Adapting a Cross-Platform Information Product to Changing Requirements
A distributed team replaced phase-end delivery with shorter increments, demonstrations, and visible change decisions when requirements repeatedly shifted.
Business SoftwareRequirements ChangeAgileVB.NET
AI-generated or illustrative concept based on the case requirements. Actual client system not shown.
Industry
Business Software
Delivery
Dedicated team
Focus
Business outcomes
The situation
Major requirement changes repeatedly invalidated work completed under a phase-based plan.
The product was initially organized around a waterfall model with delivery at the end of a development phase.
As requirements changed, the team needed a way to expose work earlier and make adjustments before another large phase was complete.
Recognise this situation?
Make changing requirements reviewable before they created another large cycle of rework.
Late feedback
Phase-end delivery delayed the point at which changed expectations became visible.
Large changes
New requirements could affect work completed in an earlier phase.
Distributed work
Several teams needed shared visibility into current decisions and increments.
The project approach
Shorter Agile increments brought demonstrations and requirement decisions closer together.
The team shifted from a phase-end handoff to frequent delivery, review, and communication.
Break the work into smaller increments that could be demonstrated earlier.
How the work unfolded
Use each demonstration as a decision point for the next increment.
The original waterfall plan was replaced with recurring increments and product demonstrations.
Feedback and changed requirements were incorporated into the next reviewable unit of work.
Shared visibility helped the distributed participants follow what had been accepted and what required revision.
