{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
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    "title" : "Bringing Agile Inside |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Bringing Agile Inside",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2016/02/25/bringing-agile-inside/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Bringing Agile Inside","summary" : "We hear a lot about agile software development being used in work with customers and end users. User stories are developed, coders and programmers turn them into prototypes, then testing is done to make sure the features work and do what is expected. But, agile is more than a way to develop software; it’s a","date" : "2016-02-25T13:00:58-04:00","date_modified" : "2024-04-02T09:45:13-04:00","authors" : {"ktrebon" : "Karen Trebon"},"topics" : {
        
            "content-strategy" : "Content Strategy",
            "governance" : "Governance",
            "innovation" : "Innovation",
            "research" : "Research"
            },"branch" : "cm-topics-button-component",
      "filename" :"2016-02-25-bringing-agile-inside.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2016/02/2016-02-25-bringing-agile-inside.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2016/02/2016-02-25-bringing-agile-inside.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2016/02/2016-02-25-bringing-agile-inside.md","slug" : "bringing-agile-inside","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2016/02/25/bringing-agile-inside/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eWe hear a lot about \u003ca href=\"https://pages.18f.gov/agile/\"\u003eagile software development\u003c/a\u003e being used in work with customers and end users. \u003ca href=\"https://pages.18f.gov/agile/3-steps.html\"\u003eUser stories\u003c/a\u003e are developed, coders and programmers turn them into prototypes, then \u003ca href=\"https://pages.18f.gov/agile/4-validate.html\"\u003etesting\u003c/a\u003e is done to make sure the features work and do what is expected. But, agile is more than a way to develop software; it’s a mindset that favors \u003ca href=\"https://pages.18f.gov/agile/6-iterate.html\"\u003eiteration\u003c/a\u003e over knowing everything up front. \u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/02/600-x-322-Loop-iteration-sprint-illustrated-as-street-arrow-Connel_Design-iStock-Thinkstock-530900547.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Loop iteration sprint illustrated as a street arrow.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo how can you have an agile mindset inside YOUR agency? At \u003ca href=\"http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/141613\"\u003eGSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies (OCSIT)\u003c/a\u003e, we have a process where employees “pitch” new ideas to a panel of judges for the chance to win funding and staffing.. It’s like the TV show Shark Tank — we call it The Great Pitch. Since \u003ca href=\"http://www.agilemanifesto.org/\"\u003eagile favors responding to change\u003c/a\u003e over following a plan, we gather ideas and award funding every MONTH, instead of just in step with the yearly budget process.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOCSIT and 18F employees serve as the subject matter expert judges. They evaluate the ideas, give feedback, and present a go/no go decision to the funding team for final approval. The project proposals are judged on:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIMPACT\u003c/strong\u003e: The potential impact of the proposed solution on citizen experience, open government, secure cloud or smarter IT delivery.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSCALABILITY\u003c/strong\u003e: The potential scalability of the proposed solution across government.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePROBLEM UNDERSTANDING\u003c/strong\u003e: The proposal’s understanding and explanation of the problem that needs to be solved.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCUSTOMER NEED\u003c/strong\u003e: The proposal’s understanding of the customers that the project serves. Ideas are scored and grouped into 3 topics:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMoving forward/being funded\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMore information is needed, or the project needs to be re-scoped, or\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe project will not move forward or be funded \u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/02/600-x-400-Sticks-note-paper-on-wall-xmee-iStock-Thinkstock-497284431.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Three rows of different colored paper sticky notes on a wall.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome of the ideas that move forward are given a portion of their requested funding for \u003ca href=\"https://pages.18f.gov/digital-team-playbook/about-18f-consulting-services/discovery-sprint/\"\u003ediscovery\u003c/a\u003e. In line with agile methodology, this allows a team to investigate the idea further for a short period of time (a \u003ca href=\"https://pages.18f.gov/agile/practices.html\"\u003esprint\u003c/a\u003e) before moving full steam ahead. This allows us to “fail fast” and not invest too much time and money in a product that is not needed. We average 10-12 ideas a month.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the projects funded through the Great Pitch process was the \u003ca href=\"https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/09/28/web-design-standards/\"\u003eU.S. Web Design Standards\u003c/a\u003e. The standards are set of user interface components and visual style guide to help create consistency across all U.S. federal government websites. \u003ca href=\"https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/09/15/federalist-platform-launch/\"\u003eFederalist\u003c/a\u003e, another result of the pitch process, is a suite of tools designed to make it faster and cheaper for government agencies to build websites that are secure, responsive, and accessible. And the network effects go on from there. Services like Federalist are adopted, and past proposals that didn’t get funded initially \u003ca href=\"https://18f.gsa.gov/2016/01/22/18f-writing-lab/\"\u003ehoned in on a business model\u003c/a\u003e and now have paying \u003ca href=\"https://18f.gsa.gov/consulting/\"\u003eclients\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt a recent event, I heard a USDA CIO say they have an Innovation Pool, similar to our Great Pitch process. \u003ca href=\"http://www.hhs.gov/idealab/\"\u003eHHS has an Idea Lab\u003c/a\u003e. So tell us, are you agile? Do you do something like this at your agency to engage employees and surface, fund and staff their ideas?\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}