Our society has become an on-demand culture expecting everything, right now. We no longer wait for anything. Need directions? Making a reservation or tee time? Or, just want to impress your kids with the answer to how many earths would fit inside of Jupiter?
You can have it all, in an instant. The answer to that last one is more than a thousand, you’re welcome.
As we become more used to instant gratification, our expectations rise in all areas. To respond, the need for speed in software development is also increasing. Companies have to deliver products and services more quickly to remain relevant.
In order to impact cycle times, we have to understand the things that are preventing us from delivering new systems and functions. Many businesses and product managers think throwing resources at ‘time to market’ issues will speed up progress, when it generally makes the situation worse. That management theory was well documented in the 1975 release of the ‘The Mythical Man-Month’ by Fred Brooks and continues to exist. The technology may have changed, but reasons for slow cycle times have remained consistent over the past 40 years. Consider this short list of reasons why your cycle times are dragging.
Potential Impediments to Speed:
- Communication – Having teams spread through multiple locations without adequate tools for meeting and collaboration.
- Business Commitment – A lack of business commitment and direct access to the customer responsible for the product.
- Architecture – System architecture that is bloated and brittle which creates an environment where making changes requires too many people and creates too much risk.
- Test Automation – An emphasis on scripted, manual testing done by a sequestered QA team.
- Environment Availability – Inadequate infrastructure available to deploy solutions.
- Software Delivery – Poor configuration and manual release processes causing delays and quality issues.
The good news is that each of these impediments can be overcome, with the right combination of people, process and technology. Our team is prepared to help you overcome the cycle time challenges your business is facing. Check out our success stories to see how we’ve helped clients in a variety of industries.
In the coming weeks, we will break down the challenges to cycle time, including an actionable plan you can put to use in your business from Andrew Duncan, Director of Innovation Services.
