The document discusses the need for a new model of software development based on creative collaboration rather than traditional outsourcing. It outlines the characteristics of high-performance teams, including talent, commitment to mastery, autonomy, and a shared vision. These principles have helped Ci&T transform from an outsourcing provider to a "partner player" that delivers innovative solutions through a culture of engagement, entrepreneurial spirit, and Lean thinking.
Collaborate, Innovate and Accelerate with a New Software Development Model
1. Collaborate.
Innovate.
Accelerate.
Creating successful software requires a new model of development and a new kind of development team
2. In recent decades, software development thinking that we can build software the years. There was steady availability of
has gone through an “industrialization” same way we build cars. skilled technical manpower, low prices
process. Just like the introduction of the and English fluency. Not surprisingly, a
assembly line and other mass production The idea behind the “software factory” great amount of repetitive process work
techniques transformed manufacturing as originally defined was that process and programming jobs migrated from
in the first half of the 20th century, the dominates, and that people were companies with developed economies
introduction of software engineering somewhat dispensable. Once we had the to India.
practices and increasingly sophisticated right process and methodology, anyone
tools has transformed the way we build with appropriate training could do the By its very nature, the “factory” approach doesn’t
software. The “software factory” has job. This mentality permeated the IT
become a common term, as has the services industry in India for the past 20 allow you the creative collaboration that’s essential
to building innovative products.
That model no longer works as it once
did. The archaic model of outsourcing
based on cost arbitrage and the
interaction based on heavy specifications
and processes crushed the motivation of
IT professionals, along with their ability
to innovate and uniquely solve problems.
This becomes a bigger problem when
one considers that problem-solving
through innovation is ultimately the
greatest benefit technology can offer.
Meanwhile, just a few decades after its
birth, software is transforming every
Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate. Page 1
3. industry, quickly and often disruptively, mentality.”¹ Certain unique attributes
creating new possibilities and a new
competitive environment in each sector.
define that kind of partner: Principles of Lean Development Add Value
What is happening in the entertainment, TALENT. 1. Eliminate Waste cycle at
mobile, gaming and retail industries is Although you might not have the Don’t write unnecessary code or the start of
just a taste of the transformation that opportunity to examine the abilities of an functions or add useless bureaucracy; every project,
lies ahead. IT provider’s junior staff, you can often employ the “retrospective” period to whether it’s
judge by the talent of the team leaders. identify waste and figure out how to developing a
This transformation, and the growing As John Halamka M.D., CIO of Harvard avoid it. Planning is necessary and a new design or
investment across industries, is putting Medical School, says: “My experience is good practice, but trying to anticipate defining a repetitive
more pressure on the ecosystem of that “A” players hire “A” players and details and decisions far ahead of the work process.
service providers to be agile and “B” players hire “C” players. This means real need may give a false feeling of
innovative experts. This introduces that highly competent people surround certainty to things that will change for 4. Deliver Fast, and Iterate
opportunities for new players and themselves with skilled people because sure – transforming the plan and the Don’t let things get bogged down. An
different models of value creation they do not feel intimidated by having decisions into pure waste. agile team picks up the slack to fill in
through technology. A completely new subordinates or colleagues who are when someone else is stuck on a
era is emerging ahead and new rules are smarter, more talented, or more 2. Build-in Quality function or process. Break a project in
about to transform our whole industry successful.” Don’t count on finding bugs later: Avoid many small iterations – do not try to
again. The “software factory” is no introducing them in the first place. anticipate everything: deliver quickly,
longer good enough. An organization that can provide true Incorporate test-driven development, use learn with the user’s response, then
“partner players” is able to do so constant feedback. incorporate the feedback immediately.
By its very nature, the “factory” because it knows how to keep the most
approach doesn’t allow you the creative talented people working there. Managers 3. Stress Continuous 5. Optimize the
collaboration that’s essential to building understand what motivates top talent. It Improvement Whole Value Stream
innovative products. That kind of doesn’t just recruit “A” players; it retains Implement the PDCA Cycle: Plan > Do > Enlist a multi-disciplined, multi-talented
outcome requires a high-performance “A” players. “A” players want to keep Check > Act. It’s a cycle – a circular, team — also known as a high-
team that exhibits what Forrester working there because they’re never-ending process, meant to be performance team.
