Software development processes have been revolutionized globally by the ‘Agile’ movement over the past couple of years, and this alternative to traditional project management has been adopted by a number of companies in Sri Lanka’s IT sector during this period of time.

Understanding the importance of ICT students grasping the main fundamentals of these methodologies even before they enter the industry, software product engineering company 99X Technology, in collaboration with the ‘DevOps’ team of the National School of Business Management (NSBM), hosted an interactive workshop titled ‘Towards Agile’ on 6 March at the NSBM auditorium.

The Agile software development methodology is one of the most used development concepts in the world today and an experienced team from the company outlined the basics of Agile and shared insightful information from the viewpoint of a company that actively employs these processes in its day-to-day operations with the students at the workshop. They focused namely on the methodology ‘Scrum’ – the most popular way of introducing Agility due to its simplicity and flexibility – which was pioneered in Sri Lanka by 99X Technology.

By filling up the workshop with interesting and enjoyable activities, the team from 99X Technology explained the methodology clearly and highlighted the differences between conventional development methods and the methods employed in ‘Agile Scrum’. Furthermore, adding to the interactive element of the workshop, the team also took the time to have an engaging question and answer session with the students as well.

The workshop was organised by ‘Dotitude’, 99X Technology’s university relationships arm, whose core objective is to provide university students with the skills, exposure and experience required to excel in the field of IT and other related sectors, by attempting to bridge the gaps between the industry and the university education system through systematic collaboration.

This is done through various methods including internships, from a period of three months to even a year, guest lectures by company employees at universities, offering input in the structuring of university syllabi, conducting workshops and courses at various universities and higher education institutes, and inviting students over to the company premises on industry visits.

Since establishing Agile Scrum in Sri Lanka, 99X Technology has been actively involved in organizing a series of events and activities over the years with the aim of enhancing and improving the skills of local professionals in Agile methodology. This includes the Colombo Agile Camps which commenced in 2012 and the Colombo Agile Conference in 2013, the first-ever conference of its kind to be held in Sri Lanka.

99X Technology is a software engineering company that specialises in delivering high-end software product development services to independent software vendors (ISVs) worldwide, with a primary focus within the European region. Headquartered in Sri Lanka, the company is also based in Oslo, Norway and has an outstanding track record in building and delivering over 150 high quality commercial products. In 2013, it was ranked amongst the top five ‘Great Places To Work’ for in Sri Lanka in recognition of its open work culture.