Mission "AGILE" Accomplished !

It’s been quite some time since I last posted, well there were many things that kept me away from this blog. I did spend all my time on this very computer ! But still never managed to write a post. Wondering what I was so busy with ?

Well, On July 20(somewhere around this date, don’t remember the exact date) I was attending the lecture as usual when one of the faculty enters the class asking, “How many of you have done some projects on… ?” And in a jiffy my had was raised ! Wonder what happened there.. Anyways, was taken to our Head’s cabin where I already see a sea of people waiting. I wondered what was going on. Soon it was declared that we shall be working on a project for a client based in USA. Wow…!! A live project and that too from the US ! Just what everybody wanted ! 

We were divided into groups of 4. Three groups would work on Traditional Approach, while two would work on Agile Approach. I was accompanied by three beautiful and smart ladies and I was chosen as the team leader. Two days passed, and we see an introductory email from our team in the US. Now things seemed real !! It was decided that my team would be working on the Agile Methodology for software development. Frankly I did have  a short brief about it, but never kind of used it. I thought all the 20 people would be working on one project, but later realized that all groups will make the project and one of them will be chosen by the client. This gave me a kick to put my best foot forward !

We had our very first video conference the next day itself. We used Google Hangout. Must say that this is amazingly good application for video chats. According to our approach, we were supposed to be meeting daily for about 15-20 mins and discuss about the progress of the project.

We had already studied Software Engineering last semester and had learnt things like Requirement analysis, Design phase etc. And this time, we were actually using it ! I truly realized how important are the Requirements ! So if any of you guys not taking SE seriously, please pay attention to it, you will surely like it.

So, the work started in full swing as we had a deadline of 24th August. We had been meeting daily discussing about the project. The time difference was huge, our video conference would start at around 10pm IST and sometimes even go up till 1am !! But it was fun, our team in the US were great people, working with them was fun. Even my team members were highly co-operative and played their parts well in making the project. Thanks a lot !!

It was yesterday, we had to present our project finally. The time for conference was 6-9pm IST. One of our computer labs was used for the same. Laptops, Cameras, Speakers all setup by the student. A big thank you to them too ! The conference started, one team presented their work, I liked a part of their project and thought they did well. I knew mine was a simple one, but at the back of my mind I was confident just like my US team. Some teams had made presentations for the same, well I had no clue about it. I was told when to speak by my US team.

In a blink of an eye, it was my team’s turn. Our presentation started, the guys in the US were all decked up for the occasion and were presenting really well ! It was my time to speak. “A very Good Morning to all of you… “ is how I began and put my team’s points forward from the technical aspects. I tried my best to convince the client and everyone present there. Soon it was the end of our presentation and it was time Question and Answer round. Usually people believe that no one would ask anything during this time. But to our surprise, there was a person from the Client side who stood up to ask a question. I very well remember how he started, “I just love the design, its amazing…” At this point the confidence grew, I realized that the 3rd person had liked our project. But then again Dilli door hai ! and after him, 2-3 people followed in asking the questions, we were amazed. It was a great session.

The other teams gave their presentations, as we sat and watched what they did. Some designs were just amazing ! The teams did put in a lot of effort. Soon all teams were done, there was a certificate distribution ceremony after which we all left. No results were declared yet. We had a group photo and left for our homes.

As I reached home, I got a message from one of my friends, “BTW, our team says that other Agile team won. I’m guessing that’s you, so Congrats !” I quickly reached for my iPad to see if my US team updated anything or not. The first they mentioned was “The client seems to be extremely pleased by our project..” and within seconds, this was followed by “WE WIN!!” 

Yes !!!! We won, our project was selected from 5 teams of great and exceptional developers. We were highly pleased with this ! I called up all my team mates immediately and thanked them for this feat. Felt so good, after spending so much time on the project and putting in everything, this win was truly a reward for that.

It was a great great experience working on an international project with entirely new people with entirely different culture, language and time zones ! My first official project as a Team Leader, and a great result to start with ! But the project doesn’t stop here, as it is said “With success comes responsibility” we have a huge responsibility in documenting the project and giving it to our client and being ready to maintain it… I take this opportunity to thank each and everyone involved in this project, without whom, this wouldn’t have been achieved.

About Atulmaharaj

A seasoned blogger and a content marketer for close to a decade now. I write about Food, Technology, Lifestyle, Travel, and Finance related posts. Blogging brings me joy and the best part is I get to read and e-meet so many amazing bloggers! PS: I'm also the founder for Socialmaharaj.com :) Favorite Quote: "Traveling is like reading a book, one who hasn't traveled, hasn't turned a page.

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