The Case for Doing the Work in July and August

There's a belief that runs through most organizations — usually unspoken, occasionally said out loud — that summer isn't the right time to start something new.

People are on vacation. Things are quieter. We'll wait until fall when everyone is back and focused.

It's an understandable instinct. And for most organizations, it's exactly backwards.

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What Summer Actually Looks Like Inside Most Businesses

Yes, July and August have more vacations. Yes, some weeks feel lighter than others. But step back and look at the full picture of what summer typically offers compared to the rest of the year:

Fewer high-stakes deadlines. The urgency that drives Q1 (new year planning) and Q4 (year-end everything) isn't present in the same way. There's room to think, not just react.

Lighter meeting loads. With team members taking time off in rotation, the calendar often opens up in ways it rarely does during peak season. That's time that can go toward meaningful work instead of coordination overhead.

Natural project pauses. Many ongoing initiatives hit natural lulls in summer. That pause isn't wasted time — it's an opportunity to tackle the work that otherwise never finds a slot.

Lower organizational pressure. Decisions that might get caught up in layers of review during crunch periods often move faster when the pressure is off. Summer can be surprisingly productive for getting things scoped, approved, and started.

None of this means summer is slow. Most businesses are still fully operational. But the texture of summer is different — and that difference creates real opportunity for the teams willing to use it.

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The Q4 Problem Nobody Talks About

Here's the honest reality of Q4 for most organizations: it is not a good time to start anything.

Q4 is a time to execute on things that are already underway. By October, budgets are being finalized, year-end deliverables are mounting, and everyone's bandwidth is spoken for. November and December add holidays, planning cycles, and the general compression that comes with trying to close the year strong.

Any software project, improvement initiative, or technology investment that isn't already in motion by the time Q4 hits has one of two futures: it gets rushed, or it gets pushed to next year.

Neither is great. Rushed software work tends to create new problems. And "next year" has a way of becoming the following June, when you find yourself having the same conversation you're having right now.

The math here isn't complicated. If meaningful software work takes six to twelve weeks from first conversation to real results — and most does — then starting in July or August means you see results in September or October. Starting in October means you're managing a live project through the most chaotic stretch of the year, or you're pushing it to January.

Summer isn't a gap in the calendar. It's the on-ramp to a strong Q4.

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What "Doing the Work" Actually Looks Like in Summer

This isn't an argument for launching a massive overhaul between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It's an argument for being intentional about what you do with the window.

For most organizations, the most valuable use of summer isn't a big project — it's the focused work that clears the path for bigger things later. That looks like:

Getting clarity on what the real problem is. Many software frustrations are symptoms of something else. Summer is a good time to have the honest conversations that diagnose the actual issue, not just the surface complaint. That clarity alone changes the quality of every decision that follows.

Scoping the work that's been deferred. If there's been a software improvement sitting on the list since January — or longer — summer is the time to actually scope it. Understand what it would take, what it would cost, what it would unlock. Even if you don't start the work until fall, going into Q4 with a clear scope and a decision made is enormously valuable.

Making targeted improvements with high ROI. Not every software fix requires a major project. Some of the highest-value work we do with clients is relatively contained: streamlining a process that's become unnecessarily manual, cleaning up an integration that's causing data problems, building a small tool that eliminates hours of weekly effort. These don't require perfect timing — they just require someone deciding to do them.

Building the foundation for larger work ahead. If there's something bigger on the horizon — a platform migration, a new capability, a significant rebuild — the groundwork laid in summer (architecture decisions, vendor evaluations, internal alignment) is what determines whether that larger effort goes smoothly or becomes a scramble.

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The Competitive Angle Worth Considering

Most of your competitors are waiting.

They're waiting for a better time. For Q4 to calm down. For next year's budget. For the right moment that always seems to be one quarter away.

That's not a criticism — it's just the default mode for most organizations. The default is to treat software improvements as something to get to eventually, and to let urgency from other directions consistently win.

The organizations that consistently get the most out of their technology aren't the ones with the biggest budgets or the most sophisticated systems. They're the ones that stay intentional about improvement — that use the available windows instead of waiting for a perfect one.

