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Executive Experience Reports
Executives at large companies are adopting Agile practices to address issues like being late to market with features, slow ability to change, and declining stock prices. They use Rally's Agile tools and coaching to help transform their organizations, seeing benefits like quicker delivery of high-quality releases, improved prioritization to focus on the most important work, and increased productivity and visibility across distributed teams. The document advocates that other large companies seeking business transformation should partner with Rally to implement Agile at scale and hear from peer executives on their experiences.
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Executive Experience Reports
- 1. Execs share theirjustificationsfor Agile transformationExecutive Experience Reports “Why Agile? Because the market moves while we’re building. Too often we are late, with features that miss expectations.”1© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 2. Agile Moves tothe Boardroom of the Fortune 500 & World’s Largest IT Org2© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 3. Our stock hasbeen down - something needs to changeAgile lets us make smaller increments of change, get feedback and adjust, so we put out the best product possible while maintaining qualityWe make big bets on big projects, and customers aren't liking the resultsThe quick wins and early returns we are getting from Agile are funding our continued transformationOur ability to change has gotten slow Rally offered the partnership to help us succeed with the difficult process of organization change. We need to spend time only on what's valuable, and not on what isn'tExecutives Use Agile to Stay Relevant in Today’s Markets3© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 4. Inovis Increases Productivity,while Reducing Defects by 33%“With Rally and Agile, the most important priorities for the business get done every two weeks.”Erik HuddlestonCTO, InovisClick to watch the video!4© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 5. CDC Delivers Software3x Faster“Our teams are widely distributed and being able to communicate and share knowledge across those teams has been absolutely essential. We could not do it without using Rally."Judith MillsVP of Product Engineering, CDC SoftwareClick to watch the video!5© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 6. NEOGOV Enhances Collaboration"Rallyand Agile has enabled our teams to dramatically improve collaboration. This improved visibility and communication efficiency has improved the productivity of our teams by as much as 50%."Michael MacDonaldSenior VP of Product Development, NEOGOVClick to watch the video!6© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 7. HomeAway Increases Predictability"Notonly are we faster to market, but the predictability we gain from the data we can mine from Rally is huge."Jack YangDirector of Engineering, HomeAwayClick to watch the video!7© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 8. Qualcomm Meets CriticalDeadline for New Product"I truly think that we would have not made the deadline for our product release without Agile and Rally."Laureen KnudsenSenior Director of Business Development, QualcommClick to watch the video!8© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 9. UTI Dramatically ImprovesTime-to-Market“Withmillions of dollars at risk, we had to change the way we were developing software. With Agile and Rally we were able to deliver mission-critical functionality in 30 days.”David AnnisVP of Software Development, Universal Technical InstituteClick to watch the video!9© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 10. Rally’s Enterprise AgileRollouts Reach Across Industries 10© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 11. Deliver High-quality ReleasesSOLUTIONRESULTCHALLENGETestingtaking 2-3 months per release
- 12. Scale Agile developmentpractices to manage hundreds of personnel across worldwide workforce
- 13. Engaged Rally’s coachesto guide Agile adoption
- 14. Implemented Rally’s on-demandlifecycle management solution
- 15. Deliver high-quality releasesin a fraction of the time
- 16. Individual team productivityincreases by 20-50%“When we started with Agile, I was concerned itmight be a less disciplined method for development. In reality, it’s more disciplined, and provides more accountability. Using Agile with Rally’s solutions is giving us stronger, more tangible metrics and better visibility into our progress.” Paul Beavers, Director of R&D11© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 17. Improve PrioritizationSOLUTIONRESULTCHALLENGEWaterfall methodologydid not allow for customer interaction in the development process
- 18. No predictable softwarerelease cycles
- 19. Implemented Rally’s lifecyclemanagement solution
- 20. Engaged Rally coachesto educate teams on Agile best practices
- 21.
- 22. Deliver software releaseson-time or ahead of schedule“In essence, Rally has required the entire organization be an active participant in the developmentprocess. The development organization does the most important work first, and this is directly linked to the organization’s priorities. Rally has forced better prioritization through the entire company.” John Alpine, Vice President of R&D12© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 23. Get Real-time VisibilitySOLUTIONRESULTCHALLENGENooverview of development efforts across the organization
- 24. Implemented Rally’s on-demandlifecycle management solution
- 25. Almost two timesfaster time-to-market as compared to industry average
- 26. Team productivity 10%higher than industry average“You can hide a lot of issues in a plan-based schedule,and you simply can’t do that using Agile and Rally. WithRally, we now have really good visibility on our engineering efforts, so it’s easy to see where we stand at any point in time and how resources are being used for particular projects.” Bill Leech, Senior Manager of Project Services13© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 27. Improve ProductivitySOLUTIONRESULTCHALLENGECut costsby eliminating redundant infrastructure
- 28. Upgrade information deliverysystem to accommodate a greater number of users
- 29. Leverage executive supportto cultivate a collaborative Agile culture across the development organization
- 30. Engaged Rally coachesto implement large-scale Agile transformation
- 31.
