By Nicola Brown
Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
 |
| Unsplash Photo by: Clay Banks |
Practically, what does it mean?
Let's put this disclaimer up front - for us, the agile values and principles are applicable in any industry, not just software development.
But in dissecting the statement, several things can be taken away.
1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer:
2. Early and continuous delivery:
The last phrase we want to focus on is:
3. Valuable software: We can easily argue that value is subjective. What is considered valuable for one person, will not be for another. So, who determines value in this context? It all leads back to the customer.
But our customers also have different ideas about what is ‘value’ too. So what do we do about that? We can start by being clear about which set of your customers you're targeting.
Ultimately, it's all about what our customers want. Any decision taken must be hinged on the customer's needs. And to know what the customer needs, requires conversations with the customer. Not assumptions, guesses or gut feelings about what they want. Actual information/insights from them about what they want.
And this is not just a one-off conversation, it's the start of several conversations. As you're creating (or rather co-creating), the solution, you will continue to engage the customer to understand things like:
That leads us to the next phrase in the statement.
And this is not just a one-off conversation, it's the start of several conversations. As you're creating (or rather co-creating), the solution, you will continue to engage the customer to understand things like:
- Is this what was expected
- Is this still needed
- How can we improve on this
- …and so forth.
It’s involving the customer in every stage of your product lifecycle, including continuous feedback even after each release.
- Customers or contracts, what's your focus?
That leads us to the next phrase in the statement.
2. Early and continuous delivery:
To deliver early requires that we focus on the simplest things that can be done. It's about doing just enough to get the solution in the hands of the customer. It's when the customer starts interacting with your solution, that you'll get a true sense of how they use it and this will unlock several opportunities for improvement.
That's why it is a continuous process. 😉
That's why it is a continuous process. 😉
 |
| Unsplash Photo by: Christina @wocintechchat.com |
The last phrase we want to focus on is:
3. Valuable software: We can easily argue that value is subjective. What is considered valuable for one person, will not be for another. So, who determines value in this context? It all leads back to the customer.
But our customers also have different ideas about what is ‘value’ too. So what do we do about that? We can start by being clear about which set of your customers you're targeting.
This is where concepts like creating user personas are useful. But people are dynamic and so while the personas are useful guides, it does not replace the continuous validation (through conversations) that must be done with actual people.
What's your take on this?
0 comments: