Highlight
SDLC: Adoption of Dual Track Agile
A Tax.com product team followed Agile (Scrum) practices but struggled with delayed discovery, unclear roles, and inefficient delivery. The team included full-time employees and embedded contractors, including a Business Analyst (BA) from a consulting firm. As features piled up in the backlog without proper validation, rework increased, and confidence suffered.
The challenge
Despite Agile rituals, the team experienced:
- Role confusion
- Late discovery of needs, sometimes mid-sprint
- Loosely defined backlog items
- Missed design opportunities between product strategy and production
Goal
Under direction of the Tax.com Head of Product, I was charged with helping to define an updated SDLC process and lead adoption by one product team. The goal was to boost process maturity and delivery effectiveness by adopting Dual Track Agile, separating discovery (problem validation) from delivery (solution execution).
The approach
Assessment & Buy-In: Retrospectives and workshops identified pain points and introduced Dual Track Agile.
Pilot & Realignment: The model was piloted on the team, redefining roles:
- The Consulting BA became Delivery Track Lead while consulting on early-stage research.
- Discovery and Delivery teams operated in parallel while informing, consulting, and coordinating.
Process Clarity: A RACI matrix clarified who was responsible, accountable, consulted, or informed across tasks—from identifying user needs to testing deliverables.
Challenges & Solutions
Hybrid Team Tension: Contractor BAs were caught between external KPIs and internal goals. A shared goal charter helped align priorities.
Cultural Resistance: Discovery was seen as “extra meetings.” Limiting participants and sharing findings visually helped gain buy-in.
Process Confusion: Items moved prematurely into development. Separating discovery outputs into dedicated tools helped streamline planning.
Time Zone Gaps: Asynchronous communication (videos, docs) bridge the gap between globally distributed teams.
Early Results
Metrics were tracked but are pending publication. Preliminary feedback shows:
- Defined collaboration through clearer roles
- Greater clarity of objectives
- Improved communication
- Reducing rework and improving developer satisfaction
- More feature validation ahead of production
Conclusion
Switching to Dual Track Agile helped the team address big-picture considerations for features more efficiently by employing best practices. Success hinged on clarifying ownership (via RACI), aligning goals across roles, and balancing discovery with delivery. Best practices include clear problem framing, in-time handoff to Delivery, critical prioritization, and fostering a culture of experimentation and learning. Discovery focuses on continuously exploring user needs, validating ideas early with lightweight methods, and involving cross-functional teams to ensure alignment and feasibility.