When it comes to the digital realm, innovation is crucial to stay ahead in a highly competitive market. In this context, innovation refers to the ability to create and develop new digital products or improve existing ones, with the aim of successfully meeting the needs of users and positioning against emerging trends and technologies. Innovation not only focuses on product creation, but also involves the integration of new functionalities, modern user experiences, and features that increase its value and differentiate it from the competition.

It’s important to note that this is not an isolated process, but rather requires an understanding of market trends. Therefore, innovation also generates the creation of new business models or the adaptation of existing models, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by new technologies. Innovating is a continuous, competitive, and constantly updated process.

Innovation and Modern Development Methodologies

In a constantly changing world, it’s crucial to actively participate and progress in any industry. That’s why agile methodologies have become a way to efficiently and effectively develop innovative proposals.

These methodologies are a set of practices and tools used to develop solutions iteratively and incrementally. They focus on teamwork, collaboration, and early and frequent delivery of results in regular time periods. Although they originally emerged in the software development field, they are now applied in a wide variety of industries and fields, as they allow for rapid adaptation to market changes.

Consequently, innovation also leads to the creation of new business models or the adaptation of existing ones, leveraging the opportunities presented by new technologies.

Why Use Agile Methodologies in Innovation?

Innovation is a complex resource that often requires the exploration of multiple solutions to fruitfully solve a problem. Agile methodologies adapt well to this process as they allow for the deployment of such research in an iterative and gradual manner. Additionally, they offer an efficient way to reduce risks and costs, allowing for the testing and validation of solutions before their launch in the market.

Agile Methodologies for Innovation

There are various methodologies that can be applied in the innovation process Among these, the most notable ones are:

Design Thinking

It is user-centered and usually used to tackle complex problems and develop creative solutions. This methodology is based on a deep understanding of user needs and desires, and the exploration of multiple potential outcomes before choosing a final proposal. Rather than generating a single output, Design Thinking encourages the generation of multiple alternatives through trial and error, research, and iteration. It focuses on creating practical, viable, and desirable solutions.

Lean Startup

It focuses on creating products and/or services that solve real problems for users: it relies on experimentation and early validation to develop solutions quickly and practically. Lean Startup aims to reduce risk and cost by addressing user needs.

Scrum

It is used to develop complex products and services frequently and incrementally. This method is based on self-organized, cross-functional teams that work in short periods of time called “sprints”. Each sprint focuses on a set of tasks and goals; upon completion, a retrospective session is conducted to analyze results and improve the process.

Kanban

It is used to visualize and manage the tasks in the workflow. Teams that use this method can improve their productivity and efficiency by collaborating and delivering solutions regularly, as they can identify bottlenecks at early stages and prioritize tasks in real-time. This allows the team to be more responsive to unexpected changes. Kanban uses a visual board to display project progress and ensure tasks are in the correct order

Ultimately, agile methodologies are a powerful tool when it comes to innovation in the creation of digital products, since they allow for continuous testing and exploration of alternatives, increase the probability of finding the most suitable solution, and reduce the unfavorable consequences when investing large amounts of resources.

Channeling work teams into a multidisciplinary collaboration scheme will improve the way they can renew and progress. Innovation plays a fundamental role in facing such a variable and ever-evolving market as the digital realm, where agile methodologies are one of the multiple tools to be used to adapt to trends. In turn, companies will be able to develop and design digital solutions that meet the needs of users, showing themselves as current in the current market in the midst of the digital era.

At Moveapps, we help our clients design, create, and develop digital solutions and products using the most innovative agile methodologies, with a committed team that stays up-to-date with the latest trends and practices in software development. Let’s talk.

By: Gonzalo Camus
Design Manager at Moveapps