5 Agile Methods you can use in your Startup to improve productivity

Read the top 5 proven Methodologies to improve productivity

Startups are exciting and fast-moving businesses that need to work really well to succeed in a competitive world. To do that, they have to use their resources wisely, work together as a team, and make quick decisions.

There are different ways and systems to help startups be more productive, and one popular way is called “Agile methodologies.” It’s a set of methods that have been proven to be really effective for startups and have become quite popular.

Companies like Spotify, Atlassian, and Airbnb have also used agile methodologies for their success. At Codeshastra, we also utilize these methodologies to enhance our productivity and achieve our goals more efficiently.

Go through how the below five methods function and pick the one that fits your company best.

1. Lean Startup Cycle

The Lean Startup Cycle is a way of building startups by creating a simple version of the product and testing it with real users. We learn from their feedback, make improvements, and repeat the process. It helps us save time, reduce waste, and build a product that people want.

How to Use the Lean Startup Cycle:

Start with an Idea: Identify a problem that you are passionate about solving and get an Idea that can help solve it.

Create an MVP: Develop a basic version of your product with the core features needed to address the identified problem. Keep it simple and cost-effective.

Gather Feedback: Launch your MVP and gather feedback from early adopters and customers. Use surveys, interviews, and data analysis to understand how they perceive and use your product.

Analyze and Learn: Based on the feedback and data, analyze what is working well and what needs improvement. Focus on understanding your customers’ pain points and preferences.

Iterate and Improve: Use the insights gained to make iterative improvements to your product. Implement changes that address customer needs and align with your business goals.

Pivot if Necessary: If the feedback indicates that your current approach is not resonating with customers, be prepared to pivot. This may involve making significant changes to your product or even exploring new target markets.

Repeat the Cycle: Continuously repeat the Build-Measure-Learn loop. Each iteration helps you get closer to building a product-market fit.

Scale Up: As you gather positive feedback and see growing demand for your product, you can start scaling up your operations and reaching a larger audience.

2. Kanban Method

Kanban uses a board with cards representing tasks or work items, showing their progress from “To Do” to “Done.” Each task is like a piece of the project, and the team focuses on completing them one by one. Kanban allows for better workflow management and helps teams prioritize tasks effectively.

How to Use the Kanban Board:

Set Up the Kanban Board: Create a physical or digital board with columns representing different stages of your workflow. Typically, you’ll have columns like “To-Do,” “Doing,” and “Done.” Each column represents a specific stage of work completion.

Visualize Tasks as Cards: Each task or work item is represented by a card. Write down the task’s name or a brief description on each card. These cards will move across the board as the tasks progress through different stages.

Populate the “To-Do” Column: Start by populating the “To-Do” column with all the tasks that need to be accomplished. These are the tasks that are yet to be started.

Limit Work in Progress (WIP): To maintain focus and efficiency, set limits on the number of tasks allowed in the “Doing” column at any given time. This prevents team members from taking on too many tasks simultaneously, which could lead to bottlenecks.

Move Tasks Across the Board: As team members start working on a task, they move the corresponding card to the “Doing” column. As they complete the task, they move it to the “Done” column.

Visualize Workflow and Bottlenecks: The Kanban Board provides a clear visual representation of your workflow. It allows you to identify any bottlenecks or delays in the process easily.

Hold Daily Standup Meetings: Use the Kanban Board during daily standup meetings to discuss the progress of tasks. Team members can share updates, identify any blockers, and re-prioritize tasks as needed.

Continuous Improvement: Regularly review the Kanban Board to assess the team’s performance and identify areas for improvement. If a process or stage is causing delays or inefficiencies, discuss how to optimize it.

Use Metrics for Analysis: Over time, collect data on task completion times and other relevant metrics. Analyze these metrics to gain insights into team performance and identify ways to optimize workflows further.

Adapt the Board as Needed: As your project evolves or team dynamics change, feel free to adapt the Kanban Board to better suit your needs. Add new columns, adjust WIP limits, or make other changes based on feedback and learning.

3. Feature-driven development

Feature-Driven Development is a software development method that delivers features systematically. It prioritizes important features first, adds more in short cycles, and aims to create a functional product quickly. FDD focuses on what matters most to users, building the project piece by piece.

How to Use Feature-driven Development Methodology:

General Model Development: In the first phase, the team creates the first sketch of the software system based on their research. They use guidelines to develop a detailed model that acts as a blueprint for the whole system. As they learn and progress, they add more details to the model.