Summer is one of those windows. It comes around once a year. And it ends faster than it looks like it will in early July.

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A Few Questions Worth Asking Right Now

If you're reading this in July, here are the questions we'd encourage you to sit with:

• What software improvement has been on your list the longest? What would it actually take to move it forward this summer?
• Where is your team spending time on manual steps or workarounds that software should be handling? What's that actually costing per week?
• What's coming in Q4 that your current systems may not be ready for? Is now the time to get ahead of it?
• If you could make one change to how your software supports the business, what would it be — and what's been stopping you? You don't need answers to all of these. But sitting with even one of them honestly tends to surface something worth acting on.

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What We'd Suggest

If summer is the window — and we'd argue it is — the best first step is usually just a conversation. Not a formal assessment, not a project kickoff, just a candid discussion about where things stand and what's worth looking at.

We do this regularly with clients, and the ones who use summer well tend to go into Q4 with more confidence, more capacity, and fewer of the "we should really look at this" items still hanging over them.

If you'd like to have that conversation, we'd be glad to make time. Reply here or grab a slot on our calendar: Schedule a call.

And if you know someone who's been meaning to address a software problem but keeps waiting for the right moment — feel free to share this. Sometimes the right moment is just someone pointing out that it's already here.

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Extra Nerds is a software consulting company based in Athens, Ohio. We help organizations improve, extend, and modernize their software — with a focus on practical work that delivers real value. Get in touch.

It's June. Is Software Still on Your "We'll Get to It" List?

At the start of the year, a lot of organizations make mental notes — or actual plans — to take a harder look at their software. Maybe a system that's gotten clunky. A process that relies too heavily on manual steps. A tool that works, technically, but makes simple things harder than they should be.

For most teams, those intentions are real. And then February happens. Then Q1 closes, projects pile up, and suddenly it's June.

If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. And more importantly: you're not too late.

The Mid-Year Moment Most Teams Miss

June sits at an interesting point in the year. You're far enough in to have a clear picture of where things are actually standing — not just where you hoped they'd be. The optimism of January has been pressure-tested by reality. You know which workflows are holding up and which ones are quietly creating drag.

At the same time, you still have half a year ahead of you. Enough runway to make meaningful changes before Q4 arrives and every available resource gets absorbed by year-end demands.

That makes right now — not January, not "someday" — one of the best windows to actually do something about the software friction you've been tolerating.

What Software Friction Actually Looks Like

It's worth naming this clearly, because software friction rarely looks like a crisis. Systems don't have to be broken to be holding a business back.

More often, it shows up quietly:

• A process that used to take an hour now takes a half-day, and no one's quite sure when that changed.

• A workaround that one person built a year ago has become the de facto way the whole team operates.

• Getting data out of one system and into another requires manual steps that someone just... does, every week.

• A new idea — a new product, a new workflow, a new report — takes three times longer to build than it should because the underlying system wasn't designed for it.

• Onboarding a new team member means teaching them not just the job, but all the unofficial tricks for navigating the software.

None of these things are emergencies. That's exactly what makes them dangerous. They normalize slowly, and the cost — in time, focus, flexibility, and staff frustration — accumulates quietly in the background.

The "Nothing Is Broken" Trap

One of the most common things we hear from organizations when we first start talking is some version of: "Our systems work. We're not having any major issues."

That's often true. And it's also not the right standard.

The question isn't whether your software is broken. The question is whether it's actively helping your business move forward — or whether it's become a ceiling on what you can do.

A system that "works" but requires three manual reconciliation steps every week is not fully working. A platform that makes it difficult to adapt to changing business needs isn't working as hard as it should. Software that your best people have learned to route around isn't earning its place.

Functional is not the same as valuable. And the gap between the two is often where businesses leave the most time and money on the table.

Why the Second Half of the Year Is Different

There's a practical reality to the second half of the year that matters here.

Summer — particularly July and August — tends to offer small windows of capacity that are harder to find at other times. Projects have natural pauses. Teams catch their breath. The pace, while still busy, often allows for the kind of stepping-back-and-looking-at-things that's hard to do when everything is on fire.

