Aspira
The Agile Road to Excellence

‘Challenges are opportunities in disguise’ is a phrase that sheds light on how unexpected circumstances can be transformed into eventful avenues for those better prepared even in the enterprise arena. And, a preparation of this nature requires tools, best practices, and an agile mindset to fulfil the requirements of the enterprise world, wherein, end-users expect latest and greatest of technological developments from their software or service vendors. Such a mindset and an agile software development philosophy have been portrayed by Aspira – a specialist in end-to-end project management, software development, and enterprise IT transformations.

Aspira stands as a mentor to organisations that embark on the agile journey, thereby helping them deliver software solutions for end-users and achieve definitive business objectives in the enterprise arena. Aspira’s international staff comprised of agile leaders, project managers, business analysts, software developers work with globally recognised brands to fulfil their project management needs across the areas of consulting, resourcing, training, software development, and managed IT services. The collective knowledge of these experts has manifested into the Aspira Project Excellence (APEX) framework, which serves as the amalgamation of best project management practices for reduced project development cycles.

“In the current business arena, we find that there is an increasing demand for reduced development cycles. And, that is precisely where an agile approach proves beneficial,” explains Pat Lucey, founder and CEO of Aspira.

Upon engaging with a client, Aspira’s experts help in defining business goals, along with devising the optimal route to achieving the said objectives through consultation or by providing the people and the technology required for the agile journey. The company utilises its Aspira Project Excellence (APEX) framework to drive excellence and enable teams to deliver projects in a nimble and efficient manner. Narrating the modus operandi employed by his firm while guiding clients to success, Lucey says that effective communication plays a crucial role in the agile journey. “Communication is crucial in any agile environment. We leverage the potential of Microsoft solutions to get globally distributed teams working together efficiently and guide them to deliver agile projects successfully,”states the CEO.

A testament to Aspira’s competencies is the relationship the company has built with clients. For instance, the senior management of a global organisation, approached Aspira for a massive digital transformation project – an engagement that exemplifies the company’s noteworthy alliances. The project involved the change of business process from a paper-based, semi-manual postal system to an automated rules-driven content communication platform for customer communication, orchestrated through email, SMS, web portal, and paper-based media. After collaborating with the client’s internal teams to learn about their business objectives, Aspira’s senior consultant identified that the project involved unnecessary complexities, with dispersed teams operating in silos, improper scheduling of tasks, and the management losing confidence in project delivery and completion.

Aspira then optimised the whole project through a systematic methodology, which involved categorisation of requirements into functional, non-functional, and transitional areas. Successively, the software development and testing teams accessed the client’s needs and built a new schedule based on the agile delivery of product functionalities, in accordance with the client’s long term and short-term business objectives. Aspira also conducted group meetings every week until all the teams and stakeholders reached a level of confidence in the project. The project management experts infused a sense of stability and agility before handing over the project to the client’s internal teams. Such engagements have pillared Aspira’s excellence in the enterprise arena, invigorated by the much-needed agile mindset.