Project Stats

• Team: Product Development Team, eComm Business Team

• Challenge: Lack of process transparency, unstable product releases, low stakeholder satisfaction

• Timeline: 6 months

• Outcome: 80% increase in transparency, 95% hotfix reduction, 55% boost in customer satisfaction

Revolutionizing Manufacturing: A Data Duke Transformation Story

At Data Duke, we believe that transformation is more than just a change in processes—it’s a journey toward creating lasting impact. This story is about how we helped a prominent manufacturing company, struggling with operational inefficiencies, to turn their challenges into opportunities for growth.

The Challenge

This manufacturer was in the middle of a critical phase in their digital transformation but faced significant roadblocks:

• Transparency between teams was minimal, leading to misaligned priorities.

• Product releases were plagued with inconsistencies, often requiring multiple patches after launch.

• Stakeholders and customers were growing increasingly frustrated with delayed, subpar releases that didn’t meet their expectations.

Their ambition was clear: they wanted to streamline their operations, release more stable products, and improve stakeholder satisfaction. But without a clear roadmap, the way forward seemed daunting.

Our Approach

We were brought in to not only solve these immediate problems but to embed a culture of continuous improvement. To do this, we implemented a 2-way Agile transformation strategy combining Dual-Track Agile and Test-Driven Development (TDD), tailoring our approach to fit the unique needs of the manufacturing industry.

Here’s how we did it:

1. Enhanced Requirement Transparency

We started by rethinking how the company handled its business requirements. The key was to ensure that every team member, from developers to business leads, had visibility into what needed to be done and why.

• Business Funnel Creation: We set up a clear process to gather and organize business ideas, new features, and change requests.

• Backlog Management: A structured backlog ensured that every request was collected, documented, and properly evaluated.

• Collaborative Requirement Definition: We brought together cross-functional teams to define and select the right requirements.

• Definition of Ready (DoR): Enforcing this standard ensured that all tasks were fully scoped before development started.

• Early Testing with TDD: At this stage, we introduced the first layer of TDD, where we wrote test cases for both happy and unhappy paths. These tests would fail initially, but once development was complete, they would confirm that the features were working as expected. For this, we used Selenium for testing and Xray for test management.

2. Improved Release Quality and Stability

Next, we turned our focus to improving the release process. The goal was to make sure that every release was as smooth and stable as possible.

• Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD): We implemented CI/CD practices to automate and streamline product releases, ensuring fewer manual interventions.

• Automated Testing: We integrated automated testing into the pipeline, allowing us to catch bugs early and often. This not only reduced the number of critical bugs but also improved overall product stability.

• Sprint Planning & Reviews: Regular sprint planning sessions helped align development teams with business priorities, while review sessions ensured that feedback was acted upon swiftly.

3. Boosting Stakeholder and Customer Happiness

Finally, we knew that real transformation required keeping stakeholders and customers in the loop. Their feedback was critical to driving meaningful change.

• Regular Updates & Feedback Loops: We set up consistent check-ins with stakeholders, providing them with real-time updates and ensuring their expectations were always aligned with the development progress.

• Incremental Value Delivery: Each sprint delivered small, incremental improvements, ensuring that customers experienced continuous benefits.

• Customer Feedback System: We implemented a system for gathering customer feedback after every release, allowing us to make data-driven decisions for future improvements.

The Outcome

After six months of focused effort, the transformation was nothing short of remarkable:

• Transparency: We achieved an 80% increase in project visibility, enabling teams to make faster, more informed decisions. This was measured through improved traceability of requests and an increase in Net Promoter Score (NPS).

• Product Quality and Stability: Critical bugs were reduced by 95%, meaning patch releases were no longer needed. Any remaining issues were resolved before going live, resulting in more stable and reliable products.

• Stakeholder and Customer Satisfaction: Stakeholder satisfaction improved by 70%, while customer happiness saw a 55% boost. Both metrics were measured through NPS and direct customer calls.

In the end, this manufacturing company didn’t just improve its processes—it transformed its entire way of working. At Data Duke, we take pride in making such transformations possible, paving the way for long-term success.