4 minutes read
The importance of flexibility in business
The reality of technology projects is often marked by significant challenges in terms of budget, time, and value delivered. According to a 4mation survey, about 45% of large IT projects exceed the budget, only 44% deliver the predicted value, and 7% exceed the estimated time.
Furthermore, the rigidity of closed scope projects often results in solutions that technically fulfill the contract, but fail to add real value to the business due to the lack of flexibility to adapt to new learnings and changes that arise during development.
To overcome these challenges, BossaBox places special focus on adaptability. Squads' size and composition are proactively adjusted so they can respond with agility to different project phases or market fluctuations. This not only improves efficiency in resource allocation, but also maintains delivery speed and quality, ensuring that projects truly meet the needs of the business and clients.
Dealing with demand variations and rapid team adaptation in practice
Recognizing that technology projects are inherently unpredictable, BossaBox adopts a robust approach based on the Iron Triangle Theory. This theory addresses the three main constraints that impact any project: Budget, Scope, and Schedule. These constraints are interconnected in such a way that altering one can affect the others, directly influencing the project's quality.
Imagine, for example, that we are facing an unexpected problem during the design phase of a new IT system, which is taking longer than expected. At this point, we have three main options:
Extend the Schedule: Although it delays the launch and may increase costs, it maintains the quality of the final product.
Replan the Project: Keeping the original deadline can increase the risk of failures, especially if important steps like testing and training are skipped.
Change the Scope: Simplify or modify some elements of the project to keep it within the schedule and budget, although it may reduce the scope of the original objectives.
At BossaBox, these situations are handled with a collaborative and flexible approach. Together with clients, the scope is continuously reviewed through regular sprints, adapting the project to align any deviations with the business objectives.
Ensuring Adaptability and Flexibility
BossaBox understands that flexibility and adaptability are essential for project success. Therefore, Squads are designed to efficiently respond to project demands fluctuations.
Contractual Flexibility: Contracts with professionals allow for agile reallocations and substitutions, quickly adapting the workforce to the project's needs without loss of time or quality.
Perennial Account Management: A constant management structure is maintained, preserving the context and accumulated intellectual capital throughout the project, ensuring continuity and a deep understanding of the client's needs.
Reporting and Documentation Model: A documentation system facilitates contextualization for new team members, ensuring smooth transitions and effective contributions without delays.
Onboarding Processes and Ramp-Up SLA: A structured onboarding process is implemented, followed by an SLA for ramp-up, following DORA (DevOps Research and Assessment) guidelines, ensuring that new members are quickly trained.
Professional Backlog: A backlog of qualified professionals is maintained and ready to be deployed, allowing proactivity and preparation for any changes.
The advantages of Squads and a flexible scope
Team flexibility is crucial for efficiency and for achieving impactful results for clients. Adapting the team structure to the dynamic needs of each project brings several benefits:
Overhead Reduction: Avoids costs with inactive personnel, adjusting the team composition as needed.
Rapid Adaptation: Allows the team to quickly adapt to changes in project scope or requirements.
Cost Efficiency: Ensures efficient resource allocation, avoiding excessive spending.
Risk Reduction: Reduces the risks associated with hiring and maintaining teams.
Operational Agility Increase: Facilitates reallocation and resource adjustments, ensuring alignment with the business's strategic priorities.
Maximization of Added Value: Ensures that each allocation decision contributes directly to the project's value, adapting to needs without sacrificing long-term objectives.
These advantages highlight how a flexible team strategy not only sustains efficient project execution, but also strengthens the company's ability to respond to market changes, maximizing the effectiveness of the deliveries.
Balancing collaboration between internal and external teams
Effective collaboration between the internal team and external professionals is essential at BossaBox. For this, a structured approach has been developed involving clear definition of roles and responsibilities, implementation of synchronous ceremonies, and continuous monitoring research.
Key practices to ensure effective collaboration:
Definition of Roles and Responsibilities: The RACI matrix is used to clarify responsibilities, ensuring clarity and reducing overlaps.
Synchronous Ceremonies:
Immersion: Collaborative work with stakeholders to absorb essential knowledge.
Planning: Sprint planning sessions to define priorities.
Review: Regular evaluation of deliveries by the internal team.
Retrospective: Meetings to reflect on performance and adjust strategies.
Monitoring Research: Tools such as Healthcheck and DevResearch are used for continuous assessments, identifying productivity bottlenecks and behavioral issues.
These strategies ensure that everyone is aligned and informed, allowing effective adaptation to project dynamics and promptly responding to any challenges.