That window doesn't stay open long. By September, planning season kicks in. October and November bring their own pressures. And Q4 rarely forgives anyone who tried to run a major improvement project in the middle of it.

So if there's work to be done — and for most organizations, there is — the time to start it is now. Not to rush, but to be intentional. To scope it clearly, start the right conversations, and make real progress while the conditions are favorable.

What a Mid-Year Software Check Actually Involves

This doesn't have to be a massive undertaking. In fact, some of the most valuable conversations we have with clients are simple, focused, and take less than an hour.

A good mid-year software review typically looks at a few things:

Where is time actually going? Not where it's supposed to go — where it's actually going. Which processes are slower than they should be, and why?

What are people working around? The unofficial spreadsheets, the manual exports, the tribal knowledge steps — these are the map of where your software is falling short.

What's on the list that never gets prioritized? Most organizations have a few software improvements that keep getting deferred. Understanding why they stay stuck — and whether the cost of deferring them is actually understood — is often illuminating.

What's coming in the next six months? New products, new hires, new reporting requirements, anticipated growth — these change the calculus on what's worth addressing now versus later.

None of this requires a formal audit or a big commitment. It just requires an honest conversation with someone who knows what to look for.

The Cost of One More "We'll Get to It"

Here's a question worth sitting with: what has the friction cost since January?

Not in a catastrophic sense — but in hours spent on manual steps, in small decisions that were harder to make because the data wasn't clean, in ideas that got quietly shelved because executing them felt more complicated than it was worth.

For most organizations, that number is larger than anyone has stopped to calculate. And six more months of it — through Q3 and Q4 — will cost more of the same.

The good news is that meaningful improvement rarely requires starting over. It often starts with identifying one or two areas of real leverage, making targeted changes, and building from there. The companies that make the most progress with their software aren't the ones that do massive rebuilds — they're the ones that stay consistently curious about where small improvements unlock outsized value.

What We'd Suggest

If any of this resonates — if you've been carrying a software improvement on your list since January, or if reading this brought a few friction points to mind — we'd encourage you to take the mid-year moment seriously.

We're happy to have an informal conversation: no sales pitch, no formal assessment process, just an honest discussion about where things stand and what might be worth looking at. Those conversations are often where the most useful insights start.

And if you know a colleague or team leader who's been dealing with aging systems, growing pains, or the "we should really look at this" software — feel free to share this. Sometimes an outside perspective is what it takes to finally move something from the list to the work.

Is Your Software Helping or Holding You Back?

Most business software doesn't fail dramatically.

It doesn't crash every day. It doesn't stop the business cold. It doesn't trigger an emergency rebuild.

Instead, it quietly becomes heavy.

Teams build workarounds. Processes get more manual. Simple changes feel harder than they should. Everyone knows the system isn't ideal, but it's "good enough" — until it isn't.

As we head into a new year, it's worth asking a deceptively simple question:

Is your software actually helping the business move forward — or is it just keeping things running?

When "working" software becomes a problem

Many of the systems we see were good decisions at the time:

• A custom .NET app that fit the business perfectly in 2018
• A WordPress or Shopify site that started simple and grew fast
• Tools stitched together to solve immediate needs

Over time, the business evolves — but the software often doesn't.

The result isn't obvious failure. It's friction.

Some common signs:

• Simple changes take far longer than expected
• Manual steps exist "just for now" but never go away
• Teams rely on spreadsheets to bridge gaps
• Only one or two people truly understand how things work
• New ideas get deprioritized because "the system can't really handle that"

The hidden cost most teams miss

The biggest cost of aging or misaligned software usually isn't technical — it's operational.

It shows up as:

• Time spent working around limitations
• Slower response to market or customer needs
• Hesitation to try new ideas because of risk
• Ongoing maintenance that delivers no new value

This isn't about rebuilds (yet)

Assessment comes before optimization.

Before talking about modernization, AI, or new platforms, it's critical to understand what's actually working, where friction exists, and where effort will truly pay off.

Start with a conversation

At Extra Nerds, we help teams gain clarity on where their software is helping — and where it may be holding them back.

If this resonates, we're always open to a no-pressure conversation.