Research, Inc. calls a “partner player challenged, they’re motivated, they’re repeated over and over. Implement the
1 “Case Study: Ci&T – High Performance, Brazilian Style,” Forrester Research, Inc., March 7, 2011
Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate. Page 2
4. given opportunities to improve, and This is learned through trial and error, the desire to practice and perfect a task.
they’re allowed to explore things they’re through iteration after iteration, through This is achieved by starting early and
interested in. The camaraderie of other practice. learning quickly. A great example that
dedicated professionals is also a Gladwell cites is The Beatles playing in
cherished perk for talented individuals. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell Hamburg clubs nearly every night for
discusses the 10,000-Hour Rule, the four years before ever releasing an
COMMITMENT TO MASTERY. idea that being successful and album. Devotion to their craft was a key
Like a master carpenter, a high- exceptional at something requires element in their success.
performance developer has learned what practicing a task for at least that number
works and what won’t, what tools to use, of hours. But beyond just reaching that “High-performance groups emerge when people
and where efficiencies can be gained. magic number, it is having the passion,
have the courage to make commitments to co-create
a new and different future,” —Steve Denning
It’s the same with software. Mastery is
fostered in an environment where
developers have had the opportunity to
practice and experiment, where they’re
questioned and challenged and
encouraged to look for their mistakes. A
team that embraces Lean methodologies
is likely to have attained this level of
competency because of Lean’s use of
constant feedback and emphasis on
continuous improvement.
Software developers thrive in a culture
where they are not coddled but are
Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate. Page 3
5. pushed to continually advance their emerge when people have the courage to
skills, where they’re expected to think
and analyze. In an atmosphere where
make commitments to co-create a new
and different future,” Denning says.
Where Would the World Be Without
everyone rejects “good enough,” where High-Performance Teamwork?
everyone takes pride in what they can ATTITUDE.
do, developers are driven toward A high-performance team member is High-performing teams have played an organization: “The level of trust (truth,
excellence. proactive and collaborative; willing to do integral role in the history and respect, understanding, support, and
whatever it takes for the group to development of the human race. accountability) and shared vision (the
AUTONOMY. succeed. He or she is always thinking Prehistoric tribes structured hunting goal to advance science) the members
A talented, trusted team needs the about a better way to do the work, to be parties according to the skills and of the Society achieved places them in
autonomy, the freedom, to make more effective, to trim time from the talents of the group; the smallest and my high-performance team hall of
decisions. Ownership of solutions cannot schedule, and to generously assist weakest helped to lure or flush-out fame,” says Donald J. Bodwell, who
be limited to an individual or the few colleagues whenever necessary. He or game, while the strongest wielded the writes about team concepts and
people at the top of the hierarchy. “A she also loves the work. This results not clubs and spears. The pyramids of Egypt coaching for PT Consulting Partners,
group becomes fully engaged when every just in happy employees but happy and Central America were the result of in Dallas.
member becomes an owner with a sense clients. high-performance teamwork. The 300
of shared responsibility and Spartans were able to hold off the More modern examples would include
accountability for the million-strong Persian army by adroitly Ernest Shackleton’s South Pole team,
accomplishment of the mission of applying the planning, communication, the Amazon explorations of Brazil’s
the group,” says Steve Denning, and rapid-response techniques of high- Cândido Rondon, the Manhattan
author of The Leader’s Guide to performing teams. Project, and the NASA crew that
Radical Management: Re- averted disaster during the Apollo 13
inventing the Workplace for Perhaps one of history’s greatest mission to the Moon.
the 21st Century and examples is the original Royal Society
former director of of London, which in the 1660s “So long as human beings remain the
knowledge management at included such “teammates” as Isaac essential element of commerce, high-
the World Bank. Newton and Gottfried Liebniz — and performance teams will represent man’s
perfectly exemplifies some of the best hope for developing accurate, swift,
“High-performance groups characteristics of such an and agile organizations,” Bodwell says.
Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate. Page 4
6. “Members of high-performance groups companies. Finding one that embodies to learn new things. A partner guided by
are not only more productive: they also an affirmative, take-action spirit is a the principles of Lean IT is focused on
report on finding the work deeply strong predictor of a collaborative adding value for the client. For example,
satisfying and meaningful,” Denning experience. one of the first rules of Lean is to
says. eliminate waste. As early proponent of
LEAN AND INNOVATIVE
One recent study found that fewer than
10% of people enjoy their job. While
FRAME OF MIND.
A Lean-thinking teammate exhibits a
“So long as human beings remain the essential
that might be an overstatement, there is problem-solving mentality, a tendency to element of commerce, high-performance teams will
no doubt that finding a team with an bring up problems rather than sweep
attitude of positivity is not easy in many them under the desk, and a natural drive represent man’s best hope for developing accurate,
swift, and agile organizations.”— Donald J. Bodwell
Lean IT Mary Poppendieck points out,
waste can include things like
unnecessary code or functions, or
bureaucracy, or defects — all things that
can delay a project and affect the
customer.
One of the most important benefits of Lean
thinking is a tendency to yield innovative
processes, products, and services.
“Lean brings structure and predictability
to innovation, and sharpens the
distinction between idea generation and
Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate. Page 5
7. the development process,” according to a
report from the Wharton School of
Business. “Both share a common goal: to
14 Principles for a High-Performance Team
meet customer needs in a cost-effective
manner. And Lean can help empower 8. To nurture a culture of tireless
identification and elimination of
waste.
researchers and reduce uncertainty in the
innovation process itself.”
9. To face the brutal facts bravely and
bring problems to the surface.
Wharton professor Kartik Hosanagar cites
Pixar as a company that has “combined 10. To apply adaptive planning in
order to see the whole and to
respond to changes promptly.
Lean and innovation to good effect.”
Pixar has created “a set of processes that Ci&T has developed a canon of cultural People
emphasizes team-based collaboration principles that have helped the company Power to the edge
and continuous feedback loops to help
overcome creative blocks and track
hire and motivate talented, engaged
team players.
4. To respect people by believing they
can develop themselves to the full
extent of their potential. 11. To make decisions the closest
possible to the edge of the
deliverables, but without the stress that execution.
could go with a regime of control,” he Purpose 5. To develop leaders who deeply
understand the work and who are
12. To organize high-performance
teams distinguished by self-
says. One thing the filmmaking company
does is conduct daily meetings where 1. To change the world by redefining
the value generated by information
technology for clients and for society.
living examples of Ci&T’s culture and
values. management, agility, innovation, and
ability to execute.
team members discuss what is going well
— and not so well.
2. To forge a new generation of
professionals stimulated by the
6. To develop long-lasting relationships
with clients and partners, based on
common values and value generation. 13. To learn and adapt quickly to
increase the capacity to overcome
“In a creative world you often hit sense of challenge and provided with the challenges.
roadblocks, and team-based collaboration
is critical,” Hosanagar says. “People
ability to innovate and execute.
3. To perform a leading role in the
Process
14. To nurture a problem-solving
culture based on data analysis,
might discuss work that is clearly in an
incomplete stage; they don’t have to feel
knowledge industry, inspiring
entrepreneurship from even the most
7. To rely on discipline and
standardization in the pursuit of
continual improvement and consistent
facts confrontation, and a team-based
approach to finding solutions.
embarrassed.” The point is to take the remote part of the globe. results.
feedback, the knowledge sharing, and the
Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate. Page 6
8. lessons learned from other projects and Nearshore, value-driven custom web and
keep things moving forward. mobile application development, Trust Your Team,
VISION AND SHARED PURPOSE.
