OPS 574 Collaboration Warm-Up Exercise: Agile Product Development

Slide 1

Title: Collaboration Warm-Up Exercise: Agile Product Development

Slide 2

Title: Exercise Objectives

Explain the objectives and need for operations management.

Slide 3

Title: Challenge

In this warm-up, you will explain the objectives and need for operations management within the context of the Agile product development process.

Slide 4

Title: Core Values of Agile

Agile is a method to manage and develop new or improved products and processes. It is increasingly popular in business because of its focus on collaboration, rapid prototyping, quick launch, and continuous improvement.

Download: The Agile Manifesto Handout

Download Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14pCrvCKWiULcIMmLjRY7m3Iqq_03xVvY/view?usp=sharing

Slide 5

Title: Agile Product Development Process

Lets take a look at the Agile process used for product development.

In the first stage of Agile, team members envision the desired product or outcomes and develop the scope of the project.

Next, the team will speculate client needs and develop the specifications of the project or process.

The team will release the plan and develop a method for receiving feedback from stakeholders as the project progresses.

The team will then explore deliverables and develop the sequence and timeline for completion of each stage of the project. These stages generally last 24 weeks and are called Sprints.

As deliverables are completed during a Sprint, the project moves to the Adapt phase, in which stakeholders provide feedback. Modifications are made as needed to improve processes and/or products in future production

Once the product or processes are in an Optimal phase, the project enters the Close phase, and the team develops a report, outlining lessons learned and other findings.

Slide 6

Title: Benefits of Agile Methodology

The perceived benefits of Agile flow from its transparent and iterative process.

These benefits include:

Reduced costs and time for development, launch, and modification

Reduced risk due to adaptive development and emphasis on quality

Greater customer satisfaction due to greater levels of input at each stage of the project and customer-focus

Application of performance metrics to evaluate utilization of resources and keep project on time and on budget

Fewer roadblocks and more timely performance through collaboration and transparency

A mindset that promotes continuous improvement

Slide 7

Title: Applications of Agile

Although Agile is most often associated with software development projects, it can be used in other applications as well. Describe a non-IT business scenario in which you believe it would be appropriate to apply Agile methodology.

[Student Entry]

Slide 8

Title: Applications of Agile

Feedback

Examples of business scenarios which have used Agile include:

Products that require customization or variable styles

Products that can be delivered as individual components

Development and iteration of Integrated marketing campaigns

Mergers & Acquisitions

Enterprise projects, such as client relationship management, financial processes, training, or performance evaluation systems.

Workforce reorganization

Virtual work teams

Development of any product or service

Process improvement

Change management

Slide 9

Title: Adopting Agile Processes

Now that you understand the basic concepts underlying Agile, lets examine how an organization can integrate Agile into its operations. Read From Zero to Product Owner: Setting the conditions to succeed with Agility (external link: https://medium.com/crowdbotics/from-zero-to-product-owner-or-how-we-set-the-conditions-to-succeed-with-agility-d0e825b591bf).

Question 1:

How did the use of design thinking at the outset of Agile implementation impact the project?

[Student Entry]

Question 2:

How can leaders facilitate an Agile operations environment?

[Student Entry]

Question 3:

Assume that you have been assigned to an Agile team to develop an updated website for a fashion retailer. What steps should the team take to launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

[Student Entry]

Slide 10

Title: Adopting Agile Processes

Feedback

Design thinking helped the team to empathize and analyze a variety of stakeholders needs and identify the most important problems to solve. Design thinking also promoted collaborative brainstorming on possible solutions and integration of varied perspectives

Involve a representative cross-section of stakeholders in design thinking and Agile planning; Encourage debate and critical thinking throughout the process; Involve naysayers in the process to improve buy-in and reduce risks

The development of a MVP would include:

Identification of desired functions and features of the site from the perspective of each type of stakeholder, including customers

Research on the functions and appearance of competitors sites

Evaluate budget and timeline constraints

Development of prototypes

Collection and analysis of customer and stakeholder feedback after using the prototype

Deployment of the MVP

Evaluation of the function and performance of the MVP

Report findings of MVP evaluation

Recommend modifications

Implement modifications

Slide 11

Title: Final Submission

Have you had any experience working on Agile teams? If so, what were the benefits and difficulties of the Agile approach? If not, using this exercise, what benefits and challenges do you foresee applying an Agile approach in your current or future workplace? How can the challenges of Agile be mitigated or overcome?

Consider what you learned in the experience and respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

Have you had any experience working on Agile teams?

If you have worked on Agile teams, what were the benefits and difficulties of the Agile approach?

If you have not worked on Agile teams, using this exercise, what benefits and challenges do you foresee applying an Agile approach in your current or future workplace?

How can the challenges of Agile be mitigated or overcome?