What does an Agile delivery mean to you – the customer?

Every technology services company worldwide may claim to deliver products, websites, or applications using agile methodologies. However, as a customer, should you care about this? Absolutely, especially in the context of website development company.

I have been part of sales team for the past 5 years and it is role I truly enjoying doing. Helping customers solve their challenges and achieve their goals and objectives. But sometimes we lose sight of what the customers want. I was recently giving a presentation to the customer on how we can design a website that will help drive the business and I informed the customer that we will deliver the website via agile software delivery model. He looked at me and said “I don’t care about agile delivery – as long as I get what I want”.  I informed him, that he should care and for that matter all customers should care about their delivery model.

So let’s start with what is agile delivery model – What is it?

My favorite analogy is cooking a new dish for party. One way to do it, is to read all the cook books on making this new dish, collect all the ingredients required. On the day of the party – select an appropriate vessel, and then cook for couple of hours and then present it to your friends without tasting. Not really an ideal way.

Instead, we first understand what kind of dish we are planning to cook. Then prior to the party, for your family/ friend, try put to make the dish, see how they are like it, refine and season as required. This is your basic dish. Then you can experiment more and try more options, make it fancier, garnish, plate it. And the next thing you know it, you are ready to cater to a large audience on the day of the party.

In the same way agile, breaks down your final deliverable into smaller increments that can deliver value from early stages itself.