Agile is a formalization of jugaad
“Jugaad” is an Indian term for an improvised way to overcome challenges with minimal resources. A popular example of jugaad is a farmer who uses an engine from a scrapped motorbike to draw water from a well and irrigate his fields. It doesn’t always result in a sophisticated or perfect solution, but it helps to create abundance from scarcity.
The problem with software, as in life, is that things don’t always go as planned. When complications arise, it can take longer than expected to complete even a simple task. Moreover, rigid disjoined organizational structures become an impediment for businesses to discover novel solutions.
In a traditional linear approach, a product development process moves like a relay race, with one group of functional specialists passing the baton onto the next. This approach produces a functional software at the end of the development cycle and operates on the assumption that customer requirements will never change.
In the early 1990’s, the software industry was unable to respond and adapt to significant changes in hardware technology. The consequence was that unproductive developmental cycles began producing a lot of wasteful software. To overcome this crisis, multiple iterative methods of product development started to evolve.
The “Scrum” development process was one such and it was formulated in 1991. The term Scrum originates from rugby, which refers to a tightly cohesive unit that pushes together in the same direction to put the ball into play. Later, in 2001, a group of 17 software thought leaders published the influential “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” that laid out the four key values and twelve operating principles of Agile software development.
Agile software development is a time-boxed, iterative approach to software development that builds software incrementally. Similar to jugaad, the principles of Agile encourage us to accept and adapt to change.
At Zoho, we recognize that uncertainty is one of the few certainties in life. We realized that the traditional linear model doesn’t work for every situation and we required a tool that lets team members prioritize, plan and navigate through unforeseen changes. This realization and the urge to formalize the spirit of jugaad gave birth to Zoho Sprints.
Zoho Sprints aims to provide a flexible, iterative and collaborative approach to work. Sprint, in its literal context, means to run fast to cover a short distance. In a Scrum development process, a “Sprint” is the most basic unit of development. It is a set period during which an iteration of work gets completed.
Today, we are living in the “Age of Austerity” in which businesses are determined to identify efficient ways to reduce the cost and develop sustainable products. Agile has now become a global movement spread across an array of industries and organizations and has resulted in many ‘elegant’ ad hoc solutions. GE brought down the cost and size of their ECG devices; India’s national aerospace program adopted frugal methods to launch its space probe to Mars successfully. In essence, these organizations imbibed the spirit of jugaad to sprint their way to success. And they show the way forward for every business that, as Sridhar says, “needs to lay a track through unknown terrain.”
