The agile methodology, previously only used in the software industry, is quickly growing in popularity across the board. Companies in all industries are taking advantage of adaptive planning and flexibility through agile.
The telecommunications industry is no exception. According to a 2019 study of the performance of European Telecommunications Companies, software development teams within telcos have been increasing their agile workers by 207%. However, it has been mostly limited to R&D departments and they are just now starting to expand agile to other business units.
In many telecom companies, the switch to agile might be part of a larger digital transformation initiative. Regardless of how it’s implemented, agile can have big effects: according to a Boston Consulting Group case study, companies utilizing agile methodologies can deliver projects two to four times faster than those that do not, at a lower cost to boot.
In this article, we’ll look at how scaling agile to non-software business units can have profound, transformative effects on telcos.
Escaping Rigidity: Save Money By Adapting (or Cutting Losses) Early
One of the core concepts of the agile methodology is constantly evaluating project performance and making adjustments with this information.
Companies that don’t use agile frequently fall into the trap of predictive leadership instead of adaptive leadership. In other words, leaders attempt to dictate a process to complete the project top-down from the beginning, without leaving much room for adaptations.
While this predictive strategy might work for small projects, it frequently fails on larger, more complex projects. If a project is clearly not meeting deliverables, the plan needs to be changed. This is where traditional rigidity is clearly inferior to agile methodologies. Failing frequently and fast, adapting to improve, and eventually succeeding produces a better end result at a lower cost.
Continuous Delivery Isn’t Just a Software Thing
In software engineering, the use of agile methodologies with continuous integration technology allows companies to deliver and iterate on their software. While that concept might seem specific to software development, it applies to other business areas within telecom companies as well.
Let’s look at marketing as an example. In a pre-agile world, marketers might work on a complete campaign following a predetermined plan. With agile, they continuously test and improve marketing communications and advertising.
Instead of waiting until the end to test their performance, agile marketers will get customer feedback early and often, allowing them to make improvements in their media buys. Instead of working hard for weeks to create an ineffective, expensive ad, agile marketing teams will produce a better final product faster with proven effectiveness.
Takeaways
With its high level of technological advancement, the telecommunications industry has likely already seen the value of agile software development. However, telcos may not have experimented with the methodology in wider parts of their enterprises. By applying this uniquely effective set of approaches to all elements of their business, telcos can improve customer satisfaction, finish products faster, and save money, all at the same time.
Interested in learning more about what agile can do for your business? With years of agile development and business experience, XpertAI is the perfect partner on your transformation journey.