Advantages and disadvantages of the Agile method on a project

“An agile method is an iterative and incremental approach, which is conducted in a collaborative spirit with just the right amount of formalism. It generates a high-quality product while taking into account changing customer needs” Veronique Messager Rota As part of the application maintenance for a major customer, SQORUS signed a long-term TMA (Third-Party Application Maintenance) contract running since 2010.

3 levels are represented within a team of 7 people, on 3 technologies (ETL : Datastage, Reporting: SAP BO, HMI: Peoplesoft)

• Level 1: Direct support of the contact person for the resolution of minor problems. If not resolved: diagnosis and escalation to level 2.
• Level 2: More complex problems not solved at level 1 Problem solving according to formalized procedure Formalization of technical procedures, infrastructure modification (soft or hard) If not solved: diagnosis and escalation to level 3.
• Level 3: Specific support from the software publisher Very long waiting times.

The TMA allows to provide a service called “dedicated” whose resources are exclusively dedicated to the customer.

The goal is to guarantee the maintenance of the application, its performance and its availability. In this perspective, the expected benefits of the Agile method are the following:

• Improve productivity through regular feedback and optimization
• Enable a reactive, iterative approach to work organization
• Focus on customer satisfaction quickly and efficiently
• Preserving investments

In 2 years of application of the Agile method, the results are very positive

• Subjects are constantly evolving, so the method must be adapted
• Increased yield
• Better visibility of current topics
• Team cohesion: constant reflection to improve efficiency
• Valuing people
• Fewer anomalies over the months

The points of attention noted

• Requires a close-knit, motivated team
• Little room for substantive subjects (the aim is not to have the same subject several weeks in a row)
• Difficulty tracking development lifecycle Deployment pace Risk of subject collisions
• Support needed from sponsors
• Adaptation phase essential (continuous change)

Before agile, the way teams worked was as follows:

• Little or no knowledge of each other’s subjects
• Few tickets solved in a week
• Less team sharing

With agility, new practices have emerged

• Daily review every day Allows a good understanding of each person’s situation Rely on each person’s skills.
• Sprint review every week Plan the week’s tickets and allocate tasks
• Sprint retrospective every week.
  Review the past week’s positive and negative points with the Product Owner, and identify areas for improvement.