What is Agile?

Agile is an innovative approach to project management and development based on incremental working. This way of working was pioneered in the 1940s by Toyota. They developed a system of production with smaller consistent milestones.

When projects are broken into smaller more frequent milestones there are more opportunities to revise and be flexible within the work being done. With more consistent check-ins there is faster feedback on the work being done, and the ability to change prioritizations within a project. This allows teams to actively react to feedback and identify problems early leading to higher satisfaction rates and more successful launches.

There are specific Agile frameworks to help maximize the efficiency of the project management approach. A company cannot just go Agile, they must follow a framework and integrate the system into work habits. One of these frameworks is called SCRUM. SCRUM is a popular framework for software development and digital production. SCRUM uses small milestones broken into what are called sprints. Sprints are periods ranges of about two to four weeks, in which teams focus on a specific list of tangible tasks. Sprints provide lists of work increments that show achievable progress and set up for the next sprint. The SCRUM framework has helped teams propel their efficiency and project development.

The efficient and effective Agile method has made it very appealing to startups. Agile, and more specifically the SCRUM model, allow startup teams to produce tangible progress quicker. This resulting tangible progress opens doors to immediate feedback and the opportunity to immediately present the work and grow the work of startups.  

Agile also helps create strong coordinated teams within startups. The framework helps to create organizational structure within a company. It defines the roles of people on a team and allows co-workers to review and report on others’ work. Through this structure strong teams are formed with collaborative workflow and high efficiency rates.

Agile in Digital Health and ScriptChain

Agile and SCRUM are specifically effective in the digital health domain. Precision and quality are extremely important in digital health. With the Agile framework, companies are able to effectively update and revise software. Consistent updates and feedback from the Agile framework allow teams to ensure the quality of their software.

ScriptChain Health uses the Agile project management method using a program called JIRA. They use the SCRUM framework to organize work into Sprints. With this method ScriptChain health is able to consistently update their product and software to be the most effective. This is an extremely important consideration when working with medical devices. The SCRUM method allows real time updates to the software, fixing problems early and adding features that can be quickly applied. ScriptChain Health’s use of Agile allows it to be an innovative company committed to excellence in the field of digital health.

During the market downturn, it is very important for companies to understand and use the scrum framework to continue with satisfying their customers needs and get new products/features completed. It is very easy for companies to lose track of launch dates and backlog many tasks. In order to support current customers and continue to grow staying agile can help deliver products fast while keeping costs down. Sometimes going back to the fundamental approach of how to build products can benefits companies in the long run even though there will be short term pain to get the organization started.

Citations:

Atlassian. “Get Started with Agile Project Management.” Atlassian, https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management. 

Atlassian. “Agile vs. Waterfall Project Management.” Atlassian, https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management/project-management-intro.