In a bygone era, a business change that was fuelled by technology often took years to pan out. However, with the rise of Enterprise Management Software (ERP/ CRM/ CSM/ FSM, etc.), digital transformation has taken precedence. Continuous technological disruption has fuelled competition in every industry. It has led to companies and CIOs chasing faster innovation cycles to deal with rising customer expectations. The unprecedented challenges facing today’s enterprises give less time than ever to innovate and deliver solutions that work to customers fast.
The growth of connected products and devices, now drives most of an enterprise’s engagement with its customers digitally. As the customer experience is defined mostly by the nature of the digital experience delivered through your software (often in real-time), software development can no longer be viewed as a 'nice-to-have' function, but as a must-have business asset. This dynamic shift has seen even traditional non-software companies venture into Agile software development through mature competencies that build, support, and maintain their own assets. Here are 5 steps you can follow to build an effective software factory strategy.
Step 1 ). Build a Modular Organizational Structure
A software factory can have multiple models based on different factors like customer needs, business alignment, etc. There is no one-size-fits-all setup, and structures need to be highly flexible. However, in any kind of organizational framework, keeping a modular structure has been proven to help. Ideally, this means you have multiple scrum teams working in tandem in important roles and functions divided between them. Functional silos and hand-offs should be avoided.
Step 2). Create Agile Processes
A highly adaptable, customer centric agile methodology can help you realize continuous value with minimal overhead. An agile IT environment together with the right process, workflow, and tools is a key requirement for a software factory.
Step 3). Work on Intelligent Automation
AI-driven automation often forms the bedrock for a successful software factory. Automation of operations like code check-ins, routine builds, continuous integration, and testing are crucial to deliver speed, reliability, quality, and consistency in software delivery. If you automate these processes, you can catch defects early, prevent technology debt, and ensure that the software is almost always delivery-ready.
Step 4). Setting Up Your Team
Ideally, your scrum teams should have people with a large skillset, preferably with full-stack expertise. Someone that can cover all aspects from design, development, testing, and integration to delivery. Another alternative could be enabling a third-party team with the requisite high-level skills that can support multiple scrum teams on all of the development, QA, and delivery.
Step 5). Take Your Metrics Seriously
As there is no perfect process, you can always strive for improvement. A properly deployed automation framework can generate metrics on multiple aspects of the software development and delivery process. Your responsible teams (either in-house or third-party) should be conducting periodical reviews based on the metrics, for suggested continuous improvement.
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