Agile, in terms of application development or, for that matter, any  IT based projects is the ‘new normal’.  If you’re in IT and have not moved to this methodology I would strongly encourage you take the plunge.  Agile, in itself, is a game changer.  I’m happy to debate anyone who challenges that position.  What about the rest of the business?  Is Six Sigma and Peter Drucker the most progressive thinking when running a business?

I spend a lot of time writing about how and why IT needs to be a more strategic partner in the day-to-day business operation.  It is in fact our value proposition.  So why not take the principals we have learned in Agile and introduce them to the day-to-day business practices?

Let’s take some time to translate the principals behind the Agile Manifesto on how it might apply to business operational principals:

Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
through early and continuous delivery
of valuable software.

Ops Translation:

“Our highest priority is to to deliver quality products and services expeditiously to satisfy both customer and shareholder expectations”

Welcome changing requirements, even late in
development. Agile processes harness change for
the customer's competitive advantage.

Ops Translation:

“The Business climate is ever changing.  You must continually make adjustments to maximize every advantage.”

Deliver working software frequently, from a
couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a
preference to the shorter timescale.

Ops Translation:

“Always have a prejudice towards improving value constantly by adding Customer value often and incrementally.  ”

Business people and developers must work
together daily throughout the project.

Ops Translation:

“Your Business needs to operate as a cohesive unit to maximize shareholder and customer value, everyday.”

Build projects around motivated individuals.
Give them the environment and support they need,
and trust them to get the job done.

Ops Translation:

“Manage to expectations.  Make sure you have the right people in the right positions to ensure success for shareholders and customers.”

The most efficient and effective method of
conveying information to and within a development
team is face-to-face conversation.

Ops Translation:

“The most efficient way to break down the barriers to success is getting the right people in the room that can remove the barriers to success.  Have those people meet daily.”

Working software is the primary measure of progress.

Ops Translation:

"Become a results oriented organization”

Agile processes promote sustainable development.
The sponsors, developers, and users should be able
to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

Ops Translation:

“Continuous improvement should always be a core value and goal.  There should be no “fire drills” when aiming for operational excellence”

Continuous attention to technical excellence
and good design enhances agility.

Ops Translation:

Success is infectious.  Strive for it daily.  Develop a culture of innovation and the framework to support it.

Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount
of work not done--is essential.

Ops Translation:

“Operational success is not achieved by moving mountains.  It’s achieved by measuring your ability to move a bucket of stone.”

The best architectures, requirements, and designs
emerge from self-organizing teams.

Ops Translation:

“Seek self organizing talent.  Encourage innovation from the bottom up.”

At regular intervals, the team reflects on how
to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts
its behavior accordingly.

Ops Translation:

“Build a culture of examining lessons learned.  Your key contributors will always apply this to the next opportunity for improvement.”

 
These thoughts are my first pass at defining how Agile principals might apply to day-to-day operations.  What is your take on how day-to-day operations might benefit from adopting Agile?

I received an interesting email the other day.  The link was to a Microsoft article announcing an upcoming release of a ‘Cloud Appliance’.  I spoke about how great this would be for the world of computing in a blog post back in February 2009.  I forwarded the article to the folks I work with in Server/Network and they lost their minds.  A system fully capable of abstracting hardware and software!

As someone who works in a heavily regulated industry, and rightfully so in my opinion, this is the best thing to come along since virtualization.  There is no one in my industry that doesn’t recognize the benefits of a cloud based architecture, but new regulations in Healthcare now dictate jail time for certain violations.  I’m less willing to take advantage of the architectural benefits and cost savings if I know there is a real risk of visiting a federal institution of time outs.  Long story short, I’m excited to see Microsoft enter this space. 

More from InformationWeek…

More for Microsoft’s Website…

I came across this great presentation today talking about the challenges of Social Networking and what the next generation might look like.  The presentation is by a guy named Paul Adams who is a UX researcher at Google.

I am going out on a limb here.  Technologist are not traditionally people persons.  Please insert your own Office Space quote [here].  Technology is a profession I love.  Make no mistake.  But, we have our issues.  The issues have nothing about capability or effectiveness.  We are very good at that providing solutions to problems.  Our problem is self promotion!

