PROJECT MANAGEMENT


Coalition of the willing and Agile


Pragmatic Agile is the critical success factor to make things really happen, says Allison Sangster


T


he world is changing rapidly due to the incredible pace of technological change.


Information Technology is now the fourth utility, embedded in our everyday lives, at home and the workplace.


The Internet has raised our expectations and removed limitations to accessing information anytime, anywhere.


Citizens and business now expect a range of robust, efficient, online services. The future of public services demands secure systems and software that works. Policy makers need to operate in an agile enterprise where change really happens.


Front line staff need and want to manage complex transactions freely and efficiently, with easy and secure access to accurate citizen data.


The Cabinet Office Efficiency and Reform Group have cut the budget to deliver it.


The Labour government spent around £17 billion last year on IT projects, some of which made the headlines as major failures, overshadowing the success stories.


The coalition government announced that it will cut £95 million from public sector IT spending this year placing even more pressure on projects to deliver value to the customer, on time, with less resource. With consultancy budgets now at ministerial sign off,


Jul/Aug 10


IT departments need to help themselves, fast.


Traditional waterfall methods traditionally fail. The traditional remedy is increased governance. We’ve had a change of government; it’s time for an Agile approach, an approach that is designed to deliver the right products, on time and to budget.


In traditional waterfall methods, complex and highly emotive subjects are documented, reviewed and approved by individuals, sequentially and in isolation from the end customer.


Up to 50% of the project lifecycle is spent documenting requirements which have changed by the delivery date.


In reality, requirements are elusive; rarely static which means that the project will fail to meet expectations.


Worse still, if a project is cancelled at mid-point, there will be no tangible working product but budget has been burned.


Agile delivery is iterative and released in increments. No, it’s not a mini-waterfall! Cross-functional teams of business analysts, developers and project stakeholders work collaboratively to understand the requirement, agree what good looks like and prioritise functionality.


Technical excellence is default, because that is the only level of quality you can afford. The


FOR MORE INFORMATION


Allison Sangster RADTAC Pragmatic Agile T: 0207 397 8340 E: allison.sangster@radtac.co.uk W: www.radtac.co.uk


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customer actively participates and prioritisation means that the highest value functionality is delivered first, reducing risk, waste and time to market.


Research shows 100% increase in productivity and 83% reduction in defects1


.


RADTAC has delivered successful Agile projects to the public and private sectors for over a decade.


The Office of Government Commerce acknowledges Agile as a sound methodology well aligned to PRINCE 2 and the Gateway Review Process.


The US Department of Defense leads the way in public sector Agile working.


The Home Office, HMRC, ODPM, DWP and the NHS have all benefited from Agile delivery. A recent RADTAC project delivered a dementia services pathway across the four PCTs in 30% of the usual time.


This is further proof that Agile also works in critical, non- technical environments.


If you are under pressure to deliver complex projects, call us for an informal discussion about how and why Agile can help.


Stop talking, deliver. Pragmatic Agile does.


1Gartner and the Cutter Consortium


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