Agile practices have become the predominant delivery methodology in software development, with most teams adopting some form of Agile framework. While Agile has brought significant benefits, we have encountered many teams who still struggle with late deliveries, budget overruns, and dissatisfied stakeholders.
In this article, we take a look at one of the key underlying causes of these issues and explore how organizations can unlock the potential of their Agile delivery teams by embracing a product-centric approach.
Delivering outputs but missing outcomes
Despite the widespread adoption of Agile practices, many organizations still perceive their software delivery teams as unable to keep pace with business expectations.
In many cases this disconnect stems from a fundamental difference in mindset: organizations view their IT teams as service providers, focusing on the delivery of outputs, while Agile emphasizes the creation of value through measurable outcomes.
Following Agile practices will not answer the question of how best to measure value. Without the articulation of value, Agile teams become feature factories, churning out functionalities that have been requested by stakeholders without a clear understanding of their impact on customer value. The result is a backlog of unfulfilled requests, frustrated stakeholders, and a sense of disillusionment with Agile practices.
Shifting from project-centric to product-centric
To address this disconnect between their IT teams and business teams or other stakeholders, organizations need to transition from a project-centric mindset to a product-centric approach. This shift involves a fundamental change in how organizations view their IT teams, recognizing them as value creators rather than mere service providers.
In a product-centric model, the focus shifts from delivering outputs to achieving outcomes. Teams are empowered to solve problems and deliver value, rather than simply complete a list of tasks or features given to them. This requires a clear understanding of the product’s vision, strategy, and target customers for teams to prioritize initiatives based on their potential impact on customer value.
Embracing the product manager as the value driver
The role of a product manager becomes pivotal in this product-centric approach. Product managers need to be empowered to become subject matter experts, understanding the product’s domain, its value proposition, and the needs of its customers. They collaborate closely with the delivery team, providing strategic direction and ensuring that development efforts align with the overall product vision.
Product managers also play a crucial role in defining success metrics, ensuring the team’s efforts are measured against tangible outcomes rather than just output volume. This focus on outcomes aligns the team’s work with the organization’s business objectives, fostering a culture of value creation.
Think big, start small
Transforming into a product-centric organization is a journey that requires cultural shifts, organizational alignment, and a commitment to continuous improvement. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but the following steps can guide your organizations in the right direction:
- Executive endorsement: Secure buy-in from leadership to champion the product-centric approach and provide the necessary support for its implementation.
- Define value: Clearly articulate the value that the team is responsible for delivering, ensuring that everyone understands the desired outcomes.
- Coach the organization: Educate stakeholders on the benefits of a product-centric approach, emphasizing the shift from outputs to outcomes.
- Empower product managers: Elevate the role of product managers as strategic decision-makers and value drivers, enabling them to guide the team effectively.
- Foster collaboration: Encourage close collaboration between product managers and the delivery team, ensuring alignment on goals, priorities, and success metrics.
We recommend identifying a particular product or service as a candidate and following these steps to demonstrate success. By embracing a product-centric approach, organizations can unleash the true potential of their Agile delivery teams, driving innovation, creating value, and achieving business success.
Adopting Agile frameworks is essential in modern software development. However, this alone will not unlock a team’s ability to generate value. Organizations need to move towards product centricity to consistently deliver value with product management teams working hand in hand with the delivery teams to continually adapt, update and improve the product that they are responsible for.
Transformation can begin at a small scale but the key to success is ensuring the product discovery and delivery teams have the necessary tools and talent which will empower them to truly shift from delivering outputs to delivering outcomes.
Partnering for outcomes
Digital transformation partners can be a viable option to consider when planning your business journey with Agile and Devops methodologies. Besides speed and agility, they deliver tangible outcomes for quick comparison of their value add.
Eviden’s OneCloud offering delivers business agility, continual optimization, innovation at speed and growth for customers. It has enabled global organizations on their modernization and transformation journeys and provided transformation expertise throughout the Cloud Continuum.
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