Agility in Action: How Custom Software Aligns with Modern Business Strategies

““It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.””

— Charles Darwin

Unlocking the Superpower of Custom Software for IT Directors, CIOs, CEOs, and Tech Decision Makers

Ladies and gentlemen, tech enthusiasts and digital daredevils, welcome to the electrifying world of Extra Nerds! We've got our capes on, our coding skills polished, and our wit honed, ready to take you on a thrilling journey into the world of custom software and how it's turning businesses into unstoppable forces of nature.

In a world where change is the only constant, agility isn't just a buzzword—it's a superpower. And, it's precisely what IT Directors, CIOs, CEOs, and other tech decision-makers need to keep their businesses ahead of the curve. So, let's talk about how custom software solutions can be your secret weapon for achieving the flexibility and adaptability your business deserves.

The Need for Speed

In today's tech-driven business landscape, speed is the name of the game. Your competitors are all jockeying for the pole position, and you can't afford to be stuck in the slow lane. That's where custom software comes to the rescue. Unlike off-the-shelf solutions that offer a one-size-fits-some approach, custom software is tailor-made for your business. It's like having a race car that's been designed just for your track.

With custom software, you can quickly adapt to changing market conditions, customer demands, and emerging technologies. Need to pivot your business model? No problem. Custom software is your pit crew, ready to make the necessary adjustments and get you back on track in record time.

Agility: Not Just for Gymnasts

Being agile in the business world doesn't mean doing somersaults or cartwheels (although that would be entertaining). It's all about being responsive and adaptable. Custom software gives you the power to react to market shifts, customer feedback, and emerging trends without breaking a sweat. It's the superhero cape you wear to ensure your business stays ahead of the game.

Consider a scenario where your company suddenly needs to support remote work due to unforeseen circumstances (we're looking at you, 2020). With custom software, you can swiftly develop and implement the tools and systems required to keep your team productive and connected, all while sipping coffee in your pajamas.

Innovate or Evaporate

The modern business landscape is a wild ride, and if you're not innovating, you're evaporating. Custom software allows you to foster a culture of innovation within your organization. You're no longer tied to the limitations of out-of-the-box software. You have the freedom to experiment, create, and develop new features and capabilities that set you apart from the competition.

This freedom to innovate can be a game-changer in industries where differentiation is key. You're not just keeping up with the trends; you're setting them. It's like being the trendsetter of the tech world—Batman's utility belt, but in the form of code.

Tailored to Perfection

Custom software is like a finely-tailored suit—made to measure. It fits your business's unique needs like a glove. Whether you're in healthcare, finance, logistics, or any other industry, custom software ensures you're equipped with the tools and capabilities necessary to excel.

Off-the-shelf software often requires you to adapt your processes to fit its limitations. Custom software does the opposite—it molds itself to your processes. It's like having an AI-powered butler that anticipates your every need and fulfills your business wishes with a snap of your fingers.

Conclusion: Embrace Your Inner Extra Nerd

In a world that demands agility, innovation, and customization, custom software is your trusted sidekick. It's the tech-savvy, witty, and incredibly talented partner you need in the ever-evolving business landscape. IT Directors, CIOs, CEOs, and tech decision-makers, it's time to embrace your inner Extra Nerd and harness the full potential of custom software solutions.

With custom software, your business can go beyond survival and thrive, adapting, innovating, and leading the way. So, suit up, power up your business with custom software, and get ready to conquer the digital world! Your competitors won't know what hit them when you unveil your secret weapon: Agility in Action.

What are the responsibilities of a Development Team in Scrum Development?

Recently, we posted a basic introduction to Agile development, particularly Scrum, and then followed up with a little detail on the Scrum Master, and the Product Owner. As a follow up and final post in our Agile-Scrum blog series, we’ll talk about the Team in Scrum Development.

As you are well aware by now, Scrum is a lightweight Agile project management methodology with broad applicability of managing and controlling all kinds of incremental and iterative projects. It is one of the most widely used methodologies due to its ability to deliver the best performance.

