The secret ingredient powering the Agile Teams of Praxis.nl

Welcome to Praxis.nl's transformative journey, part of the Maxeda DIY group. From 2018 to 2021, Praxis.nl embarked on an Agile and Cloud transformation, reshaping online digital operations. Maxeda DIY Group is a large regional DIY chain spanning the Benelux area (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) and has two highly recognisable brands: Brico for Belgium and Praxis for The Netherlands. This journey was marked by two pivotal phases, each spanning two years, resulting in a profound metamorphosis that improved Praxis.nl's digital infrastructure and operational power.

In the initial phase, Praxis.nl transitioned from a traditional server-based infrastructure to a dynamic cloud-based containerized architecture. This shift empowered Praxis.nl to scale exponentially, particularly during peak demand periods such as the bustling Easter season or sweltering days when customers flock for essential ACs, fans, and garden accessories. Concurrently, Praxis.nl revitalized its Agile processes, fortifying teams with the requisite skills, autonomy, and cohesion to navigate the evolving digital landscape with dexterity and efficiency.

In April 2019, Arjan Franzen (Maxeda DIY’s Development Lead) was invited to speak at Trajectory's yearly conference. The Trajectory Conference is designed for software development professionals focusing on feature management, continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD), DevOps, and software engineering best practices.

The next and final phase is towards high-performing Agile Teams, characterized by introducing DevOps principles and cultivating a culture based on the mantra of 'you build it, you run it.' With DevOps seamlessly integrated into daily operations, Praxis.nl elevated autonomy and performance to unprecedented heights by embracing Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) practices and Service Level Objectives (SLOs) with Error Budgets. This strategic amalgamation, augmented by Sprint Insights, enabled teams to pace their efforts sustainably, striking a harmonious balance between feature development, maintenance, and refactoring initiatives.

At the heart of Praxis.nl 's transformative journey lay Agile Analytics, an innovative framework that codified principles and reports pivotal to achieving strategic objectives. Agile Analytics served as the bedrock for informed decision-making, enabling Praxis.nl to navigate complexities with precision and agility, propelling the organisation towards unprecedented success.