In recent years, it has become evident that the world is constantly changing, and organizations need to evolve and adapt. Agile methodologies allow our customers to increase the productivity and quality of their work, as well as to reduce the impact of risks. As a result, organizations that apply agile project management are more able to remain competitive.
At Quasinfalível, we are increasingly focused on agile methodologies to achieve an optimal software development process. Our partner Margarida Gonçalves discussed this and other topics in the latest issue of the magazine Pontos de Vista, a supplement of the Portuguese newspaper Público that has the goal of discussing different aspects of the business world in Portugal.
In this interview, Margarida reflects about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in project management, describing how Quasinfalível adapted to this new reality, and how it is now preparing to the future.
Next, we are sharing the main points discussed. The original publication in Portuguese is also available in Pontos de Vista website.
Ten Years On The Market: Quasinfalível’s Most Important Milestones
Quasinfalível was founded in 2010, and our services have changed and adapted all over the years. In 2015, our partnership with PROQUA allowed us to reinforce our position with the CMMI institute and become a relevant implementer. Our first services were related to project management. However, they are hard to conciliate with the certification long-term projects. Therefore, we keep a link to these services through pro-bono activities, with permanent participation in international projects and IPMA committees.
In addition, we find it very important to share our experience with next generations. For that reason, we keep close contact with universities, schools, and innovation networks. There are two main advantages for this:
- Keeping updated and informed about new trends in our field
- Motivating next generations for the field of process and software quality, since universities still focus mostly on programming careers.
Services That Provide Value To The Customers
Most of our services (around 80%) correspond to consulting and certification support. We work with the most recognized certification in the software development field (CMMI), but also with many other ISO norms that apply to software companies. Achieving a certification allows our customers not only to improve their processes, but also to provide them a recognition of their commitment with best practices.
Moreover, we are increasingly focusing on agile methodologies to achieve an optimal software development process. In the last few years, it became evident that the world is in constant change, and organizations must evolve and adapt to keep competitive. Agile methodologies allow our clients to increase their productivity and work quality, along with reducing risks’ impact. We offer services for agile leadership and agile teams – feel free to contact us so that we can help your organization become more agile!
How Covid-19 Pandemic Impacted Project Management
If there is one thing the Covid-19 pandemic taught us, is that project management is crucial for organizations – now more than ever. Organizations that already worked in an agile way, with smaller and independent teams, had a lot more success than organizations with management waterfall structures, where most decisions were taken by the project manager. In other words, self-organizing teams were more successful.
Project management can be adapted to these new challenges by:
- Optimizing and decentralizing decisions;
- Making individuals responsible for both those decisions and their implementation;
- Synchronizing and simplifying work processes;
- Give people ways to communicate effectively in an asynchronous way.
Quasinfalivel had its own challenges in adapting to this new world. For example, we had to switch our training activities from on-premises to online, which forced us to reorganize contents and the way of teaching them. Our lives are different and remote is here to stay – we are sure about that.
Working With Clients, Not For Them
In 2020, our team grew and some of our processes need to be adapted. In the future, we want to become even more agile: in our proposals; our deliverables; and in the partners we work with. We aim to create a sharing community where we can contribute for a more sustainable world. For that, we will keep on having pro-bono projects and cooperating with universities, so that we can share this knowledge with our customers.