Direct Marketing & Digital Marketing Agency - Ashley Bolser Agency

Whilst at a training course in London there was a lot of discussion about deploying an Agile software development process within an agency. The consensus was that the main barrier to realising this heavenly nirvana was a client will have a requirement to meet a fixed deadline with a defined list of functionality (not very agile).

We all know that the majority of the time designs, functionality and objectives will inevitably change (and usually essential) throughout the course of a projects lifecycle. It dawned on me that our ability to adapt to these changes without continually impacting deadlines and budgets is all about being Agile, and that we have already adopted these principles to some extent.

Principles behind the Agile Manifesto

• Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
• Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
• Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
• Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
• Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
• The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
• Working software is the primary measure of progress.
• Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
• Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
• Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential.
• The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

So how do we achieve this?  Well, it’s all about making the right technology decisions; such as implementing collaborative working tools GitHub and Lighthouse, and using an agile development language & platform such as Ruby On Rails. These choices combine to provide the perfect platform for the digital team to be Agile in our development, meet the clients changing requirements whilst maintaining budgets and deadlines.

A couple of us went over to the Leeds GeekUp meet last night at Old Broadcasting House for a presentation on javascript accessibility by Dirk Ginader from Yahoo. Some interesting points raised, especially important to the future development of the web and how people interact with sites. The main focus was on making sites that can easily be read and understood by screen readers using new technology that will also be along in HTML 5. The underlying message though was that accessible javascript should always be used to enhance accessible HTML and properly formatted CSS.