software product engineering, business
intelligence, and SAP services to clients
Like a Rock Climber
And finally, the characteristics of high- around the world. Established in 1995, “As a rock climber, I know that my life
performance teams that truly tie these Ci&T has quickly matured from an depends upon the skill and decision making
items all together: a sense of communal outsourcing service provider to a “partner
goals and a greater, shared, purpose. player” by adopting a creative culture
of my climbing partner. No matter how good
Accountability toward the mission is based on the principles of high- I am, a mistake by my partner could kill both
essential, along with a joyful willingness performance teams (see sidebar). of us. Every day I think about my teams and
to commit to that mission because when
there is also that greater purpose to work In a March 2011 report by Forrester ask if I would trust them to hold my rope. A
towards, a previously unimagined level of Research, Inc. entitled “Case Study: high-performing team requires a level of
potential is suddenly available. Ci&T - High Performance, Brazilian
trust and confidence that fosters a joy of
Style,” Forrester principal analyst Jeffrey
ENGAGEMENT, Hammond wrote: collective achievement rather than fear of
ENTREPRENEURIAL individual failure.”
SPIRIT IN ACTION “How do you measure the level of
— John Halamka, M.D., CIO Harvard Medical School and
As software service providers have taken employee engagement at a company? In known as “the Geek Doctor”
on higher-value assignments, some have our opinion, you can quickly sense the
developed the skills, drive, and dedication difference when you walk into an
exhibited by high-performance teams. organization or talk to its people. interviewed people at Ci&T. The
One such software company is Ci&T. Employees are focused and busy, but developers and managers we interviewed
they are also happy to be there; these exude engagement...”
Headquartered in Brazil and with offices environments exhibit a high level of
in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and collaboration and cheerful interaction One Ci&T employee who perfectly
delivery centers in Brazil, Argentina and between employees and managers. We exemplifies the results of this kind of
China, Ci&T employs agile methodologies saw all these signs of engagement on workplace atmosphere is Marcio Cyrillo.
and Lean principles to provide multiple occasions when we have He began in the company’s testing
Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate. Page 7
9. department in 1999, but now is the head
of mobile strategy from his office in New
York City. The company awarded him a
It Starts at The Top
“Star Talent” accolade for the things he
A high-performance team is a reflection
accomplished during his time in New York.
of a company’s leaders. Just as the team
has certain attributes, so too do the
ACCELERATED DEVELOPMENT
people guiding that team.
Another example of Ci&T’s agility and
responsiveness to customer needs is its
“In every case that has been studied at
new service offering, called Accelerate.
the Europe-based Centre for
The goal is to help small and large
Organisational Research, teams that
companies, in a landscape of disruptive
‘click’ always have a leader who creates
technologies, turn their ideas into
the environment and establishes the
products — quickly. Leonardo Mattiazzi,
operating principles and values that are
vice president of International Business,
conducive to high performance,” says
says Accelerate helps businesses “ideate,
Phil Harkin, CEO of Linkage Inc., co-
create, and iterate.” Ci&T’s use of agile
chair of the Global Institute for
methodologies, Lean principles, and a
Leadership Development, and author of
fast feedback loop enables clients to
several books on leadership coaching. those goals. When the team runs into difficult
develop products “ahead of schedule and
Harkin says these types of people exhibit situations, as is inevitable, the high-
with minimal cash burn,” continues
four key behaviors: • They use language “to build trust, performance leader will help them focus
Mattiazzi.
encourage forward-thinking, and create on the future and “move back to the
• They define clear goals and a “vision of energy within the team; Harkin calls present” with reminders to “keep our eye
One of the first customers to benefit from
the future in accordance with overall these “powerful creations.” on the ball” and “remember our
the Accelerate offering was Carousl Labs,
organizational aims (‘the big picture’).” objectives.” They also aren’t afraid to
which was later acquired by NewBlue
Inc, the maker of the Vibop iPhone app. • They get the right people involved, the “talk about things — even the hard
• They develop blueprints to achieve “passionate champions.” things.”
