LOW CODE & TECHNOLOGIE

Lexique de la méthode Agile

Habituellement, pour conduire un projet en entreprise, les moindres détails sont exposés dès le départ dans un cahier des charges souvent fastidieux. Mais les choses se déroulent rarement comme prévu et une planification trop rigide s’avère en réalité contre-productive. C’est le constat sur lequel se fonde la méthode Agile, qui redonne toute sa place aux changements et besoins mouvants. Voyons de plus près ce qu’est la méthode Agile à travers un tour d’horizon de son lexique : ses valeurs, ses acteurs, ses processus et ses rituels clés.

Adopter le mindset Agile

Connue sous le nom de « méthode Agile », cette nouvelle façon d’aborder la gestion de projet est bien plus qu’un énième procédé en vogue. Parce qu’elle repose avant tout sur des valeurs et des principes recensés en 2001 dans l’Agile manifesto, la méthode Agile s’apparente à un état d’esprit voire une philosophie.

Les valeurs

L’Agile Manifesto reconnaît la valeur des seconds éléments exposés dans les 4 phrases ci-dessous, mais privilégie :
• Les individus et les interactions plus que les processus et les outils.
• Des logiciels opérationnels plus qu’une documentation exhaustive.
• La collaboration avec les clients plus que la négociation contractuelle.
• L’adaptation au changement plus que le suivi d’un plan.
Comprenez bien que la mise en place de la méthode Agile ne signifie pas pour autant qu’il n’est plus nécessaire d’établir un plan ou de documenter son travail.

“Plus qu’une méthode, l’agilité est un état d’esprit qui permet de s’adapter au changement plus rapidement en plaçant la communication au cœur du projet.”

Les principes

L’Agile Manifesto relate 12 principes qui illustrent les 4 valeurs présentées ci-dessus.

• La satisfaction du client est la plus haute priorité. Il convient d’y répondre par la livraison rapide et régulière de fonctionnalités à forte valeur ajoutée.
• Accueillir positivement les changements et nouveaux besoins, même s’ils surviennent alors que le projet est déjà à un stade avancé.
• Livrer fréquemment un produit opérationnel avec des cycles de quelques semaines à quelques mois et une préférence pour les plus courts.
• Miser sur une coopération constante entre les parties prenantes et l’équipe produit.
• Réaliser les projets avec des personnes motivées à qui l’on accorde sa confiance, et à qui l’on procure l’environnement et le soutien dont elles ont besoin pour atteindre les objectifs fixés.
• Privilégier le dialogue en face-à-face pour transmettre de l’information à l’équipe de développement et à l’intérieur de celle-ci.
• Un produit opérationnel doit être la principale mesure de progression.
• Instaurer un rythme soutenable et constant pour faire avancer le projet.
• Porter une attention continue à l’excellence technique et à la conception.
• La simplicité, c’est-à-dire l’art de minimiser la quantité de travail inutile, est essentielle.
• Favoriser la responsabilisation des équipes: les meilleures architectures, spécifications et conceptions émergent des équipes auto-organisées.
• Réfléchir aux moyens de devenir plus efficace à intervalles réguliers, puis ajuster son comportement en fonction.

L’équipe Agile : rôles et responsabilités

L’individu étant au cœur des valeurs de la méthode agile, il est tout naturel que nous vous présentions son équipe avant tout autre chose.

Le Product Owner (PO)

Le Producteur Ower est responsable de la valeur du produit délivré par son équipe. Il priorise les sujets afin d’organiser le « Backlog » et rédige les « User stories », deux termes que nous vous expliquerons un peu plus bas dans l’article. Le Product Owner fait également le lien entre les équipes techniques chargées de développer le produit et le client qui a exprimé son besoin.

Le Scrum Master 

Le Scrum Master est le garant du respect de la méthodologie Scrum, notamment du rythme donné par les « Sprints » et des tâches à réaliser rassemblées dans le « Backlog ». Il réunit les qualités et compétences d’un coach et d’un chef de projet, bien qu’il ne soit pas à l’origine de la conception du projet.

D’ailleurs, savez-vous différencier la notion « Agile » de celle de « Scrum », souvent présentées à tort comme des synonymes ? En fait, Scrum est la méthode agile la plus répandue, mais elle n’est pas la seule. On peut alors parler de Scrum pour qualifier des pratiques et techniques spécifiques, fidèles aux valeurs et principes de la méthode Agile.

L’équipe de développement

L’équipe de développement, ou Development Team, se compose des professionnels (entre trois et neufs) qui livrent les nouveaux éléments en état d’utilisation à la fin de chaque Sprint. Autonome, l’équipe est seule à décider de la façon dont elle va « transformer les éléments du Backlog Produit en incréments de fonctionnalités potentiellement publiables », selon les termes du Guide Scrum.

Business Owner

Le Business Owner est responsable des aspects commerciaux et techniques, de la conformité et du retour sur investissement (ROI).

Stakeholders

Les Stakeholders, ou « parties prenantes » en français, sont des personnes externes à l’équipe Scrum ayant toutefois un intérêt et des connaissances utiles à l’avancement du projet. Il peut s’agir d’utilisateurs, de clients externes ou internes. Le Product Owner s’assure que les Stakeholders assistent au « Sprint Review ».

Les principaux processus de la méthode Agile

Le Product Backlog

Le Product Backlog est la liste des items en attente de développement et nécessaires à la création du fameux produit que l’on souhaite réaliser.

Le Sprint Backlog

L’équipe Scrum va insérer les items du Backlog dans le Sprint Backlog pour tenter de répondre à l’objectif du Sprint en cours.

La User Storie

Une Uster Storie est une demande de fonctionnalité à réaliser basée sur un besoin utilisateur. Il existe différentes façons de rédiger une User Storie, mais voici la plus populaire :

En tant que [qui]

Je souhaite [quoi]

Afin de [pourquoi]

Definition of Done

La Definition of Done est l’ensemble des critères devant être remplis (tests fonctionnels, critères de qualité, documentation technique…) pour dire qu’un item est bel et bien terminé. Une fois validé par le Product Owner, l’item peut passer en phase de production.

Les Scrum Events

Le Sprint Planning

Le Product Owner, le Scrum Master et l’équipe de développement participent au Sprint Planning, événement au cours duquel l’objectif du Sprint va être défini. Afin d’atteindre cet objectif, l’équipe Scrum sélectionne les éléments prioritaires du Backlog puis procède au découpage des Items en tâches techniques et opérationnelles.  

Le Sprint Review

Le Sprint Review est la cérémonie qui clôt le sprint en cours afin d’inspecter l’incrément réalisé et, si nécessaire, d’adapter le Backlog. L’ensemble de l’équipe Scrum est présente, et éventuellement des parties prenantes et des sponsors.

Le Sprint Retrospective

À travers le Sprint Retrospective, l’équipe s’engage à prendre le temps de chercher des axes d’amélioration dans sa façon de travailler. Ils essaient en toute transparence de déterminer ce qui a fonctionné, ce qui peut être perfectionné et ce qui pourra être tenté pour le prochain Sprint.

Le Daily Stand-Up

Au coursn d’u Sprint, l’équipe de développement, et éventuellement le Scrum Master et le Product Owern, se réunit chaque jour pendant 15 minutes tout en restant debout. Ils constatent l’avancement du projet, reviennent sur les possibles difficultés et décrivent les prochaines tâches qu’ils vont accomplir.

Product Backlog Refinement

Le Product Backlog Refinement consiste à ajouter des détails, des estimations et de l’ordre aux items du Backlog. La mise à jour continue du Backlog est nécessaire dans chaque sprint afin d’affiner les éléments et d’être prêt pour les prochains sprints.

La méthode Agile, grâce à ses rituels qui valorisent la collaboration avec les clients, un travail d’équipe efficace et une grande flexibilité face au changement, séduit de plus en plus d’entreprises. Et puisque nous l’appliquons nous-mêmes pour le développement d’applications internes sur-mesure que nous concevons pour des entreprises, nous ne pouvons que constater et diffuser la qualité de ses résultats.

LOW CODE & TECHNOLOGIE

 5 reasons to use the Mendix low-code platform

In just a few years, Mendix has become the world leader in low-code development. The promise of this software? Quickly and easily develop an application with minimal hand coding. If you’ve decided to try low-code, but don’t know which platform to choose, we give you five good reasons to use Mendix …

What is Mendix ?

Mendix is ​​a low-code platform that enables application development using minimal hand coding. Created in 2005, this platform is considered today to be the leader in its field. Its visual interface makes it accessible  and easy to use for a variety of users. Mendix was even recognized in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant 2020 as the leader in multi-experience development platforms.

