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Category: Expertise strategy

Challenges of Agile Transformation in the Finance Sector

James Tucker – Agile Commercial Director, emagine

Agile transformation is a strategy that allows businesses to be more reactive to change.

Typically, when designing and building software for a project, teams will often adopt the waterfall method by which most of the analysis is carried out upfront before the product is then designed, built and delivered.

Although this can work well in some cases, there are downfalls with this approach. It can be very difficult to steer a project if things evolve, especially for larger companies in the financial services sector where regulations are constantly changing. An agile approach allows businesses to adapt to unforeseen changes in an efficient way with minimal disruption.

In recent years, agile transformation has become a key strategy for large enterprises.

The key benefits of agile implementation are the ability to make changes very quickly and the approach streamlines processes to avoid issues down the line. Aside from this, it brings diversity to projects, meaning that employees will work on a plethora of different areas rather than focusing on routine processes, which can help to motivate individuals and teams.

Becoming ‘agile’ forces businesses to be more customer facing. An example of this is when Apple brought out the very first iPhone. When it was launched, the actual product was not particularly good – there were many soft features, some aspects didn’t work very well – but they intentionally put an underdeveloped product out there to get instant feedback from their customers. This strategy meant they could make the changes and push an update out very quickly; this is when the world first witnessed Apple’s strategy of frequent updates.

Competitors of Apple such as Blackberry and Nokia went wrong by not listening to their customers, which resulted in their products getting left behind.

Why do businesses find transformation to agile difficult?

An important part of making the change to agile is to understand the reasons for it from the outset. Organisations, including those in financial services, often do not understand why they should become agile in the first place, simply believing the transition will solve all their issues, like a plug and play solution.

When the vision of the transition is cohesive and there is engagement across the business, there is a better chance that companies will invest enough time to reap the full benefits of agile. However, the biggest stumbling block is when it is put on the back burner and employees don’t understand why it’s happening or how to adapt to the new style of working.

This is where the emagine team comes in. Our consultants help customers to articulate the vision and explain what the users, management and overall business wants, in order to establish a common goal for all stakeholders to work towards without disrupting other areas of the business.

 

 However, the biggest stumbling block is when it is put on the back burner and employees don’t understand why it’s happening or how to adapt to the new style of working.

James Tucker, Agile Commercial Director

 

How is emagine helping financial services in the agile space?

The consultants begin by analysing the company and working out what agile means to that particular business before planning practical steps to get it there. At the beginning, it can be intensive as consultants work closely with teams and stakeholders to ensure the right practices and processes are being embedded, ensuring complete synergy across the firm. 

Success isn’t always measured by the extent to which a business is agile, and financial services and large originations don’t necessarily have to become ‘truly agile’, it is about matching agile methodologies to the company and its unique goals.

As a consultancy firm, we encourage companies to grow their own philosophy to really build sustainability into the new strategies being implemented. Essentially, the business is trained to manage the changes itself so there is no disruption at the point when emagine’s team exits after completing the introductory phase, although emagine’s team remains on hand when needed.

Why is the emagine approach successful?

The approach we take is simple and flexible. Our consultants come with contextualised knowledge and clients choose emagine because of the unmatched experience of our consultants. It is helpful for businesses to work with leaders who have experienced development life cycles and who understand the key issues they may be facing. Part of our success comes from being relatable – when teams have questions about their day job, the consultants can break down solutions and provide practical answers, rather than reaching for the textbook.

Our key focus is always to work around the organisation too, flexibility is essential.

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