Work with agility

One of the biggest influences on the way we work is the Manifesto for Agile Software Development, published in 2001:

We have come to value:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

The manifesto is only a few lines long but is important because it allows us to focus on doing what is most valuable, instead of just sticking to cost and delivery schedules. If we focus on problems and are agnostic about solutions, we can do the least work possible to meet the needs of our users, and optimise the value of our products and services. We often describe this as making promises to solve problems, not commitments to specific solutions or features.

The Waterfall model was based on taking a point-in-time snapshot of the information we know and using it to create a long-term plan that we would adhere to. The Agile insight was that we should change our notion of what features will create business value over time as more information becomes available […] Agile approaches added a time dimension where previously there was none.

The Art of Business Value by Mark Schwartz

Reading:

• The Manifesto for Agile Software Development
• Agile is Dead (Long Live Agility), Dave Thomas
• The Agile Manifesto for Public Services, Scott Colfer

Training:

• Digital and agile awareness course, GDS Academy: 1-day introductory course for anyone in government
• Digital and agile foundation course, GDS Academy: 10-day foundation course for government employees working in a multi-disciplinary team.