- 32. Build products rightthe first time around and deliver on-time“Our partnership with Rally has been great. The tool is amust, but just as importantly, Rally has provided the people and the training that we needed to be successful with our Agile rollout.”Mamie Jones, VP of Technology14© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
- 33. SummaryThe world’s largestcompanies are using Agile to transform their business and stay relevantSecure a proven Agile partner to assist in your enterprise transitionUnderstand what return to expect on your Agile investment - Download the Agile Impact ReportSeek out your peers to discuss what they are doing - Attend an Agile Executive Forum15© 2010 Rally Software Development, Inc.
Editor's Notes
- #3 BA is a powerful, public example of how the world’s largest industries are adopting Agile and Lean practices to transform their business and stay relevant in these times of upheaval. Quotes: “BA plans to standardize its IT development on Lean and Agile methodologies, as it fights to stave off the recession.”“We need smart innovation and smart change leveraged by technology. Lean and Agile methods are key enablers,” says CIO Paul Colby.http://www.cio.co.uk/news/3203061/ba-cio-says-lean-and-agile-development-will-beat-downturn/12/19/09 article:VivekKundra was appointed federal CIO by President Obama in March 2009, with a broad range of responsibilities, including strategic planning of federal IT, oversight of the government's $76 billion IT budget, and enterprise architecture. “…talking about the power of unleashing data and how to create value and drive accountability consistent with what the President has been talking about in terms of a transparent, open and participatory government. We're following up with a detailed concept of operations now. The model here is that we've basically used an agile methodology in the same way as if you look at software development. This is the philosophy of agile management, which is, let's start small, launch in beta, be the beneficiary of thinking and divergent views and a battle of ideas around what is going to make the most sense and what is going to be of the greatest value, and then follow up with federal government-wide policy and execution. “The key is to focus on execution, agile methodology, have a battle of ideas, and scale super-fast.”Link: http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/leadership/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222002611&pgno=2&queryText=Vivek+Kundra&isPrev=eBay is a Rally customer who has used Rally coaches for their Agile rollout and adoption and the Rally tool to scale their Agile practices. Quotes: “Carges' plan is to take the "agile" method of software development and expand it to all areas.”“My focus is on accelerating the pace of innovation (through Agile),” says CTO Mark Carges.http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_25/b4136048144243.htm
- #5 Inovis is a leading provider of on-demand business community management (BCM) solutions.Inovis specializes in delivering supply chain solutions globally to more than 20,000 companiesacross a wide range of industries and markets. The company has grown organically throughacquisitions, including its recent acquisition around BCM.Challenge: Inovis needed to support different products, development cultures and geographies becauseof numerous acquisitionsWanted to expand market approach, but was finding the transition difficult because of tight controls and procedures for product developmentCould not move quickly enough to address customer and sales challenges, which resulted in lost opportunities and reduced revenueProduct release schedules were suffering, and the company needed to reinvigorate its development efforts immediately. Solution:Inovis used several Rally team coaches to work with its initial teams to help them plan and execute their Agile rollout, while also implementing Rally's agile life cycle solution to support the geographically distributed development teams.Benefits:12X productivity gain over industry average1/3 less defectsReduced time-to-market by 80%Development and executive level teams were able to work together more effectivelyCFO is now able to track cost of goods deliveredSales teams closed 7-figure deals quickly due to the improved response time of development teamsErik Huddleston, Chief Technology Officer, Inovis"Our teams store incredible amounts of data in Rally and it has really become the hub of our development organization. Rally's new custom reporting flexibility will give me the right information and make it actionable in a way that supports our organization's unique ‘Agile analytics' needs."Size: 630 EmployeesRally Customer Since: 2/08Services?: Yes
- #6 CDC Software sells CRM, ERP and Supply chain software solutions worldwide. Headquartered out of Atlanta GA, CDC's product teams are globally distributed, with product owners in Europe and the US and delivery teams in China and India. Challenges: CDC was constantly challenged with synchronizing and distributing product feedback, feature backlogs, and development status across geographies and time zones. Solution: The CDC product teams rolled out Rally across their globally distributed teams to manage backlogs, synchronize teams and manage development schedules. The product teams also used Rally's customizable reporting to tailor and deliver executive level reports focused on project schedules and deliverable status.Benefits3X increase in time-to-marketDramatic cost reductionsProject reporting meets the needs of all stakeholdersEffectively status schedules and deliverable status to multiple teams in four countriesAlan MacLamroc, Chief Product and Technology Officer, CDC Software."Our global deployment spans nine countries on four continents, with our largest centers in China and India. By using Agile and Rally, we have been able to improve our speed-to-market threefold while dramatically reducing our costs. Rally's new custom reporting will give us even more flexibility to tailor reports to meet the specific needs of our teams and executives by communicating our schedules and deliverables."Size: 2,100 employeesRally Customer Since: 10/05Services?: Yes
- #7 NEOGOV, the market and technology leader in on-demand human resource applications for the public sector. Inc. Magazine ranked NEOGOV in the top 50 fastest growing private software companies and among top 15% of America's fastest growing private companies overall.Challenges:Waterfall development meant it took six months or more to deliver software and company began to lag behind competitorsWithout input from customers, software was not only delivered later than expected, but also missed customer expectationsSolution:Implemented Rally’s Agile lifecycle management solutionBenefits:Deliver compelling functionality to customers every 15 days Improved collaboration has resulted in 50% increase in productivityCustomer since: 10/08
- #8 Challenges:Difficulty in effectively communicating across teamsLittle to no visibility for executives and business owners on the development processLack of consistent development methodology across the organizationStruggle to properly account for development expensesSolution:Implemented Rally’s Agile lifecycle management solutionsEngaged Rally coaches to educate teams on Agile practicesBenefits:20% faster time-to-market as compared to industry average, with no increase in defect rate10-20% improvements in team productivity as compared to industry averageCompany-wide adoption of Agile practicesRobust reporting tracks capitalization and noncapitalization development expensesCustomer since: 10/05Services: Y
- #9 Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Qualcomm is included in the S&P 100 Index, the S&P 500 Index and is a 2009 FORTUNE 500® company.Challenges: The development team was struggling to meet release dates using traditional waterfall development.Solution: Engaged Rally’s services organization to assist with their organizational transformation and brought in Rally’s Agile lifecycle management solution to provide visibility across the company on development progress.Benefits:Consistently delivering products on time and under budgetCustomer since: 9/07Services: Y"When we began evaluating potential Agile partners, we put together two teams - one to look at tools and one to review training partners and both of those teams chose Rally."