Developing Function Lists: Next, the team focuses on finding out what features the users or clients want. They make a list of functions that can be completed within two weeks. A function is something the client will appreciate, and these functions become goals to achieve.

Plan by Feature: In this phase, the team manages all the identified functions and plans how to make them work. They consider the team’s workload, potential risks, and other important aspects to avoid problems. The team analyzes the complexity of each function and plans the tasks needed to get them done. Everyone in the project participates in evaluating the model or system to match the client’s needs.

Design by Feature: The head programmer selects the functions the team needs to work on, based on their knowledge. They also identify the domain classes. As the team starts working, a domain expert focuses on finding solutions for each function.

Build by Feature: Finally, the team implements all the necessary elements to support the design. They might build a user interface or other components as planned during the technical design. They create a prototype of each function, test it, and get it approved.

Once approved, the function becomes part of the main version of the system. If a function takes more than two weeks to complete, the team breaks it into smaller parts to stick to the two-week rule.

4. Scrum

Scrum is a way of developing software by breaking it into small parts and working on them one at a time. The team meets daily to talk about progress and plans for the day. Each small part is completed in a sprint, which usually lasts for one to four weeks. The goal is to create a sellable product at the end of each sprint. The team keeps doing sprints until the project is done or the budget is used up.

How to Use Scrum Methodology:

Product Backlog: Scrum software development starts with a wishlist of features known as the product backlog. The team meets to discuss the backlog, what tasks still need to be completed and estimates the time required.

Sprint: Scrum relies on an agile software development concept called sprints. Sprints are defined periods when software development is executed. Each sprint typically lasts from one week to one month, and its goal is to complete an item from the backlog. The primary objective of each sprint is to create a saleable product.

Sprint Review: At the end of each sprint, a sprint review is conducted to assess the team’s accomplishments and progress made during the sprint.

Continuation and Selection: After a sprint, the team selects another item from the backlog to start a new sprint. This continuation of the development process occurs until the project deadline or the allocated budget is met.

Daily Scrums: In daily scrums, the team meets to discuss their progress since the previous meeting and plans for the current day’s tasks.
These meetings should be brief, lasting no longer than 15 minutes, and require the presence and preparedness of each team member.

ScrumMaster: The ScrumMaster plays a pivotal role in keeping the team focused on the project’s goal and maintaining the agile development process.

5. Crystal

Crystal Methodology categorizes projects based on their size and complexity using different colors. Each color represents a set of methods that work best for that type of project. There are colors like White, Yellow, Orange, Red, and Blue, each for different project sizes.

The Crystal Table is like a guide that shows important details for each color. It tells you the best methods, team size, how to communicate, and more. This helps project teams make good decisions for their projects and choose the right Crystal Methodology.

How to Use Crystal Methodology:

Project Assessment: Begin by assessing the specific requirements and characteristics of your project. Consider factors such as project size, complexity, budget, and the expertise of your team members.

Choose the Appropriate Crystal Methodology: Based on the project assessment, select the most suitable Crystal Methodology that aligns with your project’s unique needs. Crystal Methodologies come in various flavors, each designed to address different project characteristics.

Team Composition: Form a team that includes members with the necessary skills and expertise required for the project. Crystal Methodologies emphasize the importance of competent and motivated team members.

Iterative Development: Crystal Methodologies follow an iterative development process. Break the project into smaller, manageable increments or iterations. Each iteration delivers a working and potentially shippable product increment.

Communication and Collaboration: Foster open and continuous communication within the team and with stakeholders. Collaboration is essential for ensuring everyone stays on the same page and that any challenges are promptly addressed.

Prioritization: Work with stakeholders to prioritize features and functionalities based on business value. This approach allows the team to focus on delivering high-priority items first.

Regular Reviews: Conduct regular reviews and evaluations of the project’s progress. These reviews help identify potential issues and provide opportunities for improvement.

Quality and Testing: Ensure that proper testing and quality assurance processes are in place. Quality is a fundamental aspect of successful Crystal Methodologies implementation.

Continuous Improvement: Encourage a culture of continuous improvement within the team. Learn from each iteration and apply those learnings to enhance future development cycles.

I hope you found these 5 Agile methods helpful. We provided a brief overview, but there are more intricate details to consider before implementing them. Research their pros and cons, and take your company’s work culture into account before deciding on any of these methods.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for our next exciting story by following us to receive notifications!