Nowadays, if you take a look at any website in the field of IT, the chances are good that you will see some text on some page about agile workflow. Whether it’s Scrum or Kanban, everyone seems to talk about it.
Scrum process is probably the most well-known and popular agile frameworks that are being used in companies today. That includes the Salesforce company itself, as over 70% of in-house teams use it as a go-to business methodology.
- The key traits of any agile workflow are:
- Accelerated delivery;
- Highly-iterative process (sprints);
- Hierarchical organizational breakdown.
But in order to achieve the efficiency when applying agile workflow in your business, you should be aware of the primary values that such framework demands.
The Inherent Structure of Agile Methodology
Communication & focus
In order to successfully switch to agile workflow, your company needs to be fully committed to the change. Methodologies like Scrum deal with complex tasks that tend to have a great number of unknowns. Therefore it is of paramount importance to stay on point throughout the process and not getting sidetracked.
That’s why, when discussing things like salesforce agile transformation, you need to stay completely focused. No team should be a completely independent unit that deals with some outside item. Instead, all departments and teams continuously collaborate on everything they do.
It sounds very easy at first, but in many cases, lack of internal communication can easily prevent organizations from going completely agile. Salesforce agile tools help facilitate the communication and collaboration process between multiple departments. And as a result, it provides a fertile ground for implementing methodologies like Scrum.
Other very important aspects of the agile workflow are clear prioritization and team agreeing on a cohesive sprint plan. Prioritization is crucial since it keeps teams in check and doesn’t allow anyone to go sideways on what’s important. And shared accountability helps you to keep the focus on the overall outcome, rather than individual contributions.
Transparency & commitment
Although the transparency is highly correlated with communication, it should be placed as a core value of your business, since it impacts it on so many levels. Being transparent in your internal operation isn’t something that you can simply wish. It is the desired goal that demands a lot of dedication and work.
Teams need to fully trust each other and consistently indicate how their progress is. Voicing concerns is another thing that employees don’t like to be very public about. The openness of each department and willingness to admit when they were wrong are the building blocks of business transparency. But these things are counter-intuitive on a personal level of each worker.
In order to achieve the efficient agile workflow, you need to restructure the way your company operates on a personal level, and it cannot be done by simply implementing a tool and giving down in order to change.
Teams need to be accounted for the overall progress, but they also need to have more control over the outcomes. Each department needs to be invested in the overall success rather than their individual achievements.
How Does the Agile Process with Salesforce Look Like?
Of course, for every company, the process will differ in some aspects but the core idea remains quite simple:
- Assembling of the team that takes almost entire control over project deliverables;
- Prioritization of projects for teams;
- Appointment of a person accountable for removing obstacles and keeping communication between teams
- Key delivery for every sprint to gather feedback and adjust the process;
- Continuously improvement of the outcome for every sprint.
How Salesforce Facilitates Agile Methodology
For a very long time, moving to agile development on a scale of the entire company was problematic due to the lack of software tools that can enhance productivity and help you focus resources. Salesforce provides multiple tools and useful functionalities that can facilitate agile workflow.
One of the main benefits of utilizing Salesforce CRM platform is the ability to track business requirements, measure progress, and successfully deliver releases, all in a single interface. On top of that Salesforce, interface allows you to use simple drag and drop tools to manage sprints, user cases as well as backlogs.
Transparency and communication is another great benefit that can be achieved through Salesforce integrations. Today there are numerous software tools such as Chatter or Slack that can be easily integrated to your CRM. The connection between platforms allows for smooth collaboration and seamless data flow across multiple departments.
Integration with other apps Sales Cloud and Service Cloud also helps to maintain security and availability of information across departments. Furthermore, the information can be accessed on any device can be updated from anywhere.
With Salesforce your teams can collaborate on requirements, share updates and access release schedules. Plus real-time syncing and automatic updates ensure that everybody within the company is fully aware of any changes and progress, regarding the project itself.
Salesforce Implementation for Agile Business Transformation
If you are looking forward to making a switch towards an agile development model with Salesforce, then you can always contact us at OMI. We are certified Salesforce partner with decades of experience behind our backs. We have successfully implemented the most advanced CRM platform for a great number of companies from various business domains.
We are fully proficient in delivering tailored solutions and building sales acceleration software for small businesses. Our team of business analysts will work on translating your key requirements into the technical specification for the CRM. Then we will develop a custom solution, completely unique to your desired business model with in-built scalability and flexibility for further business growth and enhancements.