In agile software development, iteration is reserved for a specific time for development. Typical iterations last 1-2 weeks; however, some iterations may be as long as four weeks. Most agile development teams agree on the length of their iterations and continue to operate on an iterative basis. As the business model evolves from the present to the future, the Company must update its canvas to reflect this evolution. There are many ways to keep its canvas moving forward and keep each iteration for later review. Before the product manager iterates an idea, he needs to build his first canvas. This canvas can be a business model of the Company’s current state or an iteration of a new direction it is exploring. Before going too far, this is an excellent time to make sure the product manager and his team have a straightforward naming convention for their canvases.
Copy Company Canvas
Once Company’s first canvas is complete, it should make a copy immediately before making any modifications. This Copy will serve as a container for any modifications Company make during the first validation step. The product manager typically recommends that teams create a copy every week to track their progress.
To copy the company canvas, click the canvas operator gear on the canvas to select Copy. It takes the manager to the Copy Canvas option, where he can select the name of the new canvas. And whether he wants to copy the comments and comments the product manager added.
Copying the canvas will also copy any value proposition and financial assessment the product manager may have. As well as the significant business model canvas.
Schedule and Resources
The canvas is designed to be used repeatedly. Each time a company applies the canvas; a new business model map is created. It can be applied in many diverse areas.
- As part of a broader analysis of market systems, a team can create a canvas of business models for selected market participants to compare similarities and differences. It can spur innovations that can be rolled out to other similar companies.
- In order to help businesses consider alternative ways of doing things, perhaps to address how to be more inclusive, facilitators can work with businesses to brainstorm potential business models for the future. It can help clarify the trade-offs and strategies that businesses need to pursue.
- In order to track changes in a particular enterprise over time, the project team may update the canvas of a particular market actor periodically (every three or six months, if the change is rapid). It can help the project to monitor the impact of strategies used to engage with the business.
Next Steps
Now, the product manager is working on a copy of his starting point, and the product team is free to modify the building blocks and the stickers. Adding comments to the company canvas to describe what is changed from the last time is helpful, as is the changelog. Then, when the Company looks at its canvas, it better remembers the state of the canvas and what changes it made to get there.
Closing Lines
The expected results of using iteration canvas depend significantly on how it is used. When it is explicitly used as a tool for communication and strategic planning with partner enterprises, business owners are expected to have a new understanding of their operations. Depending on the facilitator’s skill, such reflection can be channeled into new ideas and strategies, reaching specific marginalized groups through new customer relationships and channels, or investing in internal human resources to improve quality and service orientation.