Research indicates a number of factors common to firms that have successfully put the principles of the modern software factory in place.
These include:
* A relentless customer focus: a deep understanding of customers, and a company-wide commitment to delivering the best possible experiences for them.
* A flexible approach to development: a willingness to take risks when creating software solutions by experimenting and iterating throughout the development process.
* A lack of silos and barriers: recognition that in an agile working environment, boundaries and finishing points aren't always set in stone.
* Clarity and certainty: clear directions, clear processes to support people in their work, and realistic timescales to complete projects.
* The right culture: a climate of frankness; collaboration and a willingness to learn.
The modern software factory puts software at the heart of a business, and research results not only make a clear business case for overhauling the approach to software development, but also reveal that doing so drives superior business performance.
Let's unpack these points.
A person looks at his/her business and says: "Well, it's functioning okay." Yes, in a certain manner, but that comes down to an attitude of "that's just the way things are". Now, though, the person is facing a world where that is rapidly turning into "that's just the way things were", and s/he has been left behind.
Everything is changing, and whether a business is gearing to prevent disruption or to become a disruptor in its market, it requires a culture that embraces change.
All businesses are focused on one question: how do I leapfrog the competition by delivering new, rich experiences that meet customer needs? The answer is software must be at the heart of the business. One would think this is not a difficult task, considering that most companies today interact with their customers via software; so why is it hard to understand that it is not only the conduit to business, but the key to winning the race over competition?
Getting started
First, develop new business models; don't be afraid to pare down or destroy models that have been successful for the past 20 years but won't necessarily place the business where it should be in the future. Next, a company needs to prize innovation and put it at the apex of the pyramid of its strategic priorities, moving it from being event-based to continuous.
A company truly needs to be obsessed with customers and put them at the centre of the business, not at the periphery. It is also vital to view data as a new strategic asset to aid empirical decision-making, which supports the attainment of what the customer really wants. All of these actions will make for a better business, not forgetting the one final item to be added: automation.
Amazon releases new software every 11.6 seconds.
Companies should automate wherever possible. By implementing all of the foregoing without automation, it is just moving the value curve one step in the right direction, only to slow it down even further because it can't keep pace with the rest of the business.
Rewriting the future
Global digital leaders require no introduction; brands like Uber, Amazon, Google, Netflix and Facebook are household names. Let's take a closer look at Amazon as just one example of a highly successful business that has been rewritten by software. Amazon releases new software every 11.6 seconds and is driving to increase this figure daily.
This speed of delivery in itself is not the success, it is only the procedure. The new apps and features must be designed specifically to address customer demands in a world where consumers have more choices than ever before, and when disappointed, will switch to another supplier offering faster functionality, ease of use, etc.
The basis for companies to successfully turn out new apps hinges on their knowledge of what features their customers desire, and fulfilling that need. When this is in place, only then does it become a case of: "How do we get stable, secure apps that fulfil the market needs out faster, and what is the right cadence?" When a company can achieve that, it will have a tangible, successful software factory that yields increased revenue and market share.
What about digital transformation in the middle of all this?
Let's take a step back and examine what it is that positions some companies ahead of the game. That's easy... digital transformation is the key. Companies that have rolled out a digital transformation strategy are shown to deliver new apps 33.3% faster than their competition. This means they are one-third quicker than competitors at delivering new, rich experiences that meet their customer needs. The companies that experience these results are founded on the construction of a software factory that is highly agile and automated.
The strategic and operative word here is "experience" and not just feature delivery.
Three steps to getting started:
1. Document/examine what the company has today:
* A company can't build something new unless it knows what it currently has.
* Detail how ideas are eventually turned into innovations.
* Examine the interfaces between the stages in the company's development processes.
* Think globally, to ensure the constraints across the entire process are being addressed.
2. Design the company's future factory:
* Envision the shape of the company's future factory.
* Collaborate throughout the process.
* Focus on the outcomes for the company's customers and not on internal matters.
3. Sequence and integrate the necessary changes:
* Compare the current and future state.
* Map out the differences.
* Start by looking at the gaps between the two states (current and future).
* Identify what will yield the biggest wins and focus on this; it will improve momentum and throughput in the business.
The bottom line is Rome was not built in a day, and neither can the modern software factory be, but if the goals are clearly set to drive for continuous improvement; automation of information flow; and implementation of change, the company can drive the digital transformation success.
In my third and final Industry Insight, I will discuss why the modern software factory is key to business success.
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