Case Study: How Appsilon’s Delivery Managers Transformed Elkem’s Development Process

Elkem, a global materials company, initially had a small development team, and much of their codebase was maintained by a single developer. This dependency on one person created challenges in ensuring long-term stability and best practices. 

See how Elkem transformed their follow-up processes with data analytics. Read how the "elkemVerse" suite brought consistency and speed to their data workflows.

Without a structured development process, scalability became difficult, and inefficiencies and technical debt accumulated. Elkem needed a solution that would allow them to transition to a more systematic and scalable development framework. That’s when they turned to Appsilon for guidance.

The Challenge

Their team lacked structured development processes, which led to inefficiencies and technical debt piling up. The absence of Agile methodologies made it difficult to track progress, prioritize tasks effectively, or ensure code quality over time. Additionally, there was initial skepticism about Agile practices, as some team members feared it would introduce unnecessary overhead rather than improve efficiency.

The Solution

Appsilon’s Delivery Manager introduced a structured Agile-based development process that provided a scalable framework while ensuring continuity and efficiency. By concentrating on customer needs and eliminating activities that did not add value, the Delivery Manager helped transition the team into a lean and organized workflow.  

To facilitate this transition, the Delivery Manager took on many Scrum Master responsibilities and structured the client’s projects using Azure DevOps. A comprehensive reporting system was introduced, creating detailed delivery plans and an interactive dashboard. This dashboard provided a visual representation of the number of artifacts delivered each month and within specific iterations, highlighting different types of contributions, such as new functionalities, bug fixes, and documentation enhancements.

Great software needs great documentation. Discover how we ensure your team can thrive even after project handoff.

Additionally, the Delivery Manager helped implement industry best practices to ensure software development was systematic and consistent. These included:

• Definition of Done: Establishing clear criteria for when a task is considered fully complete, ensuring compliance with high-quality standards.
• Change control: Implementing a documented process to track software changes, ensuring that modifications are reviewed, tested, and approved systematically.
• Dependency management: Managing libraries, packages, and the development environment to ensure long-term software maintainability, preventing issues when running the software in different setups, even years after release.

Alongside these best practices, the Delivery Manager introduced Agile processes, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives. Task management became more structured through a clear backlog with epics and issue templates, improving workload visibility. Stakeholders could track development progress in real time, differentiating between feature development, maintenance tasks, and bug resolution.

Beyond process improvements, the Delivery Manager also acted as a key point of coordination between Elkem and Appsilon, ensuring the right competence was brought into the team at the right time. Sitting inside the team, they maintained a close overview of evolving needs and proactively addressed resource gaps, including areas like UI/UX design. This hands-on involvement helped build a more balanced and future-ready development setup.

Shifting Perceptions of Agile and Scrum

The company’s product owner was initially skeptical about Agile methodologies, viewing them as overly formal and restrictive. He was concerned that strict workflows might limit the company’s user-centric approach. However, after working closely with our Delivery Manager, he recognized the benefits of a structured framework:

• Agile workflows improved efficiency without compromising flexibility.
• Transparency increased through better visibility into ongoing tasks and priorities.
• Development cycles became more predictable, with clearer deliverables at the end of each sprint.

‍

By the end of the collaboration, the client’s IT team not only adopted these Agile principles but also requested further assistance in applying them to other projects. The long-term impact of having a Delivery Manager became evident, proving that structured processes, when implemented effectively, enhance both efficiency and innovation.

You can learn more about our collaboration with Elkem and the introduction of the “elkemVerse” in our case study -  Refining Elkem's Follow-Up Processes with Advanced Data Analytics

Why Delivery Managers Matter

Delivery Managers ensure that development stays focused, efficient, and free of unnecessary roadblocks. They bridge gaps between teams, manage priorities, and ensure smooth communication between technical and business stakeholders.

Their role is to:

• Deliver real business value by aligning development with goals.
• Ensure teams stay efficient and focused on high-impact work.
• Prevent unnecessary costs and delays.
• Facilitate communication between business and technical teams.

Our work with Elkem is a real-world example of how having a Delivery Manager can improve a company’s development process, leading to increased efficiency, better communication, and higher project success rates.

Need Help Scaling Your Projects?

If your organization is struggling with:

• Scaling development teams
• Managing technical debt
• Improving project visibility

… Appsilon’s Delivery Managers are here to help. Let’s talk about how we can support your next software initiative and ensure it drives real business outcomes.

What do delivery managers do and how do they drive project success? Learn more in this blog post about the value of delivery managers.