What's a great elevator pitch for Agile?

Let's say you got into an elevator with a senior executive and you had 30 seconds to sell Agile to them, what would you say?

B.T.W. This is commonly referred to as an elevator pitch and here's a good intro from Business Week.


Here are some answers I got back from the LinkedIn community:

Carolyn Sanders wrote:

"I actually do get asked this one by execs. This is what I usually say: Agile delivery is about two things: you usually don't know what you want until you see something, so deliver something real as early as you can; and if you're going to fail, fail fast. Agile in general is about being fundamentally honest with each other, about money, about technical delivery and quality, about requirements andtime - that's why it's so scary for some people."

Matt Richards wrote:

"Agile software development practices will give you more control over the cost and feature set of your software than traditional methods. You are also likely to have usable software sooner."

PJ Srivastava wrote:

"Are you at all worried that your project might go over-budget, that it might run behind schedule, that the customer might not like the end result, or that someone will change the project requirements on you in the middle of it? That's where Agile comes in. Its as simple as this: the more complex, the more challenging, and the more uncertain your project, the more you have to inspect it frequently and the better you have to control your process to be successful with it. Agile is simply a more intense, but tried-and-true process for reducing risk and better controlling your results. Give me 10 minutes of your time and I'll explain why some of the most recognized companies in the world are turning to Agile..."

What is the most important characteristic in an e-shop's web page?

When you visit an e-shop's website, what is the most important characteristic(ex.: customer reviews, wizard tool, security, many payment methods, etc.), according to you? What is the one thing that will make you trust and buy, or come back to that specific e-shop, or what you are searching for?

This was selected as Best Answer

Great question! You would be surprised how many outfits set-out without considering this topic first so you're already at the head of the pack!

Here's my two cents worth:

Walk a mile in your customer's shoes... create a few persona's that model your typical target audience... bring them to life (like soap opera characters) and role play their experience when using your site. Better yet use these personas to look at your competitors sites. The objective being to uncover deeper insights into the design features that are most likely to win your target audience. The next and arguably most important step is to implement your e-shop with the intention of changing it in response to customer feedback. Get your site into a low-burn experimental state... as you discover what really works invest those parts.

Your e-shop should evolve really quickly and effectively this way.

oh and one other thing... as your question suggested that you want to differentiate I would suggest you use the persona's to try out new features or user experiences... This way you can home in on the differentiations that really work!

Best Answers in: Business Analytics (1)... see more

The many modes of a Business Analyst

These days, business analysts are plying their trade in increasingly diverse settings and are being pushed more than ever to add value at strategic levels.

Good analysts are showing their mettle by adopting a range of operating modes. Here's a list of the operating modes I've applied myself and observed in others:

1) Orientation Mode

This is where the analyst (or analytical team) gets familiar with the domain and the stakeholders. We expect to see a great deal of relationship building here paying particular attention to the 'agenda setters' within that domain.

What it looks like:

• Relationship building.
  
• Coffee meetings.
• Taking a passive role in meetings.
• Conversations over the drinks cooler.
• Conversations with the movers (and the shakers).
  

2) Description Mode

An analyst in description mode is focused on describing the current state and the end game and ensuring this is communicated to everyone involved. This is where the vision is captured from the leaders and communicated in as many ways as possible. The aim being to prompt discussion at the tactical/operational level and help the implementers understand how the vision is different from the status quo.

What it looks like:

• Taking an active role in meetings.
• Relationship building.
  
• Generating descriptions (proposals, business cases, high level conceptual states, GAP Analysis).
• Presentations & workshops aimed at understanding.
  

3) Analysis Mode

This mode comes into effect when the analyst has a substantial amount of data to digest. This may be information captured from users, stakeholders, subject matter expects or even simply from themselves which needs to be analyzed and developed to address key questions.

What it looks like:

• Taking a more active role during meetings.
• Analytical Modeling, requirements analysis, gap analysis, impact analysis
  
• Cogitating, thinking, mulling over...
• Discussing with other analytical peers
• Researching analytical methods
• Testing of theories
• Recreational activities (e.g. playing online games or lots of breaks)

4) Prescription Mode

Here the analyst has developed a strong sense of direction and needs to communicate this to the implementers (whether that be directly to the developers or the people who manage them).

What it looks like:

• Thought Leadership
• Setting the agenda
  
• Influencing
• Providing constant reminding of the destination
  
• Monitoring progress
• Isolating and correcting misalignment

5) Prediction Mode

This mode is underpinned by a significant application of analytical skill-set, estimation. Here the analyst aims to predict the outcome of various conceptual (or committed) paths. It is important to note that the quality of this activity plays a major part in supporting good quality decisions. Often projects live or die by the quality of estimation at the outset.

What it looks like:

• Estimation workshops
• Wideband delphi
• Creating estimation models
  
• Trend analysis
• Data analysis
• Impact analysis
  
• Workshops
  

6) Validation Mode

In this mode the analyst aims to independently compare actual outcomes with the outcomes envisaged to validate progress or delivery. This mode also aims to test the usefulness of what's been delivered as perceived by the user or customer.

What it looks like:

• Test strategy formulation
• Test design
• Testing
• Quality Assurance activities
  
• User Acceptance Testing
  
• User Calibration Testing