How Can We Use Agile Development Methodology to Reduce Costs?

Agile development

You can build and run real-time in-app chat and communication apps, serverless architectures without infrastructure management for your applications and services.

Your application is still running without a server, but AWS does manage all servers for you.

AWS Lambda has been added with many triggers over time. You can answer any API call by calling a lambda function via tools such as Amazon Cloud Watch Events. By leveraging this, we can easily add other ready-to-use features to our application.

The chat application we are building represents a full server-free architecture that provides a basic chat application with added features.

Over time, AWS Lambda has grown to include a lot of functionalities. One such function is to use the Lambda function to include tools like AWS API which enhances the Amazon Cloud Event.

The results are completely operational, with the CloudFormation stack being launched, and with the API Gateway, AWS Lambda, and DynamoDB are what help the functionality of the chat services to be more effective.

Using platforms like Pubnub help you establish mobile chats that takes care of customer queries in real time. Using in-app chat, press notifications, location tracking, and more, you can leverage the power of the hosted real-time APIs.

Having a chatbot present at all times is a great way to let the customers engage with the app and allow them to be heard. Furthermore, as the users have most of their needs being met via Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms, it is pointless to develop a new app just for the sake of having a chatbot, the smarter way to approach it is by integrating the chatbots into the poplar platforms and let them learn from the interactions that they have with the users there.

Serverless is a cloud technology, where there are not many customized codes to write, communication protocols defined, server configurations installed, etc. A few sections later we take a short introduction to serverless, but for now, we want to stress why this is extremely important. The fortunes of many customers who wanted to build a chat solution and make it ready for production in 25 days have been changed. We can easily do this within 15 days by writing and integrating other services into it.

The cost and time considerations of projects were the crucial and decisive factors when we see the work that Fortune 500 companies do, for example. Overrunning time may cost you the project twice or thrice.

Why is that not the problem when using the serverless system?

Serverless offers you the freedom to work on a managed infrastructure that reduces workloads drastically and allows you to use your vital resources for some other tasks.

No servers need to be managed from now on and instead focus on new features in your application. During the development and operation of an app, undifferentiated heavy lifting measures such as software installation, server management, patch coordinating, and scaling are provided to meet demand.

In addition to being proactive when it comes to customer service, the chatbots come in handy when the customers come on to the messenger to talk to someone, and if you do not have a customer service executive available, then the customers can engage with the chatbots who will keep them on the line. By doing so, the customer service executive can then take over the conversation by then.

If the app is gaining traffic but is unable to convert it into sales, then the chatbot can reach out to the customers with a form to ask them why they did not purchase anything. By doing so, the developers will have a clear idea about the reasons and have the data necessary to ensure that they can work on those issues and work them to convert traffic into sales.

How to create a chatbot?

If you are a coding geek then you can code a chatbot framework into existence, however, if you have no clue about coding and want to create a chatbot then you can do that as well. Let us go over both coding and non-coding options to create a chatbot.

Non-coding options

Several platforms are quite popular when it comes to creating a chatbot and are easy to use. Every step of the way, you will be asked to enter relevant information which will be used to determine how the chatbot will perform. Follow the following steps to better help you understand what your chatbot needs to be:

Know the kind of chatbot you want – This is where you ask what the chatbot needs to achieve. It can either be a simple chatbot that responds to greetings and is governed by rules which dictate how it performs. On the other hand, it can be an adaptive AI-powered chatbot that enables the chatbot to learn from the user interactions and grow.

Select the platform for the use of the chatbot – Where is the chatbot going to be deployed? Facebook, Instagram, or will it be hosted on your website? In any case, know where it is going to be deployed and again, it all boils down to the goal that you are trying to achieve with the chatbot.

Opt for the right technology stack – Once you have decided what the chatbot is going to be doing and where it is going to be working, then you can move on to the next step, which is choosing where and how to build it. You can either opt for a chatbot developer to design the bot for you or you can use the DIY platforms that are available online.

Design the Conversation

This is where you teach the bot what to do and if you have opted for chatbot development options of a developer then they will get it done for you, but if you have opted for DIY chatbot platforms then the process is as simple as dragging and dropping. Once done, then you can move on to testing and then deploying the bot in the field.

Coding Options

If you decide to code the chatbot into existence then you can opt for Python, as that is the most popular option for most chatbot developers. The reason why developers opt for Python is that it is equipped with Artificial Intelligence Markup Language, which makes life easier for developers when they create syntax for complicated chatbot features. In addition to this, Python is used to create all the conversational aspects that are hosted by the server.

In either case, you can opt for Sunvera as we enable you to unlock the full potential of your business by setting up a chatbot for your business, or other in-app chat and communication apps. In doing so, we help you gain more customers by having much more efficient customer service. We understand the importance of having responsive customer service and it is for this reason that we help you with your automated chat needs.Unlike the Waterfall Methodology, both testing as well as development, are worked upon side by side in Agile Development Methodology. This model allows for more communication between all the parties involved i.e., developers, customers, managers, and testers. Furthermore, this model is collaboration-centric, which means that communication is the key here and tasks are broken down into smaller tasks which are then given a deadline to finish by. Agile Development Methodology is more flexible than the former, as it allows for the scope of the project to change once the development has started.

The customer process is focused. This ensures that the customer participates constantly during all phases.

Agile groups are highly self-motivated so that the development plans can produce a better outcome.

