Agile in Government; Presented at the Pacific Northwest Digital Government Conference 2013

1. AGILE IN
GOVERNMENT
Project Management and
Application Development

2. Joseph Flahiff
PMI-ACP
Content Support
Co-Lead
15 years Traditional and Agile
President of Whitewater Projects, Inc.
Author, Speaker, Coach, Consultant
joseph@whitewaterprojects.com
PMI
ACP

3. What’s in it
for me?
WIIFM

4. Speed to Delivery
Visible
Progress
Improved
Reporting
Incremental
Delivery
Fewer
Defects
Employee
Satisfaction
Value
Based
Delivery
Flexibility
Benefits
08

5. Speed to Delivery
Visible
Progress
Improved
Reporting
Incremental
Delivery
Fewer
Defects
Employee
Satisfaction
Value
Based
Delivery
Flexibility
Benefits

6. What is agile?
Agile is the ability to adapt to changes as fast or
faster than changes occur.
Adapt
or
DIE

7. A Broader
Definition
Change Cycle Change Cycle Change Cycle Change Cycle
Build Cycle Build Cycle Build Cycle Build CycleBuild Cycle Build Cycle

8. A Broader
Definition
Change Cycle Change Cycle Change Cycle Change Cycle
Build Cycle Build Cycle Build Cycle Build Cycle

9. Toyota Production System
1900-Today
First Control Chart
Shewhart :1924
Deming
PDCA/PDSA 1930s
Mercury Program
1950s
Rapid App. Dev
(RAD) 1970s
Theory Of Constraints
1984
Spiral Dev. 1986
The New;
New Product
Development Game
1986
Scrum at Easel
1992
9
Agile…100+ Years in the Making
Agile Manifesto
2001

10. We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value:
Individuals and interactions over
Over processes and tools
Working software over
Over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over
Over contract negotiation
Responding to change over
Over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on
the right, we value the items on the left more
Manifesto for Agile
Software Development

11. Lean
Agile > Scrum
Agile
scrum
XP Systems
ThinkingKanban
Six
Sigma

12. Traditional IT
Projects
Contract/
Charter
Requirements
Design
Build
Test
Deploy
Prod Support
12

13. Lean Process
Improvement
Sprint
Planning
SprintDemo
Retrospective Plan
DoCheck
(Study)
Act
13

14. A New
Approach
Iterative
Incremental
14

15. Iterative &
Incremental
Customer
I will know it
when I see it
Ok Let’s start with
this
Creator
I love it, Do
more.
What do you
think?

16. Adaptability
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Release Value

17. Project
Management

18. Product
Management

19. Project Product
Scope Fixed set of features
On-going
prioritized list of
features
Schedule
Start Date
End Date
Multiple Releases
Budget Allocated once Cyclical
Triple constraint

20. Industry
Adoption

21. Agile and the
Government
 Federal
 General Accounting
Office
 Dept. of Defense
 NASA
 Veterans Affairs
 FBI
 GSA
 Many more
 Washington State
 DOL
 DIS
 DNR
 DOT
 L&I
 ESD
 OCIO
 More…

22. Agile and the
Government
 Federal
 General Accounting
Office
 Dept. of Defense
 NASA
 Veterans Affairs
 FBI
 GSA
 Many more
 Washington State
 DOL
 DIS
 DNR
 DOT
 L&I
 ESD
 OCIO
 More…

23. Simple…in
Theory

24. Not as Easy
as it Looks

25. Simple Isn’t
Always Easy
Challenges
Specific to
Government

26. Adoption of
New Tools
Traditional
Artifacts
Contracting
Trust of
Iterative process
100% Staff
Allocation
Self
Direction
Collaboration
Status
Product Owners
Challenges
09

27. Adoption of
New Tools
Traditional
Artifacts
Contracting
Trust of
Iterative process
100% Staff
Allocation
Self
Direction
Collabor
ation
Status
Product Owners
Challenges
09

28. Keys to Success

29. Don’t Forget
The Business
Talk with your
Peers
Take a Test Drive
Becoming Agile
Requires Culture
Change
Success
Training +
Coaching +
Consulting +
Peer Mentors =
Success
Expect
Challenges
06

30. Don’t Forget
The Business
Talk with your
Peers
Take a Test Drive
Becoming Agile
Requires Culture
Change
Success
Training +
Coaching +
Consulting +
Peer Mentors =
Success
Expect
Challenges

31. Culture
reinforcement cycle
Thoughts
Feelings
ActionsResults
History

32. How can we
change it?
 Become aware of the current culture
 Decide what you want
 Then create new experiences that enforce
and reinforce the new culture
 Keep it small size, Keep it super simple
Current
Condition
Target
Condition

33. Questions
Before We
Close

34. Undeniable
Benefits
You will have
Challenges
Don’t be
SURPRISED
Culture Change
The Business
Do a test drive
Training + Coaching
Peer Groups
Expect Challenges
Culture Change
Summary
Adaptability +
Culture Change
What will you do?
?

35. Undeniable
Benefits
You will have
Challenges
Don’t be
SURPRISED
Culture Change
The Business
Do a test drive
Training + Coaching
Peer Groups
Expect Challenges
Culture Change
Summary
Ability to adapt as
fast as change
happens
What will you do?

36. Joseph Flahiff
PMI-ACP
Content Support
Co-Lead
15 years Traditional and Agile
President of Whitewater Projects, Inc.
Author, Speaker, Coach, Consultant
joseph@whitewaterprojects.com
PMI
ACP

37.  Contact info
 joseph@whitewaterprojects.com
 Articles on Agile by Joseph Flahiff
 www.whitewaterprojects.com/articles/
 Agile in Govt papers
 GAO - Effective Practices and Federal Challenges in
Applying Agile Methods
 DOD Strategic Guidance
 OMB 25 Point Plan to Reform Federal IT
 Other Reading
 The New, New Product Development Game
References and
Additional
Reading