Co-Founder of Carousl Labs, Guto Araujo
has worked with Ci&T on several
Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate. Page 8
10. development projects with different architecture choices for the product That enthusiasm was exhibited by the
organizations and says: design and, ultimately, on its value Ci&T staff’s eagerness to get the project
proposition to end users. They off the ground, and in the right direction,
“The Ci&T team partnered with us in understood our business objectives, our together with the startup founders.
shaping our product, an iPhone app and customers, and product goals and were Referring to the aforementioned Marcio
cloud service for group photo and video always very collaborative, challenging us
sharing. As a startup, we came to them
with a product vision, strategy and
and adding to our thinking. It was great
to see that they shared our enthusiasm
They understood our business objectives, our
designs. They listened closely; we had and passion for working on an innovative customers, and product goals and were always very
many interesting and intense discussions project, which had a very positive impact
about the impact of technology and on the end product.” collaborative, challenging us and adding to our
thinking. —Guto Araujo
Cyrillo, Araujo recalls: “We had quality
discussions over e-mail, phone and
Skype discussing the product strategy
and best ways to deliver a differentiated
product and I did not get a bill for that
time. Instead, Marcio and Felipe Rubim,
Ci&T’s Chief Technology Architect, were
interested in having those planning
discussions to make sure we were going
in the right direction.”
IDEA GENERATOR
When Coca-Cola Brazil decided it needed
new and better mobile apps to reach
Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate. Page 9
11. teenage consumers, the beverage to bring IT thinking to the idea- variable code quality, and difficulty very important for us to find a partner
company turned to Ci&T not just for development process, and it made a huge responding to scope changes or requests who shared our lean startup principles,
development but for ideas. “All of the difference.” to refactor existing projects.” and could respond quickly with minimum
mobile initiatives Coca-Cola had in Brazil overhead”
had been SMS, which is a reflection of HIGH-PERFORMANCE Guto Araujo, Co-Founder of Carousl Labs,
the market, but at the end of last year PARTNERSHIP describes what he considers when looking Araujo found that partner in the team at
Coca-Cola challenged us to come up with Consider this advice from Forrester for for a team: “As a technology startup, we Ci&T. “We were happy to develop that
some ideas for mobile, with a tight selecting a development team: “Take a needed a development partner who would kind of partnership with Ci&T. We shared
timeline and a restricted budget,” Paulo good look at its culture and assess listen and engage in an intelligent that DNA and were able to move fast as a
Camara, head of mobile operations at whether you see engaged developers or a conversation to understand what we were team to achieve our objectives.” Araujo
Ci&T in Campinas, Brazil, told Mobile revolving door ‘death march.’ If it’s the trying to do and add value to the product says.
Marketer. latter, be prepared for rising costs, and technology discussions. It was also
One of the ideas Ci&T came back with
was a mobile game: Sprite City, for the This E-Book is Sponsored by Ci&T Brought To You By: Nearshore Americas
iPad (40,000 downloads in two months).
Even more popular is the Coke Drink
iPhone app which has achieved over
2,000,000 downloads making it Coca- Ci&T (www.ciandt.com) provides value-driven, Nearshore web About Nearshore Americas: Nearshore Americas is an
Cola’s most downloaded app. and mobile application services and software product independent online news provider dedicated to expanding
engineering. The company's high-performance teams employ knowledge on the fast-growing global services/ BPO market in
“We use our own Web sites to let agile methodologies and Lean principles to deliver innovative, the world – Latin America. As one of the world’s leading
consumers know about [our mobile] value-generating projects for companies of all sizes, by resources on offshore outsourcing, Nearshore Americas is
initiatives, but using [paid] media to drive leveraging the latest mobile, cloud and web technologies. A committed to providing high quality information and data for
consumers to those apps is something truly global company established in 1995, Ci&T is business and IT leaders in the U.S. and around the World.
we’ll start investigating more going headquartered in Campinas, Brazil, with strategic locations Nearshore Americas - based in New York City - is published by
forward,” said Adriana Knackfuss, senior across Latin America, North America, Europe and the Asia- Next Coast Media. Visit Nearshore Americas to sign up for a free
manager of consumer connections at Pacific region. For more information, visit www.ciandt.com. newsletter, and get connected to the brand through Facebook,
Coca-Cola in Brazil. “Ci&T challenged us Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate. Page 10