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Looking beyond Agile

By Candace Bosch, Conference producer
Johannesburg, 12 Dec 2014
Biase De Gregorio, managing executive at IQ Business, will present on frameworks and technology implications - looking beyond Agile.
Biase De Gregorio, managing executive at IQ Business, will present on frameworks and technology implications - looking beyond Agile.

The agenda for next year's ITWeb Software Development Management (SDM) Conference is packed with insightful presentations and local case studies from organisations that have achieved significant business benefits.

Among them is Biase De Gregorio, managing executive at IQ Business, who will present at the SDM event on 24 March. His presentation is on frameworks and technology implications - looking beyond Agile.

De Gregorio draws attention to the importance of understanding customer experience management: "Customer experience seems to be a new buzzword every executive is talking about, but is not really understood. What does it mean to be truly customer-centric? What does it mean to be truly outside-in? Similar to Agile, this is a mindset and philosophy. It is a culture change that needs to be in the DNA of the organisation. Combining Agile and CEM is extremely powerful in ensuring we are delivering the right product faster."

De Gregorio says it is vital to ensure the right product is being built correctly, as fast as possible, by obtaining early customer feedback. "Often, we've seen products/software solutions being built using Agile (delivering working software frequently), but then once it is operationalised, we see the uptake or usage of the new product as being really poor. Really bad products can be built really quickly with Agile. By delivering frequently, we can validate with our customers that we are building the right product. Having said that, we continuously need to find the balance between building the right product, building it fast, with high value, and doing things right."

De Gregorio will also address the importance of understanding the common challenges with regards to deriving customer value, noting: "Everyone throws around the statement about how we need to build valuable products/solutions. Often, when we talk to IT specialists, they refer to the customer as 'someone from business'. This is incorrect; it should be the end-user... the person who will ultimately use the product. We then need to understand what is valuable to them and prioritise the work accordingly. Understanding what is valuable to the customer is important, and customer experience management enables this."

ITWeb Software Development Management Conference 2015

At this event, delegates will hear from industry leaders and gain access to user case studies covering critical new trends in software development management, including project management disciplines such as Scrum, and development methodologies such as Agile and DevOps. Click here for more details and to book your seat.

Bennet Vallet, director of software development at Siemens Healthcare, will present a case study on improving quality, predictability and speed at Siemens. He will examine how the metrics of flow (cycle time and WIP) can be used to achieve high levels of predictability and productivity. He will also discuss how to model the development process using historical metrics, rather than estimation, to provide likely completion timeframes and costs.

Don't miss the opportunity to hear insights and lessons shared from these subject matter experts, as well as key insights into trends shaping software development, and the opportunities and threats these present.

Click here to find out more and register your interest in attending.

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