Pearson Successmaker
MBSPS Case Write-Up 2 | Case: Pearson’s SuccessMaker | Group-9 | Aritra Chakravarti Prabit Kumar Mishra Abhishek Kumar Sharma Monika Solanki | PGP28282PGP28296PGP28309PGP28317 | | Submitted to: Prof. Amit Agrahari | 7/9/2013 | |
1. What challenges does Adams-Woodford face as he develops his five year road map?
When Adams-Wood joined Pearson, the key strategy for digital learning software development was the Waterfall model where Pearson team only does the detailed documentation of the product development and core development was contracted to the external agencies. Adams-Wood implemented the agile development methodology which involved focus on short development iterations and communication over documentation instead of the detailed documentation previously used. The main issue in front of Adams was to extend and implement the Agile into other teams involved in developing SuccessMaker. Implementing Agile system beyond software development alone required a huge amount of change management and awareness sessions for the team members and acceptance of the same was also a question for Adams.
Agile implementation was a huge cultural shift for the other teams as they were working on the same old waterfall model like development team. Initially the development team also faced many issues for adapting to the new process; an independent coach was brought to teach them about the new methodology. Many of the individuals from QA team were not committed to the fundamental tenets of Agile and were already trying to return to the previous practices. Agile was more focused on customer requirements for competitive advantage and customer satisfaction through early and continuous delivery of valuable software. The work was divided into small sprints which required daily meetings and discussions where team focused on decision making and individual contribution was very important. Although work was divided into short stories but they still cannot estimate
1. What challenges does Adams-Woodford face as he develops his five year road map?
When Adams-Wood joined Pearson, the key strategy for digital learning software development was the Waterfall model where Pearson team only does the detailed documentation of the product development and core development was contracted to the external agencies. Adams-Wood implemented the agile development methodology which involved focus on short development iterations and communication over documentation instead of the detailed documentation previously used. The main issue in front of Adams was to extend and implement the Agile into other teams involved in developing SuccessMaker. Implementing Agile system beyond software development alone required a huge amount of change management and awareness sessions for the team members and acceptance of the same was also a question for Adams.
Agile implementation was a huge cultural shift for the other teams as they were working on the same old waterfall model like development team. Initially the development team also faced many issues for adapting to the new process; an independent coach was brought to teach them about the new methodology. Many of the individuals from QA team were not committed to the fundamental tenets of Agile and were already trying to return to the previous practices. Agile was more focused on customer requirements for competitive advantage and customer satisfaction through early and continuous delivery of valuable software. The work was divided into small sprints which required daily meetings and discussions where team focused on decision making and individual contribution was very important. Although work was divided into short stories but they still cannot estimate