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roadmap?
Woodford faced many challenges when he started building his five-year product road map, some
Woodford came at the time when SuccessMaker needed a successful upgrade, and
After a year of changing the process, SuccessMaker was making headway, but for
o The development team stumbled upon some issues with the Agile Scrum process.
o Company members felt Kanban would be a better methodology for the product’s
success.
o Since Woodford did not have prior experience with Kanban methodology he
stuck with the Scrum method that he advocated for, for the last year.
Woodford had a challenge whether to extend the methodology within other development
teams for SuccessMaker; implementing new systems would require Woodford to change
1
Tasneem Adamjee ENTP 6375_WA #4
Pearson SuccessmMaker Case Study July 22, 2018
During the budget crisis, transforming products and services for digital platforms was key
2. A. What benefits did Pearson realize in making the shift from a waterfall process to
an Agile one?
SuccessMaker clients liked the new features and agreed that Pearson has improved over
Off shore development teams were eliminated shrinking the size by at least a third.
The new process helped overcome risks associated with the waterfall process.
Unable to estimate how many story points they can develop in a planning period.
Not all groups converted to agile methods, therefore teams struggled with
communication.
Teams had a hard time shifting from a documentation focused method to a non-
Delivering the working code resulted in role ambiguity and lack of accountability.
2
Tasneem Adamjee ENTP 6375_WA #4
Pearson SuccessmMaker Case Study July 22, 2018
2. C. What firm or market circumstances are more likely to benefit from a Waterfall or
Agile methodology?
Waterfall:
o It’s a good process when the environment is stable and there are no room for
changes.
o When there is a risk of SMEs and key developers quitting their job.
Agile:
o Project budget is significantly low for this method; it’s a lightweight method that
environment is uncertain.
o Allows for frequent tests and iterations of the products before launch which is
crucial for the progress of the product (example: usability tests with participants
o With the constant scope to change and make iterations, highly skilled developers
3
Tasneem Adamjee ENTP 6375_WA #4
Pearson SuccessmMaker Case Study July 22, 2018
3. A. What are some of the things Greg should consider as he evaluates whether to continue
to focus on the SuccessMaker product verses becoming involved in the company-wide Agile
initiative?
o Bringing the company on one agile process that will improve teams’ interactions and
communications.
o Redefining organization’s structure and culture in order to initiate and implement the
agile process.
workflow.
Greg should use the Agile approach and define a clear vision and paths for the organization
o This will bring focus and sustain the efforts made in the past year (providing trainings
and learnings for agile processes); changing within a year would lead to losses.
o Having a clear path to immediate next steps and what’s on the roadmap for the future
o Agile process will allow for customers and stakeholders feedback and expectations to
be heard and emphasized with so as to make the product better and make appropriate
iterations.