The development team in the scrum is designed to consist of approximately 10 people - give or take, depending on the project - who address complex problems creatively and productively. They are a team of professionals who are empowered by the organization to manage their own work. Team members are generally cross-functional and combine to bring to the table all skills necessary to create a product increment. A Scrum team consists of a variety of skills in the web industry ranging from JavaScript, Angular JS, HTML, CSS, web forms, MVC, and Telerik. Therefore, the team brings assurance to the client that they are dealing with your project efficiently to produce the desired results.

Responsibilities. The team can implement the final website and application from simple to complex highly integrated business web applications. The Scrum team, together and individually, is accountable for their actions and deliverables. It could be that each individual developer may have a specific skill but the whole team is accountable for web development.  There is a Scrum Master who is responsible for helping the scrum team understand the scope of the project and encourages everyone to maximize the value created by the team. The Scrum Master is responsible to the Product Owner and ensures that they understand how to arrange product backlogs to maximize the return on investment. The Master is responsible for facilitating the Team to implement events as expected. She or he also provides advice to those outside the scrum team on which interactions are valuable and those that can be less helpful. 

Sprint planning. The scrum team is responsible for creating a sprint plan in which they plan the events. Sprints usually consist of; daily scrums, sprint review, developed work, and sprint planning. The purpose of the sprint is to accomplish a particular task or deliverable. The lifespan of a sprint is usually one month and it allows for inspection, and adaptation of a process. They usually limit risks to complex matters that might arise when there is a long sprint. A sprint review or retrospective looks at the work accomplished and the work still on the table. A demonstration is sometimes presented and then next steps identified. Obviously, incomplete work cannot be presented to stakeholders.

Daily Scrum. The team is also responsible for the daily scrum. This is the time when scrum members ask the questions of ‘what did I complete yesterday?’ and ‘what do I plan today?’, and ‘is there any impediment that will prevent the team from accomplishing the sprint goal?’ The scrum master captures all the potential risks or issues that may delay the project and displays it to the team onboard. Only the development team is allowed to participate in the daily scrum. Each member is expected to be on time and participatory.

So, there you have it. This brings to a conclusion our series on Agile Development, in particular the role of Scrum management. And don’t forget that Extra Nerds is here for you should you need a team to manage and create your next IT project!

What are the responsibilities of a Product Owner in Scrum Development?

So, we’ve talked about Agile Development, particularly Scrum  and last month we dissected the role of the Scrum Master. Now you know the duty of Scrum Master. The Product Owner then, plays a different role.

The Scrum Product Owner is basically the lynchpin of a given project.  This individual needs to have a clear understanding of what he or she needs or wants to build as well as the ability to accurately convey this end goal to the other members of the project. They do this by using a product backlog (a list of necessary features and priorities for the final product), which we will discuss in more detail below.

Of course, so far this sounds like it could be the owner of pretty much any software project. Ideally, the Scrum Product Owner needs to have a good understanding of the target users, the competition, the market, and the general dictions of the industry for which the product will be developed. These requirements vary slightly, depending on whether the product will be used commercially or for internal objectives, whether it will be software or hardware, and so on. The important take away here is that the person who takes the role of the Product Owner needs to have a vision for what is to be built and who are going to be the end users.

So, to make sure that all members of the Scrum project understand and share the Product Owner's vision, s/he typically creates a backlog: a list of important features of the product, generally prioritized. In the agile development process, the product backlog is written during the sprint planning meeting - a meeting consisting of Product Owner, Scrum Master, and the entire Agile Team. Although all members of the meeting can contribute to the backlog, it is the Product Owner job to clarify the details of the backlog items and to establish their acceptance criteria. In addition, it is their job to estimate how many sprints will be required to complete each of the backlog items.

It is important to keep in mind that the Product Owner does not specifically define when each of the backlog features will be implemented. Rather, the owner's job is to motivate the team with well-defined and achievable goals. Team members know best their abilities and can, themselves, decide during which sprints – or releasable increments - they will be able to focus on in the particular parts of the backlog.

Yet another requirement for a successful Product Owner is flexibility or adaptability. During a development process, several project aspects can change due to unexpected complexities, such as a team member’s illness, insufficient funding, or any number of external problems. For this reason, one should not treat a backlog as a fixed document and must be willing to be dynamic as the project evolves.

