Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut has adopted agile developme

Question

Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut has adopted agile development methodologies. The insurance field can be competitive, and Travelers wanted to have the shortest “time to implement” in the field. Travelers set up development teams of six people—two systems analysts, two representatives from the user group (such as claim services), a project manager, and a clerical support person. In the agile approach, the users are physically assigned to the development team for the project. While at first it might seem that the users are just sitting around drinking coffee and not doing their regular jobs, that is not the case. The rapport that is developed within the team allows for instant communication. The interaction is very deep and profound. The resulting software product is delivered quickly—and, generally, with all the features and nuances that the users wanted.

Questions 1. Could this be done differently, such as through JAD sessions or having the users review the program on a weekly basis, rather than taking the users away from their real jobs to work on development? 2. What mindset does an analyst need to work on such an approach?

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Explanation / Answer

1. Could this be done differently, such as through JAD sessions or having the users review the program on a weekly basis, rather than taking the users away from their real jobs to work on development?

Yes. There are many possible approaches and no one is clearly better than all others for all situations and organizations. There are many trades-off to consider and, in this case, the organization is willing to devote two users full-time to the development efforts. While this may sound trivial. it is important to remember that there are two full time jobs that are not being done as a result of this decision.
This is a good opportunity to start a group discussion on the pros and cons of the three approaches(Agile, JAD,periodic reviews.). To faciliatate the discussion, assign a champion to each approach and have them try to persuade the others that his approach is best.

2. What mindset does an analyst need to work on such an approach?
The key to success of this approach is for the analyst to develop a good report with the representatives of the users group. As such, the analyst must involve them in every aspect of the development effort.

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