Agile methodology advances as a trend and becomes a differentiator for companies

Grupo Aço Cearense uses agile methods in various sectors of the company to maximize results.

How to improve results and streamline processes is a question every business addresses to overcome challenges. When it comes to management and innovation, agile methodology is at the forefront of trends. This approach has the power to revolutionize the way we work and accelerate processes efficiently and flexibly. Grupo Aço Cearense has been achieving excellent results after implementing agile methodology in project management.

The Technology department of Grupo Aço Cearense uses this methodology. According to Vinícius Amanajás, the Group's IT manager, the idea was well-received by the team. "The resource significantly improves performance. We've focused our team on delivering tasks with results. Over the years, other departments, such as planning and production, have also adopted these tools. Today, we're leveraging the methodology across the Group," he explains.

The main difference, according to him, is that activities seem to become easier, even when prioritizing speed of delivery. Agile methodology is a set of actions that can be implemented in any area, aiming for improved performance.

These practices can be adapted to different sectors, but always with the goal of delivering the highest product or service value in the shortest time, encouraging continuous inspection and valuing interaction and communication between the people executing the processes so that adjustments can be made before the task is completed.

Agile Methodology in practice

According to Vinícius, one example used in the company was to process IT requests in 15-day cycles. Every two weeks, a critical analysis of the process is conducted, allowing for adjustments and corrections.

"We've started using the agile methodology for SAP project management. SAP is the company's primary management system. Previously, we worked with traditional project management, which involved long deadlines for delivering improvements, and all requirements were met by the end of the project.

We then began to manage demands agilely, dividing improvements into shorter timeframes, with shorter delivery cycles and greater interaction between project stakeholders, thus being proactive in problem-solving. We don't wait until the project's final deadline to determine whether it will work.

With closer monitoring of deliveries, we've been able to reduce the risk of delays and now have faster deliveries," explains the manager.

Beyond the IT sector

Other sectors can also use agile methodology to improve results. According to Sérgio Borges, integrated planning manager at Grupo Aço Cearense, the methodology has been used in projects such as S&OP (Integrated Sales and Operations Planning).

The entire project scope was divided into stages, called "Sprints." This way, instead of building the entire process and implementing all the stages at once, we first structured and implemented it piecemeal.

This enabled several benefits, such as a clear definition of the priorities of the areas involved and a focus on the activities of each stage, identifying points that need correction throughout the project. This allowed us to have a clear and advance vision of what could impact future stages,” explained Sérgio.