The Road to AGILE GOVERNMENT: Driving Change to Achieve Success

Agile delivery approaches support government goals of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness by improving agency capacity to manage their budgets and delivery dates.

In this report, Ed DeSeve draws on lessons from agile software development to expand the scope of these lessons across other key government functions and mission areas. The report describes the role of the Agile Government Center (AGC), a new initiative through the Academy, in promoting agile practices across agencies. The AGC has gained significant momentum by bringing key government, industry, academic, and nonprofit stakeholder groups into a broad coalition—the Agile Government Network—which has developed a set of agile principles to drive government improvement. The Network has also developed case studies of agile government in action for use by government leaders at all levels. The report discusses how application of these principles can improve outcomes and build public trust in government, and offers several recommendations for leaders going forward.

The IBM Center has had a longstanding focus on how agile techniques can help improve government—prior studies on this topic include A Guide to Critical Success Factors in Agile Delivery, Agile Problem Solving in Government: A Case Study of The Opportunity Project, and Transforming How Government Operates: Four Methods of Change. In addition, the Academy will soon release a study that examines agile government in greater depth, supported by the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust and the Project Management Institute.

We hope that this report helps government leaders, academic experts, and other stakeholders infuse agile thinking throughout government agencies, leading to better outcomes and improved trust in government.

Read the article, "IBM Center, NAPA Release Report on Agile Government Principles; G. Edward DeSeve Quoted" in ExecutiveBiz.