Is delivering working software and delivering value the same?

By Nicola Brown

What if a team delivers a solution but the target users have no knowledge of its existence? Is success measured only by the solution being pushed to production or should it be measured by the value added by a deliverable (i.e. by virtue of customers using it)?

Agile underscores the importance of delivering value to our customers or users, incrementally and iteratively (see Agile Principles 1 and 3 below).

If we are staying true to the Agile Principles, then, each release gives us an opportunity to better understand what our customers expect and how to further improve on what we’ve already delivered or can possibly deliver in the future.

So then, this causes me to wonder:

If Solution A is released

But no user has interacted with Solution A

via GIPHY

Then, [we can conclude] Solution A has not added any value

I’m tempted to say that:

• Until it is validated, the implementation may have been successful, but the value from the delivery of the working software is yet to be realised.
• At this point, we can’t be sure that we’ve built the right thing, in the right way.
• We’re basically stuck at the ‘Build’ phase in the feedback loop.

Image source: Business 2 Community

But how should such an issue be addressed? 


via GIPHY


Could the answer lie in ensuring that an entire ecosystem is created to work in tandem with the team; each member playing its part to enable a consistent and valuable feedback loop? 

Several research studies have been carried out to help the community gain a better understanding about the state of Agile and why Agile projects fail.

• Project Management Institute has reported that 71% of organisations use Agile approaches - sometimes, often or always.
• According to Gartner, as Agile projects approach their peak of “inflated expectations”, problems with Agile will begin to make themselves more prominently known in the PM community.
• According to a VersionOne survey, 63% respondents indicated that agile projects failed because of the “clash between their business’s culture and Agile’s business philosophy”.

Source: ILX Group 

What are your thoughts on this? What have you seen work for some organisations? What are your suggestions to enable the success of Agile implementations in your neck of the woods?

We’d love to hear your views.