A constant across all businesses is change. Insurance is no exception. When you're in the business of insuring the welfare of others, a change in your company's technology can seem like a risk larger than its reward. Agile methodologies are gaining more traction and organizations are discovering that these processes are an effective way to mitigate the risks associated with implementing new technologies, integrating new processes or transforming business practices in fast-paced and demanding environments. This presentation explores Agile as a means to successfully respond to the need for change. We share case studies that illustrate the ways Agile methodologies allow your business priorities to drive the change process and provide you with the groundwork you'll need when considering Agile for future development projects.

1. Agile as a Change Enabler
11th Annual Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference (2013)
Presented by:
Andrew Pitt
VP, Financial Services
Intelliware Development Inc.
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Outline
• What is “Agile”?
• The Change Enabler
• Case Studies
• Questions & Answers
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3. What is “Agile”?
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4. www.intelliware.com
The Agile Manifesto
“Agile” is defined by the “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” as:
• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan
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Why do Agile?
Agile development focuses on:
• Customer satisfaction, working software and delivery of value.
• Facilitating changing requirements, even late in the project.
• Communication and collaboration.
• Sustainable pace of change.
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What Agile is not…
Some myths about Agile development:
• No Documentation
• No Upfront Design/Architecture
• No Planning
• No Process
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The business side
Agile is also about effective business change management:
• Manage risk by focusing on business priorities
• Turn big ideas into concrete smaller components
• Expect business value regularly
• Get comfortable with not getting everything at once
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8. The Change Enabler
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Why does technology change fail?
Studies show time and again the top reasons technology projects fail are:
• Lack of end-user involvement
• Poor/changing requirements
• Unrealistic schedules
• Inflexible and bloated processes
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Establish a vision and trust
First find the vision and then trust the path will be found
• Business and technology are now intertwined
• Do enough discovery and planning to identify the future state and direction
• Trust in the people, process and technology to get started
• Guiding principles articulate the vision without locking down the solution
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Manage risk
Technology projects are fundamentally a risk management exercise
• It’s about planning, not the plan
• Break things into manageable pieces
• Disciplined process bring delivery reliability and anchors the project
• Manage risk actively, not just through “mitigation plans”
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Deliver early and often
Projects need to deliver quickly to establish credibility, and then keep going
• Agile roadmaps are a great way to contain the discovery phase
• We like to have something (even a prototype) in 30 days or less
• Focus on business value and priorities to
• Continuous delivery is key to avoiding “late in the game” surprises
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Process and technology enablers
A few key Agile process and technology enablers to consider:
• Design seed, standards and simplicity
• Collaboration (Stand-ups, code sharing, retrospectives)
• Automation (Build, test, and deploy)
• Continuous Integration and Deployment
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14. Insurance Case Studies
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Case Study: Agile Planning for ECM
Problem: Company with a myriad of systems and data sources for
supporting business processes and no Enterprise Content Management
(ECM) strategy. Multiple failed attempts to get a project off the ground.
Solution: Conducted a roadmap using Agile story writing to develop the high
level vision, scope, technology solution and plan (estimates and timeline)
based on prioritized business requirements.
Outcome: A business case was developed for a Phase I project that would
address the high priority business needs, lay the foundation for the longer
term solution and drive ROI to help fund future phases.
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Case Study: Incremental Re-platforming
Problem: Company saddled with a cumbersome legacy back office platform.
Multi-year discussions on re-platforming without ever building a business
case.
Solution: Tackled claims management as a high priority area. Used agile
practices to manage a large build and integration project.
Outcome: An award winning solution solved a pressing business need.
Early and often delivery used to gain confidence in the new path forward.
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Case Study: Mobile Strategy
Problem: Company with multiple product lines was falling behind the
competition without any mobile offering. Debate internally on what to offer
was preventing action.
Solution: Listening to the business and customers, an Agile roadmap was
used to determine the right technology solution for the future state and
what product line to tackle first.
Outcome: The company has a mobile offering that satisfies the largest user
group and is providing real feedback for moving forward. Technology
platform is being proven and adjusted as appropriate.
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Getting Started
A few thoughts on how to get started (or maybe get unstuck?):
• Pick a project with the right ingredients
• There is no perfect approach
• Give people the tools
• Educate, but don’t procrastinate
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