Standardize Engineering Practice Across 800 Teams
NKD Agility helped SLB unify 800+ engineering teams by consolidating DevOps systems, standardizing processes, and improving visibility, collaboration, …
Techniques and methodologies for high-quality software engineering.
Software Development encompasses the techniques and methodologies employed to engineer high-quality software solutions that meet user needs and business objectives. It is a systematic approach that integrates various practices, including Agile, Lean, and DevOps, to enhance collaboration, efficiency, and adaptability within teams. This concept is crucial as it enables organisations to deliver value predictably and sustainably, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and responsiveness to change.
By focusing on iterative development, teams can quickly adapt to feedback and evolving requirements, ensuring that the software remains relevant and effective. The emphasis on automation, testing, and integration within Software Development practices reduces the risk of defects and accelerates delivery cycles, allowing for frequent releases that enhance customer satisfaction. Moreover, it promotes a holistic view of the software lifecycle, encouraging cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing among team members.
This long-term, systemic approach not only improves the quality of the software produced but also cultivates an environment where innovation thrives, enabling organisations to remain competitive in a rapidly changing market. The integration of evidence-based management principles further supports informed decision-making, ensuring that teams can navigate complexity and uncertainty effectively. By prioritising these practices, organisations can achieve a sustainable competitive advantage through enhanced software development capabilities that align with their strategic goals and customer expectations.
NKD Agility helped SLB unify 800+ engineering teams by consolidating DevOps systems, standardizing processes, and improving visibility, collaboration, …
Continuous delivery is achievable for any software, regardless of complexity. Success depends on investment in automation, quality, and process …
Value in software is only realised through delivery. Frequent releases validate assumptions, reduce risk, and enable rapid feedback, adaptation, and …
Getting Started with the Definition of Done (DoD). Every team should define what is required, what criteria must be met, for a product increment to be …
Explains why promoting code through multiple branches slows delivery, increases risk, and suggests GitHub Flow or Release Flow as simpler, safer …
Ensure fast, reliable development with Continuous Integration (CI). Merge code frequently, detect errors early, and maintain a healthy codebase.
Scrum teams must deliver working software to real users every Sprint; true progress is measured by delivery to production, not just by completing …
Many Scrum Masters lack core Scrum knowledge and technical skills, leading to poor team support. Learn key competencies needed for effective, …
Automating builds, tests, and deployments with Azure Pipelines.
An Internal Developer Platform streamlines development processes, enabling teams to build, test, and deploy applications efficiently within a …
Learn how to upgrade legacy .NET and ASP.NET MVC projects to SDK-style for easier builds, modern tooling, and future readiness, including tips for …
NKD Agility helped SLB unify build and release processes across 90 teams in 13 countries, boosting team ownership, efficiency, and engineering …
Velocity measures how quickly teams turn ideas into value, using build, test, deploy, and feedback times—not just story points—to track real delivery …
Stop relying on memory for quality. Discover why automated pipelines beat manual checks, and how embedding quality gates ensures trust, speed, and …
Ensure software quality and reliability with Automated Testing. Detect issues early, reduce manual effort, and accelerate delivery.
Excessive handoffs in software development create delays, reduce quality, and harm team morale. Learn how eliminating handoffs boosts agility, flow, …
Measuring individual cycle time in Kanban misleads teams, hides real bottlenecks, and harms flow. Focus on system-wide metrics like PCE, WIP, and …
Explains how Scrum teams can strategically allow unfinished work to flow across Sprint boundaries, enhancing throughput, responsiveness, and …
Continuous Delivery is the practice of frequently delivering small increments of valuable product directly to real users, enabling rapid feedback, …
Explains how technical leaders can break down organisational silos and enforce better branching, team structures, and architecture to improve software …
Discover why “done” means live in production—not just code complete. Learn to deliver real value, close feedback loops, and drive outcomes that …
Explains how short-lived topic branches in source control improve software quality, enable modularity, speed up integration, and support agile, …
Unlock a smarter Definition of Done—start small, evolve standards, and build team momentum without overwhelm. Discover how progress drives excellence.
Stop firefighting late-stage bugs—discover how shifting left saves time, money, and reputation by building quality in from the start. Learn the …
Applying software engineering principles to ensure scalable and reliable systems.
Explains how the Scrum Master is accountable for enabling effective product delivery, fostering team success, and ensuring each sprint produces a …
Best practices for version control and branching strategies in modern software development.
