Process Evolution and Product Maturity: From Prototype to Product

Processes cannot just be judged as "good" or "efficient"-they must be appropriate for the type of project. As the type of a project changes over time, the processes must adjust in order to stay efficient and appropriate. We accompanied the transformation of a large and fast-growing project, using agile development methods and cloud-native technologies, from the very first steps of a prototype to the development of a customer-ready product. This experience report shows patterns we found on the way. It argues that systematic process evolution can be done without documentation overhead or relying on questionable process KPIs. We only used information which is available anyway; this includes our archive of sprint retro boards which allows to create a clear picture of the project's evolution, regarding both the process and the product quality.