Services Development Approach

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Friday, May 7th, 2010 at 2:30pm -- Kat LiendgensBookmark and Share

Cascade integrations range in scope from a standard, 100 hour QuickStart with pre-defined features to much larger, custom-quoted projects. The Professional Services Team uses a modified SCRUM approach for all projects, since this type of development method allows us to closely work with our clients throughout the integration process and to address potential changes very quickly. Instead of only involving the client at the beginning and end of the process, namely during requirements gathering and acceptance testing, we realize that it is much more beneficial for everyone involved to handle projects with a more agile methodology.

Here's how it works:

For custom-quoted projects, we work with the client to identify a "backlog" of the feature and functionality requests and, in collaboration with the developers, estimate the time required for each item to be completed. If the total hours estimated exceed the size of the project that the client had in mind, we work with the client to revise the scope in order to ensure that the project does not go over budget and/or the desired time frame. Of course, the client also has the option to adjust the budget and the time frame if all of the items on the backlog need to be implemented.

We group all of the features into sprints, with each sprint including a very specific functionality and feature set. Depending on the size of the project, we may have between two and six sprints. Our developers log each task in our JIRA tracking system, so that we can keep an eye on burndown charts, which immediately tell us how a project is progressing. Once a sprint is complete, we have a review meeting, in which the client can be involved. The main purpose of the sprint review meetings is to give the client a chance to see the implemented features and to determine if the deliverables work as expected. After all, it's easier and faster to make a change early on in the process than it is after the project has been completed.

This development approach cuts down on the time that our clients spend gathering and documenting requirements. And although the agile method is more powerful for custom-quoted, large scale projects, it works for QuickStarts as well.  No matter how big or small the project may be, we work very closely with the client throughout all stages of the project life cycle.

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