Situation
Custom software development in a rush
The client's hair was on fire by the time they called Sketch.
They already had a software delivery consultant and software development service provider working with them, but things weren't progressing as expected.
This client already had millions of dollars of perishable products in storage, waiting for the launch of a new e-commerce platform. Unfortunately, the expiration date of the products was approaching faster than the delivery date of the e-commerce product.
This global pet care enterprise was losing the race against time, and now they had to switch horses to give themselves a chance.
Assess the mess
After a quick assessment, Sketch identified several reasons this client wasn't delivering working software at an acceptable clip.
Barriers to successful software development
- Code quality issues led to slow releases and frequent production patches.
- All work required multiple rounds of QA.
- Scope trade-offs became huge negotiations, typically yielding only a handful of unestimated user stories per hour of meeting time.
- Teams skipped high-priority work to cherry-pick easy tasks.
- Each deployment took a full day and was susceptible to human error because of manual processes.
- Team members rarely communicated or contributed ideas for improvement.
With the clock ticking, a team of software developers and software delivery consultants from Sketch got to work.
Racing the clock?
We can help.
The solution involved several key results within two key areas for improvement.
1 - Change the software delivery model
First, Sketch and this client worked together to establish two or three sprints' worth of runway in the backlogs. We also wanted to ensure the team achieved the required velocity to launch a major feature within three months. We reconsidered squad compositions, then made sure the teams were physically together for easier collaboration.
2 - Improve quality and ease of deployments
After fine-tuning an agile software delivery process, the client was ready to work on execution, evaluation, and evolution. This meant reducing the number of separate modules in the code and simplifying the merge process. We also needed to establish more internal ownership of infrastructure, which meant improving the team's ability to manage their own build and deployment pipelines.
Reduce technical debt, and measure everything
Reducing technical debt helped with quality and speed. Moving toward incremental delivery further accelerated velocity.
Finally, we benchmarked the current performance and introduced quantifiable metrics. This allowed the team to track changes over time and make data-driven decisions.
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If you're interested in delivering custom software faster, we're happy to talk. The first few hours of consultation are always free.