{"id":25775,"date":"2020-06-30T15:46:06","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T13:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intellias.com\/?p=25775"},"modified":"2023-02-15T15:16:02","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T14:16:02","slug":"from-team-augmentation-to-software-delivery-powerhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intellias.com\/from-team-augmentation-to-software-delivery-powerhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"From Team Augmentation to Software Delivery Powerhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Business challenge<\/h2>\n

When BrainStorm, the preferred training provider for thousands of organizations around the world, came up with the idea of an innovative SaaS-based QuickHelp platform<\/a> for professional growth, they faced a lack of in-house development capabilities. To build their flagship product and be able to affordably scale their engineering capacity, BrainStorm looked for a trusted IT staff augmentation company to partner with.<\/p>\n

Being a pioneer in the industry, BrainStorm was among the first eLearning companies<\/a> to build their solution on Microsoft Azure. Back in 2011, when Azure had just come out and cloud competencies were still rare, this decision triggered new challenges for the company. To address the talent shortage and future-proof their new platform for further innovations, BrainStorm decided to work with Intellias. We were a good match for the project with our abundant experience in cloud solutions<\/a>, strong software engineering culture, and flexible IT\u00a0staff augmentation services<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our collaboration began with a small web app project involving four developers. Throughout this project, Intellias proved a reliable dedicated development partner with a great cultural fit and the right mix of skills, expertise, and maturity. The success of this pilot program gave BrainStorm the confidence to move to full-scale product development.<\/p>\n

\"From<\/p>\n

Solution delivered<\/h2>\n

Team setup<\/h3>\n

Intellias mature engineering environment, advanced technology services<\/a>, and culture of continuous innovation allowed us to promptly respond to BrainStorm\u2019s technological needs. Our experts in Microsoft .NET and the Azure stack became vital contributors to efficient development of our client\u2019s cloud platform. QuickHelp is entirely hosted on Azure Cloud and uses a variety of Azure services, resources, and technologies.<\/p>\n

Being a client-centric company, Intellias took a flexible, collaborative, and process-oriented approach to project management right from the start. This allowed us to quickly establish workflows and operations as well as achieve transparency and accountability in our relationships.<\/p>\n

Team ramp-up<\/h3>\n

As the QuickHelp platform was rapidly gaining market traction and required our deeper involvement, the team continued to steadily grow each year in both its size and span of responsibilities. Bit by bit, BrainStorm delegated the entire delivery process and all project management functions to Intellias, leaving only business requirements engineering on their side. We went from team augmentation to full project delivery and became BrainStorm\u2019s single development center. Our team took charge of full-cycle software development, quality control, requirements analysis, release planning, recruitment, team composition, and team trainings.<\/p>\n

The initial version of QuickHelp was delivered by two project teams of 15. The comprehensive architecture that Intellias designed became the cornerstone of QuickHelp\u2019s success. However, we continued to provide digital consulting<\/a> to BrainStorm on necessary improvements to the solution architecture and process optimizations.<\/p>\n

Step changes<\/h3>\n

After the core processes were up and running, another challenge surfaced. BrainStorm\u2019s strategic goal to roll out the second version of QuickHelp required conceptual changes to the system\u2019s logic and UX as well as refactoring some parts of the existing code or reworking it completely.<\/p>\n

To cover a growing pipeline of requirements for the next version of the platform and meet tough deadlines, Intellias doubled the team size. Each of our three teams were assigned a team leader responsible for overseeing the team\u2019s dynamics and efficiency.<\/p>\n

We decided to temporarily switch from Scrum to Kanban to focus on completing specific features rather than committing to several tasks at a time. This marked a major shift in our team\u2019s mindset. We realized that even when working to a tight schedule, with the right process in place, our team could deliver on the project requirements quickly and efficiently. The successful and timely release of the new version of QuickHelp gave BrainStorm momentum to win new customers and retain existing ones.<\/p>\n

After moving to a new set of technologies for the second version, including React, we conducted rigorous team training sessions to avoid possible competency gaps and make the shift seamless. We also provided post-production support for both versions of QuickHelp, fixing issues, handling change requests, and implementing improvements.<\/p>\n

Team scaling<\/h3>\n

As BrainStorm\u2019s business was growing fast, the ability to scale the engineering team became an essential requirement for the software production process. Team scaling naturally brought about the need for changes in terms of methodology, project planning, and engineering practices.<\/p>\n

From Scrum to LeSS Huge<\/b><\/p>\n

Being highly adaptable to meet our clients\u2019 objectives, we adjusted our methodology to provide more flexibility in scope changes, streamline team deliverables, and orchestrate the work of all stakeholders. To scale the Scrum process, we customized the LeSS Huge framework to better serve cross-team needs. This helped us establish a well-coordinated SDLC process across the entire BrainStorm development organization.<\/p>\n

Project planning and requirements management<\/b><\/p>\n

Our team started conducting a deep requirements analysis several sprints in advance so we could build an architectural runway to meet the product\u2019s future requirements. We also automated many project management processes to facilitate communication, documentation, and operational activities.<\/p>\n

Engineering guilds<\/b><\/p>\n

Our next big step was transforming the organizational structure into Development, Product, and Technology organizations and launching engineering guilds. The Intellias team initiated the shift from a full-stack development approach to multi-dimensional specialization that would ensure the team\u2019s cross-functionality and efficiency. To support this move, we established guilds, or Communities of Practice (CoPs).<\/p>\n

Focused on specific areas of interest, guilds are an effective mechanism for consolidating, sharing, and cultivating knowledge within a field. Our guilds cover:<\/p>\n