As companies adopt Agile development, Scrum is frequently selected as the method of choice. It includes a well-defined set of practices and functional roles for team members, including architects, business analysts, programmers, QA teams, and user experience designers. A Scrum Master facilitates the process and coaches the team.

Companies planning to adopt Scrum do not need to change their development methods all at once. Scrum can be phased in over several projects by using experienced consultants who provide coaching and mentoring guidance. EMC’s coaching program can help you start an Agile program successfully, build internal skills, and avoid common pitfalls. Our Certified Scrum Masters can help your staff adopt Scrum processes correctly to ensure that you maximize benefits.

At first glance, offshore delivery teams may seem counter-intuitive to the Agile approach. With frequent collaboration between the client stakeholder and the Agile team, how do you ensure that the offshore team understands the voice of the customer? How do you manage interactions in a timely way when teams are distributed across multiple time zones?

EMC Consulting uses a phased approach to incorporate offshore resources into Agile projects. For the first increment, the offshore team member works locally on the initial delivery. After successful completion, the member transitions offshore again and brings in local team members who participate in the next increment.

The offshore team member acts as a champion for the new team members and continues to participate in daily meetings. The offshore team ramps up to operate independently with their own meetings. This approach blends teams of experienced onshore and offshore specialists, minimizes coordination efforts, and bridges cultural and time-zone differences.