Report Prepared for

Agile Programme Summary 2012

This report provides the analysis of 18 in-depth telephone interviews with representatives of companies supported by Oxford Innovation for implementing Agile practices within their business. The principle objectives of the research were to: Assess the impact of the Agile Programme on the business as a whole Assess the impact of the Agile Programme on different areas of the business by speaking where possible to o Owners/Directors o Managers o Software Developers In total 15 companies took part in the Agile Programme with Oxford Innovation, 13 of the 15 businesses who participated in the Agile Programme made their business available for interview.

Oxford Innovation Agile Programme Evaluation

10 July 2012 Final Issued

Figure .1 - Agreement with Meeting Expectation Statements (where 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree)

Agile practice has helped you to be more flexible and responsive to customer needs Agile has helped to improve communications Agile has helped to improve workflow Agile has made you more efficient Agile has helped to develop skills within your business Quality of product/service has improved by adopting Agile practice Agile has improved project management, such as prioritising Agile has helped to improve our business focus Agile has contributed to change management Agile practice has contributed towards improved customer relations Agile has reduced time to market Agile has enabled your business to grow You now work more effectively in collaboration or through distributed teams from Agile has improved new business/tender success rates Agile practice has helped to improve cashflow Agile has brought down project costs 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 2.7 3 3.5 4 2.9 3.2 3.1 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.4

4.1

4.5

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Oxford Innovation Agile Programme Evaluation

10 July 2012 Final Issued

Figure.2 - Agreement with Meeting Expectation Statements Owner/Directors vs Others

(where 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree)
Benefit/Expectations - Median Scores Agile has enabled your business to grow Agile has made you more efficient Agile has reduced time to market Agile has improved project management, such as prioritising Quality of product/service has improved by adopting Agile practice Agile has brought down project costs Agile has helped to improve our business focus You now work more effectively in collaboration or through distributed teams Agile has helped to develop skills within your business Agile practice has helped you to be more flexible and responsive to customer needs Agile practice has contributed towards improved customer relations Agile practice has helped to improve cashflow Agile has helped to improve workflow Agile has improved new business/tender success rates Agile has contributed to change management Agile has helped to improve communications
Managers/Developers Owner/Directors

5
3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 2.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 4.0 2.0 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.0 5.0 3.0 5.0 4.0

Benefits & Challenges The Agile Programme met the expectations of all respondents. Companies recognise they are on a journey and on average the group felt they were about half way through the process. Benefits are being realised, with Agile businesses reporting that they have a more flexible approach to business, are being more responsive through improved workflow, have improved communications and team cohesion and in general they are more efficient. They report better customer service and satisfaction. Tactically, businesses report having improved times to market and better product testing. Being a small company can be a factor when trying to fulfil all aspects of Agile practice and companies report their having to adapt the principles accordingly. Difficulties were identified by some companies with regards to certain aspects of the programme, such as the prioritising process or the product owner role. Some identified

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Oxford Innovation Agile Programme Evaluation

10 July 2012 Final Issued

problems with breaking (old) habits and/or team buy-in, as well as getting customers to understand the work processes. However, all participants reported enthusiastically from their experiences of implementing Agile. Highlights of what was considered to work especially well included testing, process simplification, the board, and the training delivered as a result of the Agile programme. Companies also report better team moral, better time efficiency due to the time management tool and an improved responsiveness to mission creep. Challenges in the further development of Agile were identified, principally around keeping on top of training (or ability to fund training) in order to develop Agile further, as well as the general economic climate presenting a risk to carry on with the programme at all. Agile uncovers other issues, such as soft skills within organisations. For instance, some uncovered a lack of communications within teams and others found that some team members were not so embracing of change as others. The majority of companies can see Agile moving into other areas of their business.

Sector Impact Half of the businesses interviewed have created at least one new position within the business, with an average of four jobs per company. Businesses credit Agile (at least partially) for creating 50 new positions in total. There is indirect impact with at least one company contracting out more work into the wider business community. New positions include developers, delivery managers, technical service co-ordinators, software managers and a general manager. At least half of the new jobs were identified as high skilled roles. No participating businesses reported any decrease in turnover, profitability or customers/opportunities since adopting Agile. For seven companies the turnover/revenue had increased, with three out of the seven reporting significant increase. Six have increased profitability, with half of those experiencing a significant increase. Six participants have experienced an increase in customers or opportunities, of which three said it was a significant increase. Agile and Grow Cornwall has contributed, at least in part, to this business growth. On average businesses scored this contribution to be 3.5 out of 5 for both Agile and Grow Cornwall. Businesses recognised that the blended intervention of Agile, supported by the wide ranging scope of the Oxford Innovation team, was a key factor in them gaining maximum benefit from the introduction of Agile.

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