomatedQA – TestComplete
• MicroFocus – Caliber, SilkTest, StarTeam

Dunstan Thomas also provides Agile process training and in-project mentoring services to ensure successful adoption whilst maintaining delivery timescales and obligations in often high pressure development environments. Dunstan Thomas provides expertise at every level of Agile adoption, from managing a software development project using Agile methodology to assisting an organisation to become an Agile software development team.

Agile Adoption

Dunstan Thomas's experience provides a valuable real world understanding of the challenges and practicalities of managing software projects. Implementing or changing a project management methodology is a cultural change and the process should match the people involved as well as the people adapting to a new process. In addition, whatever agile methodology is adopted must be able to deliver the reporting and key performance indicators required by the project stakeholders and a return on investment in terms of efficiencies and quality.

The above chart is the results of a study by David Rico comparing the ROI of various methodologies using actual project metrics. It is clear that the Agile Methodologies fair well compared to traditional methods but the underlying success of a project is intrinsically linked to the level of adoption and suitability of the methodology to an organisation and those individuals working to its standards. Often, this can mean implementing a blend of methodologies, a “best of breed” that suits the people involved and the stakeholders. A change in methodology often results from perceived project failure however it is vital that the replacing methodology addresses the root causes of failure rather than being an impulsive change carrying the same underlying issues.

Agile Software Development

Dunstan Thomas, provide consulting services to review your organisation and processes and make recommendations on an Agile Methodology that suits your organisation and staff covering Requirements Gathering through to Agile Testing. In order for a software development organisation to become truly Agile, it is likely that their ALM Tools and processes require automation. In particular, advanced Configuration Management in the form of automated software builds and automated testing are prerequisites for truly Agile development and Dunstan Thomas provide consulting to help organisations adopt these technologies using MicroFocus StarTeam or Microsoft Team Foundation Server Configuration Management Tools and MicroFocus SilkTest or AutomatedQA TestComplete automated testing packages.

Dunstan Thomas Agile training services can be found at Agile Process Overview Training Course. Other training courses are found at  Agile Software Development with SCRUM Training Course to learn how to adopt SCRUM as an Agile Development Methodology.

Contact Us by e-mail or telephone 023 9282 2254 to discuss your requirements.