Have Your Cake and Eat It Too – How Agile software development projects stay on government budgets and schedules.
Created from interview excerpts with:
Brandi Jacobs - Project Manager, Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
Teri Larson - Scrum Master/Product Owner, A-CSM, A-CSPO
Tara Solensky, CSPO, CSP-SM, ACS-CF - Senior Scrum Master/Product Owner
Travis Zander - Scrum Master & Quality Assurance, A-CSM
Imagine you are planning an important event that involves a classic and favorite dessert, a cake. Every element, from understanding your budget, organizing your bakers, prepping the ingredients, to baking and decorating, contributes to the final product, which in the case of Three Wire Systems, is our agile experience. Just as baking requires precision, creativity, and a touch of innovation, the world of agile program management relies on that same blend of expertise, communication, and imagination.
In this blog, our subject matter experts explore how agile, like a cake, is both an art and a science. We’ll delve into the various "ingredients" that make up the process—from budget, to timelines, to people and processes—and how they come together to create something that leaves an impact.
Agile in a World of Finite Budgets and Schedules: Icing on the Cake.
Agile software development is often seen as the domain of tech giants like Google and Amazon—companies with seemingly infinite budgets and resources. But what happens when agile needs to work within the rigid constraints of government agencies, where budgets and delivery schedules are finite? Is agile compatible with these environments? The answer is yes.
Agile development is designed to be flexible and adaptable, emphasizing collaboration with clients and stakeholders. It enables continuous delivery of small iterations, allowing for early feedback and quick adjustments. While this approach can seem at odds with fixed budgets and deadlines, it's well-suited for environments where client needs may change over time.
In government projects, where budgets are typically pre-approved and timelines are strict, the key to successful agile implementation is clear communication and prioritization. Agile teams work with clients to determine the most critical features and deliver them incrementally.
Back to our cake analogy, even though the client may not have thought through icing color at the first meeting, it is just one of many opportunities to make changes along the way. Our iterative approach ensures that stakeholders can make informed decisions throughout the project, allowing them to balance budget and schedule needs against evolving priorities.
Defining Agile Artifacts Within a Fixed Framework – Baking on the fly!
Government projects often rely on traditional project management artifacts, such as Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) and detailed schedules. How does agile fit into this framework, where details are typically defined upfront? Agile teams start with a discovery phase, often referred to as "sprint 0" or a "spike," to identify high-risk areas and establish a general roadmap. This roadmap let’s our bakers (engineers) know that they are working on a cake for big party and not a small get together. This process provides enough structure to create an initial schedule, while maintaining the flexibility to adapt as the project progresses. Agile's focus on backlog refinement and regular touchpoints with clients ensures that the project stays aligned with government expectations. By developing features and collecting and collecting feedback, agile teams can adjust priorities before development starts, reducing the risk of wasted effort and unexpected scope changes.
For example, if the client were asking for a certain type of icing and a found out halfway through that a person has an allergy, our team can pivot and grab the store-bought icing on the shelf to accommodate that request, Which in the agile software development world might be a plug-in for an application to make a request fit the time and scope.
Controlling Budget and Schedule in Agile Projects – Prep your Ingredients.
Agile has a reputation for allowing scope creep, which can lead to budget overruns and schedule delays. However, this can be mitigated through short, cyclical iterations and frequent client collaboration. By breaking the project into smaller milestones, agile teams can identify and address potential issues early, preventing them from escalating into major problems. By providing constant education back and forth between the client and the agile team, we stop problems from becoming unmanageable.
Often a client may not see as much progress on the front end as to what is going on in the back end, but like any good cake, you must prep your ingredients first to set yourself up for success. By trusting the process and the team you will have the result you need in the time and budget that you want.
Open communication between the agile team, project managers, and government stakeholders is crucial. Regular discussions about priorities and the impact of changes on the schedule provide clients with the information they need to make informed decisions. This collaborative approach helps ensure that additional scope does not derail the project.
Addressing Government Concerns About Agile – Wedding Cake vs. Sheet Cake.
Government proposal evaluators might be wary of agile because of its perceived risks of cost overruns. To address these concerns, agile teams focus on delivering a minimal viable product (MVP) early in the project. This approach demonstrates that the team can deliver functional software within budget and schedule constraints. Once the MVP is established, additional features can be added incrementally as time and resources permit.
Traditional waterfall or other methods may leave the client in a tough situation if they do not like the result and the budget has been spent, or they may have to spend double to fix a situation that they did not have oversight on as it was being built. You wouldn’t want to end up with a sheet cake when you need a red velvet 4-layer wedding cake.
Agile teams engage stakeholders from the start, ensuring that government officials understand the process and are comfortable with the iterative approach. By emphasizing frequent deliverables and regular feedback, agile teams can build trust and demonstrate the tangible benefits of the methodology.
The Role of Estimation and Collaboration - Multi-layered Cake Construction.
Task estimation plays a significant role in determining budget and schedule. Accurate estimates allow project managers to align agile work with government timelines, providing a realistic view of the project's progress. Additionally, high estimates can indicate potential risks, allowing teams to address them early in the project lifecycle.
The team must take the time to consider external factors. If you have a multi-layered cake you may have to wait until it cools to add in the layers of icing to hold it together. Similarly, there may be a flag or a task that is complicated by an external factor such as a long IT queue.
The client’s priority is our priority, so task estimation support transparency on the project.
Collaboration with government project managers, Contracting Officer's Technical Representatives (COTRs), Contracting Officer's Representatives (CORs), and Contracting Officers (KOs) is vital to the success of an agile project. These stakeholders play a crucial role in setting priorities and providing feedback, ensuring that the project stays on track. These leadership individuals also give access to the end-user which is critical to agile success. The team must know how the application is functioning from the people that use it and buy-in from the leadership makes that communication pathway possible.
Risks and Mitigations in Government Agile Projects – Building Trust in the Process.
One of the most significant risks in government agile projects is the lack of understanding or participation from clients. When stakeholders do not engage in feature reviews, requirements gathering, or demonstrations, it can lead to misalignment and missed opportunities for improvement. To mitigate this risk, agile teams must emphasize the importance of active collaboration and create an environment where stakeholders feel comfortable providing feedback.
Another risk arises when unexpected requirements are treated as urgent, leading to constant scope changes. Agile teams can address this by discussing new requirements with stakeholders, comparing them to existing priorities, and determining whether they need to be addressed immediately or can wait for the next iteration.
Trust is the main key to mitigating risks. By building consistency, with flexibility, our team build good faith with the client. Not every change can be done the second it is given to the team, but it will be done within the next 2 weeks. It can be new for a client to be a part of the agile process, making them the decision maker in all aspects of the project. However, there are no surprises for them, and it can empower the client and the team to be successful. Everyone wins together.
What Government Officials Should Understand About Agile – Have your Cake and eat it too!
Agile can be intimidating for government officials unfamiliar with the methodology. However, when properly implemented, it can be a powerful tool for managing complex projects. Agile provides frequent deliverables, encourages client feedback, and allows for real-time adjustments to meet evolving needs—all while maintaining control over budget and schedule.
Agile's adaptability and focus on collaboration make it a suitable choice for government projects with finite resources and rigid deadlines. By embracing these principles and working closely with agile teams, government officials can achieve successful outcomes that meet current and future needs without compromising on quality or efficiency.
The process of agile is akin to baking a cake. It requires careful planning, flexibility, a balance of the right instructions, and a focus on creating something valuable. By approaching your next project with this perspective, we will build systems and solutions that are not only effective but also delightful to experience. So let's continue to mix, blend, and innovate, crafting the technological cakes that will shape the future.