Today, software product development has no choice but to be Agile. The benefits of Agile are hard to ignore. Being Agile has enabled us to deliver high-quality software quickly and efficiently. Of course, this is because traditional development methodologies were found wanting – they were too time-consuming and by the end of the project, the solution often fell short as by then the user needs had changed. Agile helped us release fast, iterate often, and forge ahead!
Agile also became a go-to methodology owing to the growing emphasis on the speed of innovation. Given the rapidly changing market conditions, evolving consumer expectations, and technological evolution, the pace of software development had to suddenly accelerate. Agile gave development teams the framework, structure, and plan and also gave them the capacity to build out a project collaboratively. Iterative development, rapid inspection, frequent user feedback, and adaptation helped in high-quality software delivery.
As Agile took root in the practice of software development, it also helped organizations become nimble. The Agile principles helped organizations adapt to change at a faster pace with cross-functional teams working collaboratively to remove bottlenecks.
Just like Agile, another trend, that of nearshoring, became more interesting for software product companies. For long seen as a way to work with a team located “close by” with some of the cost advantages of offshoring, nearshoring has started showing that it can help drive Agile development too.
So how does nearshoring help Agile?
Scalable talent
In the face of a growing talent shortage, nearshoring emerges as a viable option to access a pool of qualified and trained professionals without incurring the cost and expending the time and the effort to locate and hire a trained resource onsite.
As Agile development becomes the norm the pace of software development accelerates. Maintaining quality at that pace is not a job for everyone. As accelerated development with Agile becomes mainstream, gaining access to a qualified talent capable of doing just that is proving to be ever harder. However, with nearshoring, you can access a different talent pool of skilled resources. In fact, nearshoring locations such as Canada have seen talent pools building up due to rising demand and a steadily growing immigrant pool made up of skilled technology resources. The value proposition is more apparent when you extend the argument to newer technologies like AI, ML, and DevOps where the competition within centers like Silicon Valley is extremely fierce. For instance, Canada was among the early adopters of an AI strategy that seems to be giving dividends in the form of a rising number of AI experts.
Foster collaboration for rapid prototyping
With Agile thriving on shorter turnaround times, nearshoring can help you can accelerate product development by simply shortening the feedback loop. Nearshoring is a great option for rapid prototyping. The early stage of product development demands more interactions with the product owners. This stage is more prone to changes and iterations. You need to build smarter alignments to build a working prototype to go-to-market faster. There has to be constant communication and given that nearshoring options are in similar time zones the velocity of software development does not get impacted due to logistics. It becomes easier to gather feedback and resolve issues, address stakeholder engagements, retrospectives, etc. This kind of availability makes software development more collaborative and consequently, aids the Agile strategy.
Better stakeholder engagement
One of the hallmarks of Agile is that it allows the client (or the product owner in this instance) to be involved throughout the project. Be it feature prioritization, iteration planning, review sessions, software builds for new features, etc. the client is at the center of all Agile development decisions.
Agile needs stakeholders and teams to communicate before, during, and after each Sprint. Nearshoring options, being in the same time zone allow this easily. With a high degree of collaboration between the project team and the client, it becomes easier to understand the client’s vision. This, consequently, helps the team to work out better solutions and development plans and eventually helps them deliver high-quality software faster.
Enables dynamic working
Agile is a methodology that helps organizations respond fast to the constant barrage of changes that seems to have become the norm today. It is only when we adopt Agile that we can manage the changing requirements of the projects and welcome it even if it is late in the project. Stakeholders may rethink on requirements and features. Clients might demand new features and functionalities. The list is quite endless. And addressing these changes can often demand new skills or new technological dexterity. A lack of capacity to scale up can put Agile endeavors at risk and delay projects.
Supports offshore scaling
What happens once the prototype of MVP works? When the product goes into full production mode? Chances are, you will need to start working with a combination of onsite and offshore teams. That’s become the best way to ramp up and scale back in sync with the product requirements. At this time, the nearshore team can work as a bridge between the onsite and the offshore efforts. This allows a seamless transition of tasks and a smooth sprint to the finish. This helps make sure that the chasm between requirement and delivery gets bridged.
Nearshoring not only helps drive Agile product development but also gives you the capacity to innovate and explore new technologies without compromising on delivery timelines. It helps you find faster solutions and build all the resources you need to address your business needs promptly and help you stay ahead of the curve. Isn’t that where we all want to be?
