Top 9 Ways to Speed Up Your Development Process

These days, it seems as if all tech teams share one missing component: time. It’s for this reason that I found it worthwhile to take a few minutes to summarize nine key tips shared by successful executives from Forbes Technology Council.

Here are their suggestions for keeping development moving forward quickly:

1. Customize Agile Processes
   Yesterday, we discussed the value that banks are finding in using agile management. According to Satyam Tyagi (Certes Networks), delivering business value early should be your focus. Agile management allows a team to start delivering after the first “sprint”, correct mistakes early, adapt to changing needs and provides continuous value to customers.
2. Work with Small Teams and Small Components
   Smaller teams delivering small components and micro services deliver quickly according to Venkat Rangan (Clari Inc). When combined with systematic tests and integration, agile allows small teams to break down the larger problem and accomplish their goals more quickly.
3. Challenge your plan
   At Space150, Marc Jensen and his team incorporate a “Challenge Phase” that allows them to clarify the end goal, discuss the problem and define project success before they even start.
4. Stick to Deliverables
   While change requests and bugs are inevitable, Jonathan Penny (Myfootpath), recommends not delaying development on any issues not related to a bug or a security issue. Ship deliverables on time and other changes can be made in a future sprint, he says.
5. Change Management
   Guillermo Ramos has learned an important lesson from his time at Greatist, “There are three things to consider: scope, resources and time. Changing any one of these will affect the other two.” Increasing scope will inevitably slow down the development process without simultaneously increasing resources. The same holds true if there is a decrease in resources without a decrease in scope.
6. Development Sprints
   Thomas Griffin (OptinMonster) is a big believer of utilizing development sprints to keep the pace charging ahead. Quick wins keep the team focused and energized.
7. Reduce Scope “Creep”
   As VP of Technology at Voices.com, Chris Kirby has come to learn that scope creep is the enemy of teams trying to get deliverables out on time. Breaking things down into smaller phases allows for critical elements to be completed first and long term requirements to be put off until there is a lull in development.
8. Utilize the Lean Approach
   “The key to moving quickly and effectively is to build your product in small increments, test with real users in real-life situations ASAP, and then adjust your direction based on their feedback and your data/observations.” -Jim Walsh, GlobalLogic

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Use Continuous Integration

For those unfamiliar, this software continuously runs tests and deployments as code is updated. Yusuf Simonson from the Muse believes that this forces engineers to be more scrupulous in their testing and verification.