The only thing one should keep in mind is that any changes should preferably be implemented outside of sprints. After the team starts a sprint, the backlog really needs to stay fixed so that the team can be allowed to be focused only on the sprint goals. If the project circumstances change dramatically during the sprint, the Project Owner can end a sprint prematurely and take a different course of action.

Finally, the Product Owner has to act as an interface between the client and the Scrum Team. This means he is responsible for both communications between the client with the product developers, similar to a Project Manager, as well as having the ability to relay any Team message to the client. To achieve this successfully, the Product Owner needs to make sure he spends an appropriate amount of time with both sides of the project.

We're going to post one more blog about Scrum next month when we go into more detail about the Development Team. Join us, won't you?

What is the role of Scrum Master in Scrum Development?

Delving a bit more deeply into the world of Scrum after last month’s post about the core concepts of Agile Development, particularly Scrum, let’s talk about the Scrum Master! First, a quick review…

Most people would be familiar with the general term “scrum” as the term for a rugby huddle in which teams discuss their strategy for the next phase of the game, while wiping the blood out of their eyes. But, Scrum has taken on a new meaning to us nerds and relates to software development in case of Agile and other types of project management.

Agile software development provides a platform and a step-by-step process by which the client reviews various deliverables or features of the product being created.  Scrum comes as a helping hand in case of software development and usually refers to a protocol followed by developers where all the members working on a particular project meet up to discuss the project. Usually with less blood, however.

The team members discuss any feedback from clients and changes suggested or approved by the project manager or boss type person. Developers discuss their respective piece of the project and that which they intend to work on next.  They may also discuss any roadblocks or issues which might need attention.  This process helps in keeping the project in a live and malleable form throughout development.  The person who facilitates and in a way moderates this process is the Scrum Master.

This master need not be a team lead or anyone in managerial position, but it definitely has to be someone from the team who is technically sound and well aware of the status of the project. S/he will follow up the work status of each of the member, request updates on what has been done and that which is still pending, determine the details of any issues that require workarounds or any other issues that have arisen during the initial stages. Usually the Scrum Master will ask questions like “what did you accomplish yesterday?”, “what are you going to do today?”, and “are there any potential impediments to your continued progress?”.

The Scrum Master’s role is not rigid or even necessarily formally defined. In fact, if the paradigm allows for it, different members of the team can take turns as the Scrum Master, allowing each member to be responsible for the proceedings of the project. This can create a level of ownership unparalleled in other methodologies and makes each and every member of the team to be responsible for the final product, for better or worse.

Scrum in software is an innovative concept and has been very effective. Many software enterprises – large and small - now follow this model even for software development models other than agile development.

Stop back next week when we talk about the Product Owner in Scrum development! And feel free to peruse our website to check out our services or see what our clients have to say about our work. We can do the same for you.

The Core Concepts of Agile Software Development, Particularly Scrum

In last month’s blog, we discussed Agile software development and why we think that it’s superior to the Waterfall.  Now we want to break down the core concepts, and delve into one of them in particular – Scrum. (And no, Aussies, we’re not talking about rugby).

The Dynamic Systems Development Method, or DSDM, mostly used in the UK, is probably the original agile development method. It existed before the term ‘agile’ had even come to pass, but is based on all the same principles we’ve come to know as agile.  

Extreme Programming (XP) is a more radical agile methodology, concentrating more on the software engineering process and addressing the analysis, development, and test phases with unique approaches that have a significant impact on the quality of the final product.

Scrum, a subset of Agile, concentrates on how to manage tasks within a team-based development structure.  Scrum is the most popular and widely adopted agile method, which is why we’re going to focus on it for the sake of this blog.  It’s relatively simple to implement and addresses many of the management issues that have plagued IT development teams for decades

Scrum is a lightweight Agile project management methodology with broad applicability of managing and controlling all kinds of incremental and iterative projects. It is one of the most widely used methodologies due to its ability to deliver the best performance. Over the last decade, Scrum has been revolutionized with significant investments of time and expertise.  It has garnered increasing popularity among software developers due to its proven productivity, its capability to act as a wrapper for a number of engineering practices that are promoted by alternative agile methodologies, and for its simplicity.

