Two years ago, Borland knew it needed to strengthen operational oversight, reduce costs and improve efficiency and quality. Today, the number of software releases has doubled annually, costs are down, and development teams are happier and more productive. What made the difference? Borland got agile.
Inspired by presentations at the Agile 2008 Conference, this is one in a series of articles on how Agile methods are helping companies react more quickly to changing customer needs and business conditions by creating project teams that are self-directed and highly collaborative.
As with most companies embracing the agile approach, it started at the grassroots level at Borland Software Corp. When Pete Morowski joined the company in 2006 to help facilitate change as senior vice president of research and development, the success of two self-organized agile teams had emboldened others intrigued by the concept and gave the company an “agile friendly” environment. Borland’s Agile teams benefited from a unique level of executive visibility and support because one of those early teams was developing a product that would help customers using the agile method manage the 30-day sprint — or “scrum” — that defines the agile method.
Still, not all of the company’s software developers were agile aficionados.