![Government Agile Adoption is Increasing
“The Government intends to use agile in
information and communications
technology (ICT) procurement and delivery
to reduce the risk of project failure.
[Agile is not] solely a method for improving
software development. It is also a
technique for successful ICT-enabled
business change. “
United Kingdom National Audit Office
(NAO)
Scrum Alliance State of Scrum Report 2013
https://www.scrumalliance.org/why-scrum/state-of-scrum-report](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/agiletrendsingovernment081114-150826211524-lva1-app6892/75/Agile-Trends-in-Government-6-2048.jpg)
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Agile Trends in Government
The document discusses the adoption of agile methods within the government and public sector, highlighting its increasing mainstream acceptance driven by factors such as project failures and the demand for rapid adaptation. It outlines both the driving and restraining factors for agile implementation, with examples from various agencies and case studies illustrating successful transformations. The piece concludes with guidance for future agile adoption and the establishment of supportive frameworks to enhance agile practices in government operations.
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Agile Trends in Government
- 1. Agile Trends inGovernment Lean and agile method adoption and delivery in the public sector
- 2. Meet your Presenter ArlenBankston • Co-Founder of LitheSpeed, LLC • User experience & product development background • 15 years of Agile experience • Certified Scrum Trainer, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt • Entrepreneur, trainer and consultant 2
- 3. Agenda • A BriefTimeline • Driving Factors • Restraining Factors • Case Studies • What’s Next? 3
- 4.
- 5. Who’s Adopted Agile? Companieslarge & small, across industries. • AFBA • BLS • BMC Software • Boeing • British Telecom • Business Week • Capital One • CCP Games • CDC • Cognizant • CSC • DoD • DTE Energy • EMC • EPA • General Dynamics • Google • Halliburton • JP Morgan Chase • Key Bank • Kronos • Lockheed Martin • Macquarie Bank • Marriott • Microsoft • National Archives • National Geographic • Nationwide • OPower • Primavera • ProRail • Sapient • Shell • Siemens • Shopzilla • USAA • US Intelligence Agencies • US PTO • US Veterans Affairs • Yahoo! Agile is being used: • In large and small companies • Across virtually every industry • In public and private sectors • On life- and mission-critical projects • With collocated and distributed teams • In internal IT departments, commercial product companies and consultancies • On software and non-software projects Federal Government Drivers: • FCIO Vivek Kundra’s 25 point program • DoD CIO’s Agile Acquisition program • OMB Circular A-130 • FCIO Steve VanRoekel’s Digital Government Strategy • Todd Park’s Presidential Innovation Fellows Program Agile is Mainstream 5
- 6. Government Agile Adoptionis Increasing “The Government intends to use agile in information and communications technology (ICT) procurement and delivery to reduce the risk of project failure. [Agile is not] solely a method for improving software development. It is also a technique for successful ICT-enabled business change. “ United Kingdom National Audit Office (NAO) Scrum Alliance State of Scrum Report 2013 https://www.scrumalliance.org/why-scrum/state-of-scrum-report
- 7. The past decadehas seen a big rise in agile certifications. Leading certifications: • Scrum Alliance Certified ScrumMaster, Product Owner, Developer & Professional • PMI Agile Certified Practitioner • SAFe Program Consultant • Scrum.org • IC Agile Source: The Scrum Alliance Agile Certification Trends 7
- 8. Driving Factors for AgileAdoption in the Government
- 9. 5 Driving Factors 1.Large Failures & Consequences 2. Government Demand 3. Need for Rapid Adaptation 4. Commercial Success 5. Scaled Agile Approaches 9 “Agile & Lean are past the tipping point. Waterfall is in decline.” Gartner 12/09
- 10. Large Failures &Their Consequences Project Scope Results USAF Expeditionary Combat Support 7 years Canceled after $1.1b investment, no delivery USMC Global Combat Support System 10 years Ongoing, expected 1000% budget overrun 3,555 projects surveyed by Standish Group… Budget >= $10m 6.4% success rate Budget $750K to $3M – 19% chance of success Budget >$10M – 2% chance of success The Standish Group Big Bang Boom – The Standish Group 10
