Planning
Trovo uses Agile because IT projects lack constraint. A 'real-world' project like building a bridge has a definite ending (e.g. once the span is in place, can support the required weight and so on, the job is done).
IT involves open-ended concepts (such as 'the Web') that are not constrained, so projects become open-ended too. Customers ask for new functions, or eager developers suggest them. Such open-endedness is a big risk. Projects are rarely completed to the customer's satisfaction. Some are never completed at all.
Trovo uses Agile to solve 'open-endedness'. Agile uses time to constrain projects, ensuring that software gets delivered. It also places customers' needs in the centre so useful software is created. And it emphasises constant testing, not only to check that the software works, but to ensure that it is still working as requirements change.
Automated testing is key: software that is 'under tests' can be changed quickly and easily, which means responding to changes in customers' priorities while still delivering on time. This is where the name 'Agile' comes from.
Despite what the name suggests, 'being Agile' takes discipline if risks are to be avoided. You aren't 'Agile' just because you say you are – you have to know what you are doing.
Breaking a system's requirements down into simple, small chunks helps uncover hidden complexity and makes estimating how long it will take to deliver each chunk easier.
User Acceptance Tests are vital for scoping an IT project. The customer defines what each feature they want does in the terms of a test that must pass for the feature to be complete. Once the test passes, that feature is ready. Once all the tests pass, the project is finished.
How does the Agile method we follow handle the common problem of IT developers being bad estimators? Is it possible to run an IT project without overtime and long hours?
Agile projects are restrained by time. To ensure that something useful is delivered on time, the customer is asked to prioritise the jobs that need doing so that the most beneficial ones get delivered first. And because everything is 'under tests' it's easy to add more features later.
How Agile allows work to be organised so the cycle of planning, doing, checking and acting is repeated iteratively throughout the length of the project. This means the project can change direction based upon meaningful information and issues are found and dealt with throughout.