 Why choose the Mendix low-code platform?

The Mendix low-code platform was designed to be used by experienced developers as well as citizen developers. If we have to use 3 words to describe this platform, we’d say: speed, flexibility and adaptability. Let’s see why the Mendix low-code platform is the best choice for your application’s development…

“For a long time, application development was restricted to developers, due to the necessity of coding knowledge. With Mendix, the code is no longer an obstacle!”

A visual development interface

Thanks to Mendix’s visual interface, applications development is made easy! Its drag and drop system is easy to use and accessible to users with no coding background. For a long time, application development was restricted to developers, due to the the necessity of coding knowledge. With Mendix, code is no longer an obstacle! You can upload an Excel file and use the Mendix Studio to create a simple application quickly. You’ll be able to boost your team’s productivity.

A collaborative platform that promotes agile methods

Mendix encourages collaboration between your business and IT teams. It promotes the implementation of the agile methodology for project management. Thanks to the various integrated tools and its visual interface, Mendix allows your IT, business or even marketing departments to work together and simultaneously on the same application. Each employee can therefore actively participate and provide relevant input at each stage of your project’s development. Communication between your different departments is definitely improved and this way, you can promote innovation and creativity within your company.

One app, for multiple devices

Gone are the days when you had to develop an application for every device type! Applications created with Mendix are responsive and compatible with all devices. If you have developed a web application and need a mobile version, you won’t have to start from scratch. You just need to create one application and it can be deployed on PC, mobile or tablet, and still remain user-friendly.

More integration, more flexibility

Mendix allows you to connect all the applications you already use: Oracle, SAP, Salesforce or FICO. This low-code platform is compatible with a large number of solutions and protocols such as REST, JDBC or ODATA. With Mendix, integration is easy and smooth. Thanks to open APIs, developers can quickly connect and access different systems used within your company. Mendix offers hundreds of pre-built connectors that will save you precious time. By being completely open source, the platform also offers you optimal flexibility and freedom.

Better governance and security

One of the main advantages of the Mendix low-code platform is the applications’ centralized management. It gives you access to a dashboard from which you can fully manage and configure your applications. This allows your IT department to update and debug all applications from the same interface. The maintenance of all your projects becomes easier. With the centralized management system offered by Mendix, you have better governance. You reduce shadow IT and improve the overall security of your business applications

In addition to these 5 good reasons, the Mendix low-code platform offers you a large number of features that ease and promote the development of innovative and user-friendly applications.

LOW CODE & TECHNOLOGIE

The challenges of a CIO after COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for collaborative tools and remote working capabilities for businesses to remain relevant. This is how the CIO found himself on the front line. His role has become crucial for the business continiuty and is expected to grow in the coming months. To cope with these changes and deal with the post-COVID-19 era, the CIO must prepare for many challenges …

The pandemic crisis triggered the need for companies to adapt their governance policies. In order to take right decisions, quickly, the role of the CIO along with its relationship with the general management and business lines had to be rethought, to make the most out of the digital transformation efforts.

This sanitary crisis has made it clear that digital transformation is more than ever, a real necessity for companies. The pandemic has highlighted the need for more transparent and agile work processes, as well as the necessity to invest in innovation and technology. The responsibility of the CIO has therefore considerably increased, as he leads and coordinates these changes.

What are the main challenges of the CIO after COVID-19?

By allowing citizen developers to actively participate in the development of an application, low-code promotes the implementation of the agile methodology within the company. For example, with Mendix, the leading low-code platform, different collaborators can add their feedback directly to the platform and adapt the development to the applications’ end-users requests. The “citizen developers” free up qualified developers. Low-code increases developers productivity as they spend less time on the same development project and can thus be dedicated to other missions.

“To support the CIO in the aftermath of COVID-19, low-code appears to be the right solution. By using this mode of development, the CIO allows his company to gain flexibility, agility and speed.”

Focus on cybersecurity to resist attacks

During the lockdown, the number of hacking attempts has increased significantly. Like during all the crises, the pandemic has spawned a wave of cyber attacks. The CIO must therefore work in close collaboration with the person responsible for information systems security in order to secure all sensitive data and software that can be accessed remotely. It is important that together they implement effective solutions like multi-factor authentication. At the same time, the company must focus on employees by implementing secure telecommuting protocols.