This methodology requires the use of development cycles known as Sprints. In software development, a sprint is a set duration of time during which specific work is to be completed and available for review. With Scrum, the owner of the product can work closely with the development team in order to identify and make a priority of the system functionality; this occurs in the form of a product backlog. This product backlog outlines non-functional requirements and bug fixes among other features, all of which are needed to deliver successfully a working software system. Priorities are driven exclusively by the client, or product owner, and cross-functional teams will estimate and sign on to come up with increments of the software created during successive Sprints. This process typically takes about 30 days, but all projects are different so take that statement with a grain of salt.

As soon as a Sprints backlog has been committed, no additional functionality can be included in the Sprint except by the team. Once it is completed and delivered, the product backlog is then analyzed and re-prioritized, if necessary, after which the next set of functionality is employed for another Sprint. This makes it easier to manage your product backlog. The overhead of the entire process is kept as minimal as possible in order to maximize the span of productive time available to get useful work done.

Scrum methodology has, for a number of reasons, been proven to scale up multiple teams across considerably large organizations with even more than 800 people. Its processes have enabled organizations to adjust fully and smoothly to the rapidly changing market requirements and produce products that meet the evolving goals in business. An agile Scrum process could benefit the organization in a number of ways:

•             Coping better with changes and expected evolutions in the field of business
•             Increasing the quality of available deliverables
•             Providing the project owner with more control on the schedule and its state
•             Providing better estimates while investing lesser time in coming up with them

That which distinguishes Scrum from other subsets of agile software development methodologies are the unique concepts and practices which are split into three categories: Artefacts, Time Boxes, and Roles.  Often Scrum is used in managing software and product development complexities. It increases productivity considerably and similarly reduces time to benefits relative to classic waterfall processes. (By the way, we'll be getting more specific about Artefacts, Time Boxes, and Roles in subsequent blogs).

Aside from the aforementioned benefits of the Scrum framework, there are other additional, more inherent advantages. Most importantly, Scrum provides a solid structure for the facilitation and promotion of team work. It can help the project manager to analyze the workmanship of the team or colleagues and potentially determining who is the most effective. The precise definition of roles allows managers to equitably distribute duties based on the skills of the developers without discrimination. And, this, ladies and gentlemen, makes Scrum a great option for any business that cares about output and performance.

Stop by next month when we delve more into the Roles aspect of Scrum - Agile software development. And, in the meantime, check out the services to see what our Nerdy teams can do for you!

What Makes Agile Software Development Better Than Waterfall?

http://mediashift.org/2014/01/the-j-school-scrum-bringing-agile-development-into-the-classroom/

One of the first decisions for every development project team is the ideal methodology to be employed in order to provide the desired result for the particular situation. This can often lead to debate.

Let’s back up for a second though to clarify what we mean by development methodology. It is essentially the process of organizing the work for a software development project. It does not necessarily involve the style of project management or a particular technical approach, but often these are interconnected.

So, back to our debate. Waterfall and Agile are the two popular frameworks often part of these discussions. Both are mature, usable methodologies, but Waterfall can best be termed a traditional approach, whereas Agile is a more specific type of Rapid Application Development (RAD), often implemented using Scrum. Scrum itself is a simple framework for team collaboration, providing an effective management and control structure for complex projects and reducing complexity, allowing the focus to be on building the software to meet client needs. And, actually, Agilists don’t call it a methodology, but more of a movement.

The Waterfall methodology uses a sequential design process and its workflow is much like manufacturing and construction processes. It has eight stages, each of which has to be satisfactorily completed before moving to the next.  This means that once the developers have completed one stage, there is no going back!  If problems arise, the only escape is ditching the entire project and starting anew. So, there really isn’t room for errors or change meaning that the project plan must be detailed, extensive, and carefully followed from the start in order to reach the desired outcome. There is stress on meticulous record keeping which does allow for the ability to make improvements in future if done properly.