- 11. Government Demand “To meetcustomer requirements on schedule and within budget, we have built an integrated agile software design and development process… with modification to ensure safety for space operations.” - NASA Ames, JSC & JPL “How can we encourage IT professionals to keep up with contemporary best practices while still maintaining appropriate oversight for government purposes?” - Mark Schwartz, CIO United States Citizenship & Immigration Services 11
- 12. Need for RapidAdaptation Sec. 804. Implementation of New Acquisition Process for Information Technology Systems. …shall be designed to include— A. early and continual involvement of the user; B. multiple, rapidly executed increments or releases of capability; C. early, successive prototyping to support an evolutionary approach; and D. a modular, open-systems approach. 12
- 13. Commercial Success ofAgile Methods Thanks to VersionOne, 2013 State of Agile Development Survey 13
- 14. Observed Improvements fromAgile Methods Thanks to VersionOne, 2013 State of Agile Development Survey 14
- 15. Scaled Agile Approaches Detailedframeworks for scaling agile are growing in popularity due to their seeming ease of adoption. • Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) • Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) • Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS) 15
- 16. Restraining Factors for AgileAdoption in the Government
- 17. 5 Restraining Factors 1.Supply Unequal to Demand 2. Discomfort with Iteration 3. A Penchant for Big & Complex 4. Procurement Mismatches 5. Siloed Adoption 17
- 18. Agile Supply &Demand Many recent government RFPs have asked for agile expertise. However, while there is a growing body of certified professionals, a low percentage of these have deep lean and agile experience in complex project environments, given the relative novelty of the movement. 18
- 19. Discomfort with Iteration Arefixed, detailed plans the best way to address complexity? • NASA iterated to the moon • Empire State Building construction details driven by daily steel availability “An effective test is an exercise in humility; it’s only useful in a culture where desirability is not confused with likelihood.” - Clay Shirky http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2013/11/healthcare-gov-and-the-gulf-between-planning-and-reality/19
- 20. A Penchant forBig & Complex FBI Sentinel case management system • 2004: Canceled Virtual Case File initiative after $170m spent • 2006: $600m spent, nothing delivered • 2010: Half done and $100m over budget • 2012: Delivered via Scrum, came in under new$306m budget http://www.cio.com/article/2392970/agile-development/how-the-fbi-proves-agile-works-for-government-agencies.html 20
- 21. Procurement Mismatches • AScrumMaster alone does not make an Agile team • Clearances and degree requirements limit available agile talent • Engaging multiple vendors complicates delivery • Fixed price and scope, Lowest Bid Technically Acceptable RFPs 21
- 22. Siloed Adoption • Agileneeds engagement • Culture change drives agile adoptions • All parties must understand and play the game collaboratively • Contract vehicles must support collaborative behavior 22
- 23. GAO Report TopChallenges 1. Teams had difficulty collaborating closely. 2. Procurement practices may not support Agile projects. 3. Teams had difficulty transitioning to self-directed work. 4. Customers did not trust iterative solutions. 5. Staff had difficulty committing to more timely and frequent input. 6. Teams had difficulty managing iterative requirements. 7. Agencies had trouble committing staff. 8. Compliance reviews were difficult to execute within an iteration time frame. 9. Timely adoption of new tools was difficult. 10. Federal reporting practices do not align with Agile. 11. Technical environments were difficult to establish and maintain. 12. Traditional artifact reviews do not align with Agile. 13. Agile guidance was not clear. 14. Traditional status tracking does not align with Agile. 23
- 24.