Set up a survival plan

It is imperative that the CIO anticipate the ‘after COVID-19’ by setting up an actionable plan for the continuity of the company. This means that IT teams must work closely with business teams to find suitable solutions. The goal is to find a plan that will allow the company to overcome the crisis. It should include three major obejectives:

• the reduction of IT costs;
• the stabilization of commercial operations;
• the creation of a flexible digital work environment.

Set up a recovery plan

While CIO’s are coping with the COVID-19 challenges, they also need to focus on the threats of the post-COVID-19 era, by increasing the flexibility of IT services. An increase in software demand volume and services is expected. Since these changes can be sudden, it is important for companies to optimize management of their end-to-end solutions such as manufacturing, supply chain or sales to meet the demand. It is necessary for IT departments to have sufficient capacities to boost the company activity. Therefore, the CIO must focus on IT resilience in order to ensure the continuity of its IT system.

Implement revitalization actions

Once the business operations are stabilized and stable, the CIO will need to focus on consolidating IT services and growing the business activity. More precisely, he will have to position IT at the forefront of the business strategy and transformation. The CIO should mainly focus on:

• new IT capabilities;
• the implementation of strategic projects.

Low-code, a solution for CIOs after COVID-19?

To support the CIO in the aftermath of COVID-19, low-code appears to be the appropriate solution. By using this type of development, the CIO allows his company to gain in flexibility, agility and speed. In addition to being collaborative and suitable for remote work, low-code platforms guarantee optimal security. This kind of software development also reduces the costs associated with IT services. This is why low-code is one of the CIO’s best allies to raise to the challenge of the post-COVID-19 era.

LOW CODE & TECHNOLOGIE

Low-Code vs No-Code vs Traditional Coding: what are the differences?

Are you about to develop an application and don’t know if you should use low-code, no-code or traditional coding? We give you here an overview of the differences between these development methods to help you make the right choice and meet your goals…

What are the differences between low-code and no-code?

In recent years, more and more companies have been seduced by the low-code / no-code movement. Despite the popularity of these development platforms, many continue to confuse them. However, there are big differences between low-code and no-code …

Low-code vs no-code: similar but different

Low-code and no-code platforms were created to help you cope with digital transformation challenges and to give an appropriate answer to the growing demand for new applications development.

These paltforms are user friendly easy to use and allow teams from any other department beside IT, to develop applications and thus reduce your development team workload. How? Thanks to a visual interface, using drag-and-drop features that allows you to build an application without any coding experience.

At first glance, low-code and no-code platforms are very similar. However, they do not answer the same needs and are not intented to be used by the same persons.

“Low-code and no-code platforms were created to help you cope with digital transformation challenges and the growing demand for new applications development. “

Low-Code vs No-Code: the main differences

While low-code and no-code plateforms are meant to help you develop applications faster, they are designed to accomodate different needs.

Different users for different purposes

One of the main differences between these two types of development platforms is the operating users’ profile. Unlike no-code, low-code requires minimal coding knowledge. This means that the person in charge of creating an application in your company, will need to have some kind of technical knowledge. The goal of a low-code platform is to enable a fast application developement process.

This is not the case with no-code platforms which, as the name suggests, allows you to create an application without writing a single line of code. It can therefore be used by everyone in your company. The no-code platforms’ goal is to easily develop an application.

 Different modes of operation

Low-code and no-code platforms are structurally different and operate in specific ways. This obviously has an impact on the application created. Low-code platforms like Mendix are connected to a backend system or Application Programming Interface (API), which is not the case with no-code platforms. Concretely, it means that with low-code, you have endless possibilities to customize your application. While with no-code you have access to customizable pre-built templates, which gives you less freedom.

Different platforms for different applications

Low-code platforms like Mendix are used to build complex, so-called “next-generation” applications that are flexible and adaptable to the evolving needs of your business.

No-code platforms are made for developing simple applications that need to be deployed quickly.

What is the difference between low-code, no-code and traditional coding?

Developing an application using traditional coding technology, requires the intervention of front-end and back-end developers. Therefore, the development time is increased and consequently, the budget needed is higher. That being said, by using traditional code, you can build very complex and fully customizable applications that are a perfect fit for your business.