Hiring an unqualified Scrum Master limits team growth, reduces agility, and hinders value delivery. Effective Scrum Masters drive change, coaching, …
Undelivered software provides no value. Frequent, iterative releases reduce risk, cost, and failure, enabling faster learning and real user impact in …
Explains how a Scrum Master drives team improvement, removes obstacles, and leads organisational change, going far beyond basic facilitation or …
GitHub is a platform for version control and collaboration, offering tools for code hosting, CI/CD, project management, and team collaboration.
Scrum Masters must have technical and business expertise to guide teams, improve code quality, and drive real agility—not just schedule meetings. …
A cross-border product team overcame misalignment and role confusion through immersive mentorship, boosting collaboration, engineering engagement, and …
Struggling with technical debt? Discover practical ways to tackle legacy systems, boost team morale, and deliver value—without grinding to a halt.
Stop paying the hidden costs of weak delivery. Discover how a strong, shared definition of done builds trust, quality, and real agility in your team.
Argues that the Scrum Master role requires proven mastery and real-world experience, not entry-level skills or certifications, and should be earned …
Struggling with inconsistent delivery? Discover why a shared definition of done is key to predictable, high-quality results your teams—and …
Managing and reducing technical debt to maintain sustainable development velocity.
Measuring the time from work initiation to customer delivery, helping teams monitor workflow efficiency and improve value delivery.
The Scrum Master is an accountability in Scrum, responsible for enabling the effectiveness of the Scrum Team and fostering continuous improvement …
Is your team’s “done” really done? Discover how a clear, objective definition of done boosts quality, agility, and trust in product delivery.
Explains how Scrum supports continuous flow and agility by prioritising Sprint Goals, Done increments, CI/CD practices, and outcomes over rigid sprint …
A **Shift-Left Strategy** brings testing, security, and compliance earlier in development, reducing defects, accelerating feedback, and improving …
Unlock legacy system agility—discover how DevOps transforms slow, brittle tech into fast, scalable, and change-ready platforms without starting from …
Driving software design through automated tests for better quality.
Stop confusing acceptance criteria with definition of done—learn the crucial difference to boost quality, speed, and trust in your agile delivery.
Test First is a practice that defines success before implementation. It supports manual and automated testing, with a strong preference for automation …
Explains how to engineer a robust, fault-tolerant token counting server using FastAPI and PowerShell, covering error handling, retries, fallbacks, and …
Manual testing limits release speed and quality, while automation enables faster, more reliable software delivery by reducing regressions and tester …
Managing source control with Azure Repos for modern software development.
Explains why Agile methods are often more challenging than traditional ones, highlighting common misconceptions, required discipline, and the need for …
Maximise team alignment and adaptability with the Daily Scrum. Inspect progress, adapt plans, and ensure focus on the Sprint Goal.
Answers common questions about integrating design and UX work into Scrum Sprints, clarifying why dedicated Design Sprints aren’t needed and how to …
The FBI Sentinel project failed with a waterfall approach, wasting years and budget, but succeeded rapidly after switching to Agile and iterative …
Explains why consistent delivery of usable increments is essential in Scrum, highlighting the Scrum Master's accountability for ensuring transparency, …
Technical debt requires leadership investment to resolve; without support for automation and quality improvements, continuous delivery is not …
Delaying software releases increases failure risk. Frequent, small releases improve success rates, adaptability, and recovery, as shown by CHAOS …
Learn how evolving engineering practices like Feature Flags, TDD, and refactoring enable smoother Sprint workflows and reduce technical debt in Scrum …
Align development with business goals using Behaviour Driven Development (BDD). Improve collaboration and create clear, testable requirements.
Stop flying blind after release—learn why telemetry is vital to your Definition of Done and how real feedback drives better software, value, and team …
We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.
Sage
YearUp.org
Cognizant Microsoft Business Group (MBG)
Ericson
Schlumberger
Epic Games
SuperControl
Flowmaster (a Mentor Graphics Company)
Qualco
ALS Life Sciences
Trayport
Milliman
Lockheed Martin
Akaditi
New Signature
CR2
Deliotte
NIT A/S
Ghana Police Service
Washington Department of Transport
Nottingham County Council
New Hampshire Supreme Court
Royal Air Force
Department of Work and Pensions (UK)
MacDonald Humfrey (Automation) Ltd.
New Signature
ALS Life Sciences
Xceptor - Process and Data Automation
Workday
Akaditi