Nearly a century of existence meant Farmers Insurance had developed a sizable business, but Farmers wasn’t keeping pace with the speed of change in our accelerated economy nor with consumer expectations toward digital experiences.
Farmers approached Carbon Five with a request: teach us how to deliver software like you.
We worked with Farmers’ leadership to author and implement a strategic shift from traditional to agile. In doing so, we tailored modern development practices typically applied at a smaller scale and translated them to enterprise.
To start, we needed a clear understanding of Farmers’ technology system and its underlying dependencies. From the whiteboard, we determined which components to tackle first and how to best teach other parts of the organization without disrupting the existing software pipeline.
We chose mobile unit as our starting point, because it operated with more independence from the insurer’s complex web of internal and external stakeholders. Next, we began to teach by working side-by-side, piecing together a symbols library for design, transitioning the team to Git, and introducing them to continuous integration and test-driven development.
Even though we’re in the initial stages of a wider shift, we’ve already seen dramatic improvements in Farmers’ software stride.
Farmers mobile unit is moving more quickly between new feature ideas and production release. And, as a bonus, we helped free up employees once tied up in unnecessary processes so they can now focus on what’s most important for business and Farmers’ future.