When thinking of traditional Technical Evangelists I believe most people picture someone that promotes a platform or a proprietary service such as the ones Microsoft and SUN have employed.  Currently, I believe that Steve Jobs is the best known evangelist given Apple’s recent product home runs.  However, I do believe there is an opportunity for smaller shops, or even your own company, to employ the same strategies to maximize technology value to customers.

I think at face value this makes sense, but just for fun let’s examine some everyday scenarios that support an evangelist position:

• The pace of innovation is increasing.  You need to be agile in your evaluation of new technologies and how your business can leverage them to deliver a step change competitive advantage.
  
• Your leadership team probably interacts less with technology less than your IT team does.  You need to continually bring new opportunities to the forefront at every chance.  Perhaps an evangelist should even be present during board meetings?  Can you imagine; IT being a strategic business partner???  I kid of course.  It’s what we should be!!!
  
• Your customers are becoming more tech savvy.  There are no more secrets in Technology.  They have access to the same vendors and solutions that everyone else does.  You need to put someone in front of them that can inspire them.  Leave the sales transaction up to the sales team, build interest and excitement for the product up to the evangelist.
  
• Building a product and selling it is just 30% of a launch (my take on it).  You need someone to continually look for ways to promote the product on a micro-interaction level.  Be it whitepapers, speaking at local groups or even through blogging and social network sites.
  
• Customers need to be ‘connected’ to the product to build loyalty and honest feedback.  Nothing makes your IT product more replaceable than a customer feeling like they have no feedback loop or someone they can identify with.  Did you notice the recent Microsoft commercials about ‘Windows being my idea’?

So how do you position the need for a product evangelist?  Moreover, how do you convince the ‘brass’ that one is needed?  My current employer does not formally recognize the role, however I believe that each leader in the IT organization informally plays the role.  I think a large part of that is due to the fact that our IT department is viewed as a strategic partner in business decisions and efforts.  For many organizations that’s a tough road to pave.  I’m admittedly lucky.

Those of you seeking to build a case for implementing an evangelist culture I would work to tie the five points above with specific plans or actions to address them.  Building legitimacy is key.  Challenge your current status quo by continuously providing competitive analysis and how you can overcome those challenges by bringing forth new technological advancements.  It’s a small step and the culture will not change overnight.  However, it’s a step in the right direction.  Remember, overnight success usually takes 3-7 years.  Even for Google!

I would be happy to read and repost any stories on how you successfully implemented an evangelist role or culture.  I think this is an important component of IT’s growth and I’m happy to share.

I think the recent comments by Steve Jobs have been well documented.  I don’t discount his evaluation of Flash.  It’s his opinion and it’s his company.  He should be able to do what he wants.  However, Job’s is putting a lot of money on one factor he has no control over.  Developers.  Dare I say that Steve Ballmer was right?  It’s Developer, Developers, Developers!

As a technologist I think it’s absolutely absurd to say that the adoption rate of HTML will be non-existent.  I wrote a Blog post back in January 2009 arguing that Silverlight would be adopted in spite of Flash.  I still feel the same holds true for HTML 5.  If you make an application ‘cool’ enough they will come.  I think that HTML 5 has real promise. 

The problem will be the adoption rate by developers.  Apple does not have enough market share to convince me to convert to HTML 5.  That doesn’t mean that it will not.  It just means that in the foreseeable future I have no plans to replace my Silverlight or Flash plugins by implementing HTML 5.  Completing an asp.net site will pretty much cost me as much as doing a Silverlight based site.  In fact, my UX guys will probably use Adobe Photoshop to do most of the images so including Flash probably won’t be that much either!

Secondly, I would argue that Apple is approaching a new phase in its life as a product company.  For the longest time Apple has enjoyed a dedicated following, otherwise known as ‘Fanboys’.  Remember your old art teacher in grade school with the Mac?  I bet he/she is still a rabid Mac fan.   Unfortunately Apple is beginning to appeal to the masses.  They are no longer a niche player in the world of computing.  I know countless Apple converts who until recently could only brag about the sleekness of Apple products.   Now  they complain about compatibility, battery life and gasp!, crashes and viruses. 

The point is that Apple will eventually need to cater to these new expectations and user base.  Even if only some of them.  They have a taste of success and they are going to want to keep it, if not for the sake of their shareholders.  At some point they may have to, and should, listen to their customer needs.  Including the support for Flash and Silverlight might be one of the many things they need to do.  It will be the converts that lead the growth for Apple not the current base of dedicated art teachers!