This method ensures that development quality is maintained, and the process is based entirely on progress.

The customer and team, therefore, know exactly what is or isn’t complete. In the development process, this decreases the risk.

A proven and effective software model for creating software is Agile and Lean. Millions of software engineers have thus understood and seen the benefits of software development. Agile has benefits, to name but a few, from increased cooperation, higher quality, and better morals. However, what does that mean for less technical people in the enterprise? Agile ultimately leads to cost savings due to the underlying principles. What are Agile and Lean’s fundamental principles? Let us relate them to the cost of developing software.

Simplicity (note: that doesn’t mean it’s easy)

All Agile is deliberately simple, from team processes such as scrum through development practices like small unit tests. The easiest way to achieve results is to stop at enough and avoid over-engineering a solution, which results in missed deadlines and subsequent cost overruns.

Value of Business

Working software on comprehensive documentation is a vital element of the Agile Manifesto. Document reams before development add value-free costs. Documentation rams that are never used are waste. A development team focuses on business value in each activity, reducing the risk of overwhelming the cost and preventing costly activities which offer no value. Apart from that: “Agile” does not say “do not produce documentation” – instead, create “just enough” to satisfy your audience’s needs.

Throughout Quality

Agile encourages small workloads to be completed. Whilst “done” per team is subjective, the agile teams usually maintain a high standard of quality in 2-3 weeks. This reduces technical debt to a minimum. Technical debt is defined as technical problems to be addressed before it becomes more substantial and important as financial debt accumulates interest. For instance, a bug found now but not fixed until months later causes the code area where the bug lies to be learned again and a big context switch for a developing device.

Commitment and Responsibilities

The agile development methodology process and commitments are made far less than historical models of development such as a waterfall. It is unrealistic to ask a team to commit 18 months in advance to several projects with fixed dates, fixed functionality, and a fixed development budget. Because the team is essentially set up to fail, the delay costs increase with the failure to deliver. If the team fails to achieve quality, customer content decreases, affecting sales and revenue. Agile supports short-term (such as a calendar quarter) commitments with stretch objectives and holds the individual responsible. Developers have less trouble committing themselves to shorter times.

Quick and Unprecedented Delivery

The provision of software allows a fast feedback cycle, which reduces the risk that the wrong functionality can be developed to solve the problem of the user. Users cannot articulate exactly what they want without first seeing something in action. Fast delivery provides the user with an overview of your software and helps the team to make sure we do not produce features that are not used. Although software repair usually requires some time based on corrective user feedback, the cost is considerably lower than that of having to refurbish its functionality in larger chunks with long periods of several months.

Transparency and Cooperation

In general, agile and lean teams work much more effectively than in other software models. Agile, even with some of its necessary tools, encourage this collaboration. For example, agile teams use user stories to start a talk and collaborate on what needs to be built in real-time, rather than specifying requirements that take a few weeks to write and are updated when they reach the printer. This means faster marketing time, which contributes to sales.

In addition, Agile virtually eliminates the role of the project manager that is required for longer-term efforts. This means potential headcount cost savings.

As the progress of agile teams is transparent, no middle managers collect the status reports continuously. Development and metrics for teams using a software management tool like Jira are instead available at the click of a button and groups with Scrum or Kanban’s physical boards are updated every day. It is all less overwhelming.

However, since Agile relies on the concept that teams will not know how their outcome (or even a few delivery cycles) looks from day one, it is hard to predict efforts such as cost, time, and resources at the start of a project (and this challenge becomes more pronounced as projects get bigger and more complex). Incremental supply can help to make products available faster, but Agile methodology is also a major disadvantage. This is because the complete output often becomes very fragmented rather than a single unit when teams work for each component in different cycles.

Documentation occurs in Agile during a project and often “in time” to create the output, not at the start. This makes it less detailed and often comes down to the back burner. The fact that Agile needs minimal planning at first makes it easy to unlock new, unforeseen functionality. It also means that projects do not have an end as the “final product” is never clear.

Agile can influence the needs of a company, and leaders need to understand how they can do it and what they can do to support it. However, bear in mind that it does not mean “Agile” just because a team is saying it is. The team does not become agile, for example, with a “Daily Scrum.” The team must follow the core principles, leveraging support practices based on these principles, to fully realize the cost benefits of Agile and Lean software development. Using an Agile Coach driven by third parties to evaluate the use of Agile helps you to realize the cost efficiencies Agile and Lean are supposed to deliver.

In the end,  the cost of software development should not be a bother as Agile is a powerful software development tool that not only provides the development team with benefits but also offers its customers several important business benefits. Agile supports project teams with more controlled management of many of the most common project falls (such as cost, planning, and scope predictability). Agile is slimmer and more business-focused by reorganizing and reviewing the activities involved in custom software development.

Measuring project achievements are more accurate and relevant than the measures used in traditional methodologies, which Agile teams use in estimating the times and costs. In Agile, results are produced, and performance optimization is emphasized. Waterfall metrics demonstrate the close monitoring of the estimated cost and time of the project.

The Agile development methodology produces significant measurements like lead time, cycle time, and capacity, which helps to measure the performance of the team, identify bottlenecks, and make data-driven decisions to correct them.

With Sunvera, you can rest easy knowing that we will deploy the best Agile Methodology techniques to ensure that you can save on cost and time. By partnering with us, you can hand your app or software development project over to us, and then you will have more time on your hands to focus your attention on other needs of your company.