In the last year, Uprise has undergone some big changes. And, we're really proud about the accomplishments, changes, and improvements we have made, especially when it comes to the way we are taking on software development. We've completely taken on the agile method for software development. Agile might be a totally new term to you, and we're here to explain what it is and why, as an OD, you'll want to know about it.

Agile EHR Software Development 101

What is agile development?

To break it down quickly, agile development is a style of project management for software development. There are a few key characteristics that make up this type of project management style. The development process works in tight circles to make specific updates to the software, and after an update is made the team regroups and decides on plans for the next quick cycle update. Feedback from users helps the team prioritize features that should go into an update. The flexibility of agile development allows feedback to update and modify the plan for each update to meet the most urgent and important needs of the user. This means that you have a say in what goes into the software, and you end up with a solution that's truly designed to fit your needs.

Traditional software development methods are attacked by having a big software blueprint up front, and once that is complete no more changes are made to the software until the next "big update" is planned which usually takes a lot longer to develop and implement across users.

Why should an OD care about the agile method?

If you're using practice management and EHR software in your practice, you should care about agile development. Using a software that is developed in this way is going to result in a product that is constantly being updated, in bit sized chunks, so you don't have to wait for a big major update, and then learn a whole new software overnight. Plus, the updates made with the agile method are driven by feedback from actual users. So in the end, you're getting the most modern software, that is developed with help from you and other users of the software.

How has it helped improve Uprise?

We've implemented the agile method into our development so we can give our users a voice in their software, and be able to act quickly on the most important updates that need to be made. In order to make the best improvements on out software in 2015 we:

• Travelled over 49,000 miles for customer research
• Pushed 9 major releases, plus smaller hot fixes in between the big pushes to address the most urgent requests
• Developed over 200 new features based on customer feedback
• Created 55 new pieces of training materials for our users

While we are proud of what we have accomplished in 2015, we are even more excited about what is in store for our future. We're 100% committed to making our solution the best it can possibly be for our users, and we welcome you to join us on this journey.

Want to see how Uprise has changed? Schedule a demo today!