Helping Government Realize the Agile Advantage
Created December 2017
“Software is military capability and strategic advantage,” Eileen Wrubel (technical lead of the SEI’s Agile in Government Team) is fond of saying. “In an ever-changing world, our operators must be able to access trusted new capabilities faster than ever before.”
The Big Question: Can Government Succeed with a New Strategy?
In 2009, when our Agile in Government team first began exploring the technical feasibility of applying Agile software development approaches within DoD acquisition programs, it was by no means clear it would be successful. Agile would have to be applied in a complex legal, regulatory, and policy framework of federal rules and procedures.
The biggest hurdles facing government organizations applying Agile include learning and using new terminology, applying unfamiliar processes and procedures, and establishing collaborative acquisition cultures.
Growing Collaborations
Since 2016, we have expanded our Agile-related activities by collaborating with our Secure DevOps experts to apply Agile, Lean, and DevOps principles in innovative ways across the acquisition lifecycle in every branch of the DoD and the intelligence community.
The team continues to deploy a growing series of webinars, podcasts, and publications that help practitioners across the DoD transform their acquisition programs with Agile approaches, including Suzanne Miller’s popular webinar, Practical Considerations in Adopting Agile/Lean in Government Settings. In the last two years, more than 1,500 DoD and government personnel have been trained via the team’s suite of instructional offerings.
By leveraging its ongoing relationships with the DoD acquisition community—as well as an extensive network of collaborators across academia, industry, federal civil agencies, and other FFRDCs—we have developed a wealth of resources to help the DoD and federal agencies make informed decisions about using Agile and lean approaches in achieving their goals for speed, adaptability, and efficiency.
Measured but Exciting Growth
Today, we help acquisition professionals in the DoD and federal agencies interact effectively with software engineering organizations using modern software development practices, design acquisition strategies, and effective engagements with stakeholders to adapt processes and practices. Many programs across the DoD and federal government are now realizing benefits from using these approaches, including early defect detection, cost avoidance, improved software quality, and improved communication among operational users, acquirers, and software developers about software and system requirements.
In July 2016, the SEI’s Will Hayes testified at the request of the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee to discuss the role that Agile approaches could play in the Social Security Administration’s modernization initiatives.
Learn More
Applying the Principles of Agile to Strengthen the Federal Cyber Workforce
October 27, 2022 Webcast
Josh Hammerstein
In this webcast, Josh Hammerstein discusses how to use principles and concepts from Agile development to help cyber workforce development initiatives remain...
watchSaying Why: Persona-Based Metrics With User Stories
August 29, 2022 Blog Post
Will Hayes, Patrick R. Place
This post discusses how to reframe metrics as user stories to improve their relevance and...
readAdapting Agile and DevSecOps to Improve Non-Software Development Teams
July 12, 2022 Webcast
Lyndsi A. Hughes, David Sweeney
In this webcast, Lyndsi Hughes and David Sweeney share their experiences applying Agile and DevSecOps practices in atypical...
watchPanel Session: Evolving Threat Modeling for Agility and Business Value with DevSecOps
December 16, 2021 Presentation
Hasan Yasar
This threat modeling panel session took place virtually at DevSecOps Days Washington D.C. 2021 on December 16, 2021....
watchAgile Strategic Planning: Concepts and Methods for Success
September 09, 2021 Podcast
Linda Parker Gates, Suzanne Miller
Linda Parker Gates, initiative lead, Software Acquisition Pathways, and Suzanne Miller, principal researcher in the SEI's Software Solutions Division, discuss the principles of Agile strategic planning and methods for success....
learn moreAgile Metrics: Assessing Progress to Plans
July 19, 2021 Blog Post
Will Hayes, Patrick R. Place, Keith Korzec
The role of metrics in a government program’s assessment of progress in an iterative, incremental delivery of a...
readAgile Virtual Schoolhouse
November 04, 2020 Presentation
Suzanne Miller, Will Hayes
This presentation provides a primer on a virtual training channel for Agile use in government...
watchAgile in Government: Go for Insight, Not Just Oversight
July 16, 2020 Webcast
Suzanne Miller
This webcast provided practical insights into how a Government Program Office can productively engage with a contractor using Agile and Lean methods....
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