- 25. A Space AgileImplementation Clear goals and practices: • Consistent 2 week Sprints • Testable builds available on demand (avg. lead time <4 hours) • All development activities are performed within the sprint • <20% Bugs Identified in Hardening Phase • Cross Functional Feature Teams • Average Story Size = 2 days • Definition of Done: Coded, Reviewed, Checked-in, Integrated, Tested, Meets Acceptance Criteria, No Bugs • Retrospectives Every 2 Weeks Thanks to ManTech, Steve Vanaria and Matt Vandergrift25
- 26. In Process To Do Statusof Process/ Practice Change Complete A Space Goals and Iterative Change Process 26 • Decompose Stories into Smaller Chunks • Do not allow stories >13 into Sprints • Reduce Sprints to 2 weeks • Never extend/shorten sprints • Plan sprints based on velocity • Prioritize sprint backlog after sprint demos Thanks to ManTech, Steve Vanaria and Matt Vandergrift26
- 27. A Space Results asmeasured by defects found in regression testing Higher Quality 134 40 Spring 2011 Release Current Release 70% reduction in defects 2.9 4.6 7.4 Fall 2010 Release Spring 2011 Release Current Release as measured by feature per month Faster Delivery 0.42 0.35 1.2 Fall 2010 Release Spring 2011 Release Current Release 240% increase in productivity as measured by feature per man month Higher Productivity 60% increase in speed Thanks to ManTech, Steve Vanaria and Matt Vandergrift27
- 28. USCIS Agile TransformationDriving Factors 1. Cost reduction 2. Risk reduction 3. Short cycle time 4. Improved quality 5. Improved security “Agile vs waterfall isn’t the point. We just need something that works.” Mark Schwartz, CIO, Citizenship & Immigration Services Thanks to Mark Schwartz, USCIS CIO28
- 29. USCIS Agile Transformations TheOld Way Big upfront requirements & design Success means following a plan Costly, heavyweight process Encouragements to game system Gantt Chart The New Way High transparency Focus on quality and cycle time Cumulative Flow Chart Aim for business value, not complianc Validate process, value, people, culture Thanks to Mark Schwartz, USCIS CIO29
- 30. USCIS PaP Program USCISOIT Processes and Practices (PaP) is facilitating enterprise agile adoption through support such as coaching and training. “We want to be a model of a high performing team for USCIS. Through situationally relevant approaches, we want to exemplify transparency, bring diverse viewpoints, and benefit from healthy conflict towards a common objective of sustainable agility to support USCIS mission needs.” 30 Josh Seikel, USCIS OIT
- 31. Todd Park &the Lean Startup Former federal CTO Todd Park applied Lean Startup and agile methods to rapidly deliver targeted solutions such as: • Healthcare.gov (no, not that one) • Innovation Pathway 2.0 • Open Data Initiatives 31
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- 33. Guidance from theOMB – The TechFAR “The TechFAR consists of a handbook, which discusses relevant FAR authorities and includes practice tips, sample language, and a compilation of FAR provisions that are relevant to Agile software development.” Digital Services Playbook https://github.com/WhiteHouse/playbook/blob/gh-pages/_includes/techfar-online.md http://playbook.cio.gov/33
- 34. 18F 18F is ahigh-performance, agile technology team under the GSA working to help various agencies create better digital solutions. It currently consists of: • Presidential Innovation Fellows Program • A digital delivery team https://18f.gsa.gov/34
- 35. A Peek Intothe Future… Underway: • Presidential Innovation Fellows program Brings audacious consultants to the White House for brief “tours of duty” • Embedding government workers with tech companies is the focus of another recent program Maybe later: • Allowing government agencies to evaluate and hire job candidates directly • A GSA department focused on big public websites35
- 36. Guidance from theGAO 1. Start with agile guidance and an agile adoption strategy 2. Enhance migration to agile concepts using agile terms and examples 3. Continuously improve agile adoption at project and organization levels 4. Look to identify and address impediments at the organization and project levels 5. Get stakeholder/customer feedback often 6. Empower small, cross-functional teams 7. Include requirements related to security and progress monitoring in your queue of unfinished work 8. Gain trust by showing value at the end of each iteration 9. Use tools and metrics to track progress 10. Track progress daily and openly 36
- 37. Guidance from theUK’s 1. Governance should mirror the philosophy of Agile methods – only do a task if it brings value to the business and does not introduce delays. 2. Agile delivery teams should decide on the empirical performance metrics they will use and self-monitor. 3. Senior management, external assessors, business users and the ICT team should be partners in quality, and this collaborative approach is an essential change in mindset. 4. External assessment or reviews of Agile delivery should focus on the teams’ behaviours and not just processes and documentation. http://www.nao.org.uk/report/governance-for-agile-delivery-4/ 37
- 38. Agile in GovernmentReferences • 25 Point Plan - Vivek Kundra • Contracting Guidance to Support Modular Development - OMB • Effective Practices and Federal Challenges in Applying Agile Methods – GAO • Obama’s Trauma Team - Time 38
- 39. Contact LitheSpeed forFurther Information Arlen Bankston [email protected] m www.lithespeed.com 39 How we can help: • Training – Agile Developer, Executive, Kanban, Coaching Agile Teams, and more! • Coaching – Process & engineering help • Government Consulting Create a robust agile delivery & support capability