Methodology Differences in IT Product Development: Rapid Development vs. Continuous Improvement

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When developing IT products, is rapid development always the most important value?

These days, many project management tools offer sprint-based productivity management services, aiming to increase team productivity through rapid product development and optimization of periodic sprint execution.

This method is certainly effective in quickly creating products.

✔ It's good to set small goals and execute them quickly to get results,

✔ It allows for quick product launches,

✔ It has the advantage of quickly reflecting market and user feedback.

However, is just making things quickly always the best answer?

After a product has established itself in the market or after we have created the product we want,

we now need to consider stable operation and improvements that have continuity over a longer period, rather than just 'rapid development'.

However, achieving long-term improvements with a sprint-based approach is not as easy as it seems.

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❌ Limitations of the Sprint Method

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1️⃣ The short goal cycle method is not suitable for long-term improvements

1. Since sprints quickly execute short-term goals, they don't align well with continuous improvements that need to be carried out over a long period.

2️⃣ Focus on feature-based changes, making it difficult to consider the big picture for improvement

1. There is a tendency to focus on short-term goals like adding/changing features rather than long-term improvements.
2. Prioritizing the achievement of small sprint-based goals often takes precedence over improving the overall product completeness.

3️⃣ Difficulty in maintaining a consistent improvement flow due to gaps between sprints

1. As goals are set and pursued for each sprint, it's difficult to maintain a consistent direction for improvement, and operational disruptions can occur.
2. In the long run, the artificial deadlines of sprints can also become a burden on improvement and operation.

Development Team Optimization for Continuous Improvement and Operation

Now, if the product is operating stably and continuous improvement is needed,

simply executing specific goals quickly in small units may not be the best option.

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✅ It is important to help each developer perform their best work.

✅ Team operation becomes more efficient by understanding the developers' tendencies and work styles and utilizing optimization tools.

💡 Tools are needed to understand the work history and strengths and weaknesses of each developer and provide an optimized work environment.

💡 Tools are needed to look into individual work to increase work productivity by accumulating work from yesterday and today, rather than developing to meet quick deadlines.

🚀 It's time to consider not just speed, but also long-term operation and improvement in product development methods.