In a bid to improve on its efficiency as well as service delivery to innovators, entrepreneurs as well as citizens, the US Federal Government has placed emphasis on investing in modern private sector technologies such as those used in Software Product Development methods. In 2013, Tony Scott who is the United States CIO said that there was no silver bullet for addressing challenges facing software technology companies however he urged all public sector organisations to make a shift from traditional procurement methods towards new procurement models which included open source, agile development methodologies among other things. But how does one go about this? How do you approach hiring a team or a software product development company?

Structure of the Modern Product Development Methodology

The modern product development methodology has become increasingly popular over the last decade. This is because it provides citizens, businesses and public sector organisations with the flexibility they need to align their strategies with business needs which are constantly changing. When you look at how this process works, there are various elements that can be used in combination to improve productivity levels across an organisation no matter its size or industry. There are numerous business process methodologies but not all of them provide businesses with what they need to succeed in today's competitive global market, however these are some of the most important elements that should be considered when initiating a modern product development methodology within your business or public sector organisation.

1. Adaptive planning and implementation

2. Early engagement of relevant stakeholders

3. Infrastructure support - people, processes and systems that enable a company to plan for future events or potential problems by ensuring they have the right resources, information and structure in place to help them adapt quickly when necessary

4. Integrated development process

5. Involvement from Business Analysts on all projects from start to finish

6. Pilot projects with early customer involvement where appropriate

7. Process Optimisation

8. Continuous Improvement efforts throughout the entire cycle of a project

9. A culture of learning

10. Rapid response to change

11. A reduction in the number of change requests as a result of improved communication and collaboration between all stakeholders

12. Improved business alignment, with projects being clearly connected to the company's strategy

13 . Shorter time from concept to market

14 . Reduced time from concept to cash

15 . Improvements in quality

16 . Better estimates for business cases

17 . Reduction in risk

18 . Improved ability to meet deadlines

19 . Meeting stakeholder needs

20 . Delivery of projects on-time so that companies can have access to the latest technology

21 . Ability to pass regulatory examinations

22 Fewer failed projects

23. More accurate cost estimates

24. Fewer project cancellations

25. Better project visibility

26. Improved ability to manage the business portfolio

About SPI Research

SPI Research is an independent market research company specializing in IT Service Management (ITSM) research based in the United Kingdom. SPI Research has no commercial affiliations and receives no sponsorship or support from any vendor, developer, reseller or other provider of products or services related to ITSM. The opinion data presented are the result of extensive interviews with IT professionals using ITSM tools worldwide who were asked to identify the top benefits they have experienced directly when using these tools.

SPI Research provides its reports and analysis to a wide variety of IT organizations - vendor, developer, operator and systems integrator – that require an objective assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of existing ITSM tools. SPI Research has amassed a large repository of data about the user experience with ITSM tools by tracking over 300 such products since 2003, during which time more than 1,000 users have been interviewed. For further information please visit www.spiresearch.com .

"ITSM best practice research is now being conducted by independent analysts to ensure unbiased recommendations," said Dr Paul Allen, Director of Reputation Management at SPI Research Ltd. "Our work aims to provide a level playing field for all service management vendors by conducting unbiased field research on how ITSM is actually being used by IT departments worldwide. This provides an ever increasing body of data with which vendors can develop best practices"

Grouped into six main themes, the research covers the requirements for systems management tools and looks at current trends in ITSM functionality, the experience of users working with them over time and companies' adoption patterns. The full reports are now available .

The report "How Service Management Tools are Being Used to Support Business Processes" was commissioned by BMC Software to provide ITIL practitioners with a better understanding of what ITSM tools are being used where and why.