Finally, the agile mindset and approach has reached the more conservative ERP world. At Engage, we have been involved in several such projects where it has been proven that it not only works but also has great advantages over the traditional waterfall method of ERP implementation.
We do see strong advantages in adapting to agile principles, ways-of-working and tools:
• Increase productivity
• Improve collaboration (both IT and Business)
• Increase transparency to priorities and backlog
• Decrease risks
“Waterfall vs Agile” is not always helpful as a “one or the other“ distinction in the new cloud world but we do find some key items to be essential for success:
• Choose the best team for the task – easier said than done if you are in the hands of an outsourcing partner
• If possible, have a Minimum Viable Product approach
• Make sure to have a process for handling changed and new priorities
• Early and repeated validation of the solution to make sure that processes and scenarios meet the business needs and requirements
• Make sure to get ambassadors among the business stakeholders to gain confidence, experience and increase engagement
Organizations that are the most successful in embracing agile, understand that agile methodologies are not something that organizations do, but rather something that the organization becomes. It takes a long time to become agile, but the payoff is proven even in the ERP-world for application lifecycle management.
