The Agile Process

LightSky follows Agile process of software development, which allows for fluidity of features and scope while fixing the number of hours and therefore cost. Agiles includes a series of well-defined steps that keep communication clear and expectations in line. By gathering input throughout the process LightSky can adjust plans and approach continuously, and clients can introduce new needs or re-prioritize features.

Benefits of Agile Development

• Software evolves as iterations, each building on the previous and taking the client’s evolving or newly discovered needs into account.
• Clients review functional software in a matter of weeks, not months or years.
• Our project team adjusts quickly to updated project and client needs, ensuring that development is always progressing, never back-tracking.
• Clients and our project team meet in-person rather than via email or through documents so that we can listen to each other and work as one cohesive team instead of as “client” and “vendor.”

Learn more about the comprehensive Agile process by reading below. You will get a strong sense of what happens behinds the scenes in terms of meetings and documentation as well as see what Agile requires of you and what each step entails.

1. Client kick-off meeting: Client and Development Team
   Client, meet the development team. Development team, meet the client. The kick-off meeting is the time to get everyone on the same page and working as one team to answer the essential questions like: What are the client and user needs? What are the project parameters?

   Prepare for next meeting: Statement of Intent and Business Objectives List

2. SuperSCRUM meeting: Development Team
   Now that the essential questions have answers, the development team gets to work to decide and document what the functionality will be and what pages are needed as well as who the users are, what they can do, and what workflow they’ll follow.

   Prepare for next meeting: URL Document and Case Study Document

3. Case statement meeting: Development team
   Now the plan gains specificity. The development team determines functionality so that when they are ready to write the code they know everything that should happen on each page.

   Prepare for next meeting: Refined URL Document and Refined Case Statement Document

4. Mockup definition meeting: Development team
   The development team knows what pages will exist, and they also need to know how the pages will be laid out. The development team brings in the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Specialist, and together they decide which pages the CSS Specialist will sketch out. Between this and the next meeting, the CSS Specialist and Lead Developer will create sketches so that the rest of the development team can see generally what the pages will look like.

   Prepare for next meeting: Sketches

5. Sketch review meeting: Development team
   The process remains collaborative - in this instance getting the development team’s feedback on the sketches. Do the sketches work to meet the needs? Are additional sketches required for clearer understanding?

   Prepare for next meeting: Style Guide and HTML Mock-up

6. Internal style and build review: Development team
   With sketches now rendered as HTML pages, the picture is coming into clearer focus. The development team sees what pages will look like and makes sure that everything that they need to have defined is defined.

   Prepare for next meeting: Scaffold Application and Task List

7. Client style and build review meetings: Client and development team
   It’s the client’s turn to see what’s in the works and the development team’s responsibility to hear client feedback and adjust accordingly. The development team shows the client a simple HTML-scaffolded application that illustrates the workflow and functional areas for the entire application and gathers input.

   Prepare for next meeting: Refined HTML Mock-up (if needed)

8. Build: Development team
   With the client’s approval the development team begins coding the functional areas, regularly showing the them to the client for feedback and making adjustments as needed.

   Prepare for next meeting: Functional Area

9. Client demonstration: Development team
   With the functional areas complete, the development team shows the client the latest iteration of an application. Questions we address in this meeting include: Does the iteration meet business objectives? Are there elements that need to be changed or improved? The development team gathers feedback to schedule into the next iteration or to table ideas, depending on priorities.

   Prepare for next meeting: Next iterative set of agreed upon priorities

10. Beta quality assurance: Client and development team
    Once alpha testing is complete, LightSky provides the client access to conduct beta testing. The client pulls together a group of testers who were not involved in the project to ensure a fresh perspective.