By their very nature, the terms Distributed and Agile are seemingly incongruent as geographical and time-zone separation inhibit an agile way of working. So how do we find ourselves in this seemingly paradoxical dilemma of Distributed Agile? There are two forces at play. The first, driven by cost reduction and reduced time to market, is the widespread geographical distribution of software application development. Today, more than half of all software application development and maintenance is outsourced.* The second, driven by goals of improved product quality and project performance, is the tremendous adoption of the Agile development methodology. Agile adoption rates across various industries are approaching 75%.** At the intersection of these two forces, we find ourselves in the state of Distributed Agile.
The challenges that go along with practicing Distributed Agile are significant. So significant, in fact, that many companies are choosing instead to bring back in-house previously outsourced application development. In a previous Neo white paper, we labeled this trend “Agile Insourcing” and outlined the various advantages of this practice. But what if insourcing isn’t a viable option, can Agile overcome the challenges to succeed in an outsourced, multi-vendor, multi-location environment?
Surprisingly, the answer is yes. This white paper outlines best practices for successfully overcoming the challenges of Distributed Agile and includes an illustrative case study of a technology company’s successful distributed agile transformation journey.
*The most commonly outsourced functions by IT leaders worldwide as of 2017 are software application (64%) and software application maintenance (51%) Source: Statista
** As of 2018, the Agile adoption rates are as follows High Tech 74%, Discreet Manufacturing 74%, Banking & Finance 65%, and Retail 63%. Source: Imarticus Learning