However, due to its technical complexity, this type of development is more likely to create a higher number of bugs reported. In addition, the maintenace of such applications is much more complicated and takes much longer to be perfromed.

No-code platforms are made for developing simple applications that need to be deployed quickly.

Why choose low-code to develop your application?

Low-code is the best fit for small and large companies who want to develop complex applications. A low-code platform like Mendix has several advantages over no-code and traditional coding:

• it makes it possible to create complex applications quickly and cost effectively;
• it only requires a basic knowledge of traditional coding;
• applications developed on low-code platforms, have fewer bugs than those developed using traditional code;
• it is easier to update and fix bugs of a low-code application, and therefore to increase the appliaction’s security;
• low-code reduces shadow IT in your organization;

By choosing a platform like Mendix, you take advantge of all opportunities that low-code is offering for the development of your applications.

LOW CODE & TECHNOLOGIE

7 reasons to adopt low-code and accelerate digital transformation

Developing an application quickly while reducing the amount of hand coding to minimum is now a reality, thanks to the Mendix low-coding platform! In just a few years, this user friendly platform has established itself as a leader in providing a solution to the developer drought. Today, we give you 7 good reasons to adopt low-code technology in order to accelerate your business’ digital transformation…

1. Low-code: the solution to developer shortage

Over the last few years, the demand for application development has significantly increased . Due to this strong growth and the lack of developers, IT departments of companies have found themselves overwhelmed. The wait time for these projects is getting longer and longer.

To overcome the lack of qualified developers, low-code provide the ideal solution. Easy to use, the Mendix platform requires a small amount of coding and allows citizen developers (employees from any other department beside IT), to develop a web or mobile application using a graphic interface.

How it works? It’s simple: the low-code platform offers a visual interface with, among other things, pre-built templates and features that can be added using “drag and drop”.

2. Low-code increases productivity

By allowing citizen developers to take an active part in an application development, low-code promotes the agile methodology implementation within your company. With Mendix, the leading low-code paltform, different collaborators can add their feedback directly to the platform and adapt the development to the applications’ end-users requests. The “citizen developers” free up qualified developers. Low-code increases developers productivity as they spend less time on the same development project and can thus be dedicated to other missions.

“Low-code platforms offer great flexibility and allow you to easily adapt your applications to your evolving business needs.”

3. Low-code development enables continuous innovation

Combining low-code with agile methodology,   gets your IT, business or even marketing departments to work together and simultaneously on the same application. Each employee can therefore actively participate and provide relevant input at each stage of your project’s development. Communication between your different departments is definitely  improved and this way, you can promote innovation and creativity within your company.

4. Low-code promotes a collaborative application development process

Low-code platforms, enable smooth et effective communication between IT departments and “citizen developers”. Thanks to an intuitive graphical interface, low-code platforms ease the collaboration between the different teams involved in the application development process. More specifically, the Mendix platform also integrates DevOps tools to allow different people to work simultaneously on the same project while keeping their work synchronized.

5. Low-code applications evolve at the pace of your digital transformation

Low-code platforms offer great flexibility and allow you to easily adapt your applications to your evolving business needs. They offer a much easier way to identify and fix bugs arising from existing application modifications. Those platforms enable ongoing and efficient collaboration between IT and business departements, and therefore lower the risks of “shadow IT”. Low-code development provides you better governance and risk management.

6. Improving user experience through multiexperience development

Over the last few years, multi-experience development has become more and more popular. Multiexperience refers to a variety of senses (voice, touch…), devices (web, mobile, wearable…) and applications that users get to use on different support. This kind of development ensure optimal user experience regardless of devices’ type, and without developing a new application for each support. Gartner even considers it as one of the 5 major trends of the year 2020.

With low-code, it is possible to easily develop several interaction channels, such as a chatbot or a mobile application, perfectly adjusted to  each device and without re-creating the application for each support. For exemple, the Mendix low-code platform allows you to deploy the same application on different channels. You can effortlessly use the same  application on several channels  while ensuring  a consistent user experience. 

7. Low-code is becoming essential for application development

More and more compagnies have already adopted some kind of low code platforms to easily speed up application development in a cost efficient way. According to Gartner’s forecasts, by 2024, more than 64% of applications will be developed using low-code technoilogy. It has already become a new trend in the tech world. Don’t let your competition get ahead and go low-code now!