- #10 Universal Technical Institute, Inc. is a nationwide provider of technical education training for students seeking careers as professional automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine technicians.Challenges: A change from the Dept of Education required a software change within 30 days in order for UTI to package their students for financial aid. With an unpredictable waterfall development methodology in place, the organization feared that it would lose millions of dollars of financial aid for their students. Solution: With the help of Rally’s services organization, moved to Agile practices and implemented Rally’s Agile tool. Benefits: Implemented mission-critical functionality in under 30 daysImproved productivity across the development organization resulting from more effective collaboration across the distributed development teamRally provides visibility on development status across the organization Customer since: 7/08Services: Y
- #12 Development EnvironmentOver 900 developers and testers, geographically dispersed with 11 teams in 5 locations: Austin, Houston, Santa Clara, Israel and IndiaChallengesTesting taking 2-3 months per releaseCombine three individual architectures into one infrastructure, all within an extremely short timeframe of 10 monthsScale Agile development practices up to effectively manage hundreds of personnel across a worldwide workforceMatrixed in responsibilities with team members regularly pulled away to fight firesSolutionRally’s Coaches traveled to all BMC sites, working with executives, management and engineers to guide the adoption of a formal Agile development processRally’s on-demand lifecycle management solution enables BMC to manage multi-team Agile development effortsResultsDelivering high-quality releases in a fraction of the timeNominated for an ADT Innovat- or’s award in the Application Engineering categoryEmployees are more engaged and empoweredIndividual team productivity is up by 20-50%Better alignment with customer needsHigher ROI through Lean Requirements practicesCustomers receive critical functionality sooner through more frequent releases
- #13 Development EnvironmentA mix of two week and three week iterationsService pack releases every nine weeks and major releases every eight monthsChallengesWaterfall methodology did not allow for customer interaction early in the development processOpen source tools did not reinforce Agile practicesNo predictable software release cyclesOrganizational disconnect during the development prioritization processSolutionImplemented Rally’s Agile lifecycle management solutions, allowing for timely customer feedbackEngaged Rally coaches to educate teams on the Rally solution and Agile best practicesEnd-to-end product lifecycle management enables clear view of release forecast and company-wide understanding of development effortsResultsImproved time-to-market, with the last 4 software releases on-time or ahead of scheduleComplete end-to-end product lifecycle visibility for the entire organizationDramatically improved prioritization process throughout the company
- #14 Development EnvironmentTwo week iterations, with periodic releasesJSP code base, HTML markup, CSS, and JavaScriptChallengesTwenty plus spreadsheets unwieldy to manage and required that each project have its own project managerNo overview of the development efforts across the organizationSolutionImplemented Rally’s Agile lifecycle management solutions, providing a single, enterprise-wide overview of all development projects across the organizationResultsAlmost two times faster time-to-market as compared to industry averageTeam productivity 10% higher than industry average
- #15 Hoover’s Improves Productivity by 20% with Agile and RallyOur partnership with Rally has been great. The tool is an absolute must. But, just as importantly, Rally has provided the people and the training that we needed to be successful.”Development EnvironmentIT Department with over 100 people distributed among multiple project teamsTransitioning entire code base from PHP to JavaChallengesImprove the development team’s ability to meet delivery datesCut costs by eliminating redundant infrastructureUpgrade information delivery system to accommodate a greater number of usersSolutionStarted with pilot project to demonstrate early Agile successLeveraged executive support to cultivate a collaborative/Agile culture across the entire development organizationSelected a partner (Rally) with proven success in helping development teams implement large-scale Agile transformationsResultsAcross-the-board productivity increase of 20%Greater transparency and vastly improved cross-departmental communicationBuilding products right the first time around and delivering them on-time