Agile is more than just methodologies. It is the way we do business.
Services
Agile Values
At Network to Code, we believe that the best outcomes occur when we foster a culture of inspection and adaptation. Generating the most value out of an engagement requires that we regularly assess and alter our approach based on dynamic technologies, market conditions, and organizational context, which is why we strive to live the Agile values in all that we do. In order to translate the benefits of this mindset and culture into tangible results, we apply Agile frameworks to the work we commit to.
Scrum
At the heart of every Agile framework lies the concept of feedback loops. Feedback loops matter, because this is how we ensure that we are always aligning to the highest value possible and adapting, when needed, to achieve that value. Scrum is the most common framework we use to create and execute those feedback loops. Scrum is an iterative framework that employs feedback loops through the concept of “Sprints,” which are timeboxes of a predefined number of days or weeks. The feedback loops of a sprint are kicked off with Sprint Planning, which is where the team commits to the work they feel can be done within the sprint. The feedback loops close at the end of the sprint with the Sprint Review, and the Sprint Retrospective. The Sprint Review closes the feedback loop of the product, where the team collaborates with the stakeholders to ensure that the work is going in the right direction. The Sprint Retrospective closes the feedback loop of the process, letting the team reflect on ways to become even more performant. At the center of this framework lies the Daily Standup, which lets the team plan for the day; this daily check-in simultaneously closes the feedback loop from the last 24 hours and initiates the next feedback loop for the upcoming 24 hours.
Kanban
In some cases, the work intake for a team can be highly unpredictable. This is especially true for support-focused teams, such as those who work in DevOps or Provisioning. They know the work is coming, they just don’t know when.
If this sounds like your team, Kanban may be a better approach. Rest assured, our Engagement Managers are equipped to guide your team through this process as well. Rather than focusing on velocity and predictability, Kanban helps teams with unpredictable work intake to visualize their process, optimize their workflow, and communicate SLAs to their stakeholders. This is done by throttling the amount of Work In Progress (WIP) in order to visualize bottlenecks and optimize process efficiency.
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
Larger-scale efforts can sometimes involve multiple Scrum or Kanban teams, or even multiple sections of an organization. To address this need, our Engagement Managers are trained in the use of SAFe, which allows an organization to plan projects at various levels of scale. One of the strengths of SAFe is that it is modular and can be customized to the project. “Essential SAFe” utilizes the concept of a Release Train to align multiple teams and create a visualization of interdependencies and connected value. “Large Solution SAFe” introduces the Solution Train, which is comprised of several related release trains for very large projects. “Portfolio SAFe” addresses the need for alignment at the organizational level, and “Full SAFe” combines Portfolio and Large Solution elements for enterprise-wide initiatives. SAFe takes into account, as we do at NTC, that one size does not necessarily fit all.
