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1. What challanges does Adams-Woodford face as he develops his five-year product

ID: 3570610 • Letter: 1

Question

1. What challanges does Adams-Woodford face as he develops his five-year product roadmap?


2. How do product and software development methodologies influence a firm's ability to respond to
market demands?


3. What benefits did Pearson realize in making the shift from a waterfall process to an Agile one? What
downsides might be associated with this shift? What firm or market circumstances are more likely to benefit from a Waterfall or Agile methodology?


4. What are some of the things Greg should consider as he evaluateswhether to continue to focus on the
SuccessMaker product versus becoming involved in a company-wide Agile initiative? Which
approach should Greg pursue? How might he optimize this approach?


5. Within the SuccessMaker team, should Greg agree to follow the recommendations from his developers to move from Serumto Kanban? Shouldhe also push to move all the remainingteams (the content /curriculum team) to Scrum or Kanban? What metrics should he use to evaluate his decisions?

Explanation / Answer

1. Challanges does Adams-Woodford face as he develops his five-year product roadmap

Product and software development methodologies influence a firm's ability to respond to market demands

New products often fail because of unanticipated market shifts that result in missed opportunities and misused channels of distribution. Failures also occur because companies miscalculate their own technological strengths or the product's technological challenges. These potential problems often crop up in the latter stages and result in delays, redesigns, or poor quality products.

Companies are constantly seeking ways to avoid these pitfalls. One solution is new product development maps that chart the evolution of a company's product lines. This historical perspective helps the firm to identify and analyze functional capabilities in a systematic, repetitive fashion that allows for the development of linkages and the identification of resources for new endeavors. These maps can direct the firm to new market opportunities and point out technological challenges.

Aggregate plans for projects offer another solution. Rather than viewing each new product development project individually, they consider all of the new product development projects under consideration by the firm. This is particularly important in firms with hundreds of new product development projects going on at the same time. Projects are categorized according to resources required and contribution to the firm's bottom line. Aggregate project plans enable management to improve the management of new product development by providing greater control over resource allocation and utilization. These plans help to point out where capabilities need to be improved, how sequencing projects may help, and how projects fit with the firm's development strategies.

3. Benefits did Pearson realize in making the shift from a waterfall process to an Agile one

Agile came about as a