An Introduction to Hyper-Agile SDLC

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Welcome to the world of citizen development.

Amazing things happen here in the world of citizen development. If you’ve been in it a while, you already know how incredible it is to watch an idea go from spark to screen in days or even hours. If you’re new to citizen development, get ready for a fascinating new reality.

This post is part of a series that will introduce you to elements on the PMI CD Canvas (see graphic below). These posts are designed to inspire you, share tips and insight, and further your knowledge and experience. I welcome your questions and encourage you to share your own stories.

I am glad you’re here. Let’s begin.

An Introduction to Hyper-Agile SDLC

As citizen developers, we inevitably interact with IT. In my early days of low-code app creation (before I even knew the term “citizen developer”) I encountered resistance from our IT department. They were leery of the process, tools, and security. The resistance eased when I took the time to learn the basic framework of their process so I could do a better job of explaining the one I was proposing.

With your success in mind, I offer you two terms to learn and one case story to consider. 

Term #1: SDLC

Its full name is Software Development Life Cycle. SDLC is a familiar term in the IT world and represents the six-stage process they use to plan, create, test, and deploy an information system. Each stage can take considerable time to complete. The SDLC process is as follows:

1.           Requirement analysis

2.           Design

3.           Development and testing

4.           Implementation

5.           Documentation

6.           Evaluation

IT professionals pretty much live by this process. It’s proven, reliable, and connects all the dots in a way they have come to trust.

Term #2: Hyper-agile SDLC

This is the hyper-agile version of the Software Development Life Cycle. Same processes and same stages, but faster, leaner, and more agile. It is “an end-to-end process for developing and delivering applications by citizen developers using no-code/low-code tools,” per CDBOK.

Case Story: Hyper-Agile SDLC In Action

Situation: A marketing company was planning an in-person VIP event to launch a new product and needed a tool to enable teams to schedule and host private meetings. The existing process was cumbersome, and they wanted to replace it with a no-code app to automate scheduling, improve team communication, and capture critical data in real-time. Key stakeholders included the meeting concierge, room hosts, meeting hosts, and event meeting planners.

Before: In prior events, the planners used an Excel spreadsheet to track and organize all of the meetings. Outlook was used for meeting invites. Confirmation emails containing specific meeting details along with the full spreadsheet showing the next day’s schedule was shared with stakeholders once a day. This caused extra work for stakeholders who had to sort through all of the data to find which events pertained to them. Cutting and pasting sections of the spreadsheet became the norm in an effort to make the information accessible and viewable. The process was not mobile-friendly, and valuable event metrics were difficult to track and gather.

After: With the help of an in-house citizen developer using hyper-agile SDLC, a no-code app was built and deployed in four days. This included gathering requirements, design, basic IT testing, workflow creation, and user training. The hyper-agile SDLC build was possible due to (1) a highly engaged team who communicated clear requirements and workflows, and (2) a no-code platform that enabled the citizen developer to organize, design, and create a live app for the team to use. This platform was intuitive and user-friendly making training much quicker.

The team built the app that efficiently managed all facets of the VIP customer meetings, plus these features:

●           A mobile responsive design

●           Overall view of room availability and configuration

●           Quick search and simplified meeting request form

●           Automated booking email confirmations and notifications

●           Current and accessible master meeting calendar

●           Automatic update notifications to specific team members

●           A notes, comments, and completion confirmation section for room hosts

●           Real-time meeting metrics for the meeting planners to track how many meetings were occurring, for how long, and who was hosting

Customized dashboards were also created so each user type could view data that was relevant to them and their roles. This eliminated the need for any cutting and pasting of data and the meeting planners no longer had to wait until the end of the event to gather the event metrics.

The app was a huge win for the entire team and demonstrates how hyper-agile SDLC can be used to create a solution for a process that was full of manual input, wasted time and money, and prone to human error.

Applying Hyper-Agile SDLC In Your Organisation

If you are looking to implement hyper-agile SDLC for the first time in your company, I recommend you select a workflow that is relatively simple but provides a good win for the team. 

Here are a few other tips:

●           Look for a workflow that involves multiple manual steps that get repeated over and over again

●           Get a good understanding of the actual workflow, the challenges, and the stakeholders

●           Identify three basic requirements to fulfill with the new app and begin the design using the selected no-code/low-code platform.

Begin with a simple and minimally-disruptive workflow so the stakeholders can see the positive impact and engage with the process. This will go a long way in setting the stage for quicker adoption of future, more complex apps.

What did this post spark in you? Are you new to Hyper-Agile SDLC? Have you used it in your company? Please post your questions, comments, and stories below.