In response to such a rigid framework and the perceived failure of the dominant software development project management paradigms like Waterfall, the so-called Agile Manifesto placed the emphasis more on collaboration and communication, team organization, and the flexibility to adapt. Agile software development relies on an iterative and incremental and adaptive approach. The methodology is open to the changing and encourages feedback from the end users of the product so that it also encourages accountability and consistent communication. Cross-functional teams will be able to work on iterations of a product within a specific range of time, ensuring that the end product is organized and prioritized on the basis of the customers or the business in general. Ultimately, with Agile methodologies, developers and clients work together in order to align the product with the goals and requirements.

So what makes Agile software development superior to Waterfall in our humble opinion? The concept of teamwork is often considered a powerful tool in the achievement of the goals for almost any organization. Extra Nerds, for example, works within a team paradigm and it is extremely effective. The team will vary, based on the project. The Agile movement creates a better platform on which decisions can be made by all parties at the table. It sources the efforts of both the developers and the stakeholders and combines them to form a unit that works for the greater good. Man is to err, and Waterfall methodologies make it really difficult to mend any broken bridges in software development. In contrast, Agile frameworks allow a window for changes, making it much easier to roll with the punches so to speak in the makeup of the system and to reduce redundancy.  Still, we are very flexible and some folks still prefer the rigidity of Waterfall et al. Regardless, the choice or recommendation of the software development methodology will be heavily weighted on the nature of the project. Once everyone has a clear analysis of the project, choosing the ideal framework shouldn’t be difficult.

Of course, this is just a basic overview, but there are many resources out there to learn more about Agile. You can also check out Extra Nerds to see what we can do for you and how we can manage your next project using any methodology - or movement -  you want!

Check back next month when we go more in depth about the core concepts of Agile, including Scrum.

What is a scope document and why is it important for software development?

A scope document, or a statement of scope, is one of the most critical aspects of any project as it provides a fundamental understanding of the magnitude of the project for all involved. Especially critical in software development, it explains the boundaries of a project, establishes the responsibility of each team member, and sets up the procedures for how completed pieces will be validated and approved. Essentially, it defines goals, deliverables, tasks, deadlines, andcost. It is a way for the client and the development team to come to consensus on the vision and what it will take to get there.  Its relevance lies in managing the client’s expectations and coming to an agreement about what will define the project’s success.

Without a detailed requirements agreement, a developer might end up confined to an unrealistic fixed cost and possibly unreasonable time limits. Or the client may end up feeling frustrated with constraints. It is in these cases that defining the scope of a project is most important. Gathering the functionality requirements in the outset of the project can be difficult. Using a basic outline can help with that.

The scope document should generally start with a justification for the project or, in other words, the need it is to fulfill. Next, you might want to include some of the proposed characteristics of the project or, at the very least, an overall description of the desired result. Objectives and criteria for deliverable acceptance would be included as well as any exclusions, or unwanted bi-products. It’s important to try to identify any potential constraints or restrictions upfront so that everyone knows to expect and can also agree that they don’t actively know of any other restrictions which may impede progress.

In some situations, you might want to include what industry types call assumptions. These address how uncertain information is managed as the project moves forward. As you can imagine, this aspect is critical in software development.  Once all parties agree on the scope outlined in the statement, it becomes somewhat of a binding agreement and will define the client-developer relationship as well as the likelihood of continued success.

A scope document allows for a thorough analysis of the software development process, but, of course, having this document in place does not guarantee that issues will not arise. While the document provides the project manager with guidelines for decision-making as the project moves forward, unforeseen roadblocks can become an issue, as is true more often than not. When this happens, the scope may have to be revised. A client will likely accept the proposed changes once the project is underway, recognizing that change is often inevitable in software development, but it can also be decided not to continue the project if the depth of the unanticipated problem is for some reason too daunting or somehow renders the project obsolete.

So, the purpose of creating a scope document is to develop a common understanding as to what needs to be included in or excluded from a project. With a well-outlined document, the software developer will be much more able to complete the project within the agreed upon time and within the anticipated cost expectancy making it paramount to success from all sides.

Extra Nerds offers a dedicated project manager to each client, helping to keep both the developers and clients clear on the scope of the project as well as in the loop on progress or issues as work moves forward. Contact us if you have an idea for a project that we can manage for you!