There is a prediction that by 2017, 33% of Fortune 100 companies will experience information crises due to lack of adequate testing measures. To prevent this, the robust testing approach must be used. Developing a well-planned data warehousing, testing process will help in minimizing such risks. And while moving to agile, we can do more testing in comparison to traditional projects. The testing being done during development in parallel aids to agile development, because development and testing can be completed in a single sprint. The roadmap for building agile data warehouse will consist of following steps-

·         Build business conceptual model

·         Grass roots Data governance

·         High-level architecture with repeatable design patterns

·         Strong testing tools

·         Robust data quality program

·          Self-managing teams.

Read the full article here http://www.cio.com/article/3012097/data-warehousing/take-testing-seriously.html

Agile practices can help companies navigate in this dynamic global economic environment. However, only a few companies are adopting these practices to improve their supply-chain performance and their results show the benefits that they achieve from them.

According to a research conducted by McKinsey of over 250 global companies, across 5 industries, Companies with more agile supply-chain practices had service levels that were seven percentage points higher and inventory levels that were 23 days lower than their less agile peers did.  Those companies did well in areas such as demand forecasting, labor flexibility, and the optimal placement of inventory across distribution networks also.

An example of application of these agile practices is Amazon, which adjusts prices and inventory levels in real time in response to competitors’ moves, among other things.

To get more insights in this subject, read the following article by Raoul Dubeauclard, Kerstin Kubik, and Venu Nagali at mckinsey.com:

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/operations/how_agile_is_your_supply_chain