This article is written by Richard Pietro, Story Architect, Public Health Agency of Canada.

  • The problem: Traditional planning methods can make IT development more difficult than it needs to be.
  • Why it matters: Governments need to adapt in order to reduce development costs, accelerate execution and future-proof solutions.
  • The solution: Agile methodologies.

The Data Innovation Team at the Public Health Agency of Canada is taking on a monumental task: explaining to government officials the difference between a bridge and software.

That is a very tongue-in-cheek way of describing their work, but in many ways that is one of the major problems governments face every day. In more technical terms, the difficulty is about moving away from a waterfall approach to project management and adopting an agile approach. This problem is compounded by the fact that terms like ‘waterfall’ and ‘agile’ have become so trendy that the importance behind their meaning has been lost.

That is why the bridge analogy is so relatable.

Bridges take years to build and are designed not to change for 50+ years

Bridges are monoliths and some of them have even lasted centuries (way to go Romans and your arches!). All they need is regular maintenance and be strong enough to sustain the wrath of Mother Nature.

The resilience of bridges is due to a very simple reason: the process for building bridges has been tested through time, and governments are particularly good at having them built. In fact, I would argue governments are probably the best bridge-building planners out on the market right now.

It goes like this:

  • Spend years planning the development of a bridge
  • Spend years actually building the bridge
  • The bridge stands there for 50+ years

There’s just one problem. Software, mobile apps and information technology in general are not bridges.

And as the saying goes, “to a hammer, everything is a nail”. Or, in this case, “to government, everything is a bridge”.

Agile methods equip teams with the ability to change direction rapidly and provide them with the flexibility to adapt.

The process for building a bridge relies on a waterfall approach in project management. For those unfamiliar, Adobe defines the Waterfall Method like this:

“The Waterfall Methodology — also known as the Waterfall Model — is a sequential development process that flows like a waterfall through all phases of a project (analysis, design, development and testing, for example), with each phase completely wrapping up before the next phase begins.”

However, when it comes to software development, this method does not align. Parameters can change quickly, technologies evolve; new programming languages are created. Plus, there are the ever-present ‘political winds’ that can change a project’s scope in the blink of a news article.

In fact, it is hard to argue the scope of a bridge will ever change throughout its life cycle.

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While construction materials or funding may change, you will rarely find yourself in a random Tuesday afternoon meeting where people discuss whether a kiddie pool should be added to the side of a bridge or that the bridge should be changed to a ferry.

All to say, the Waterfall Method is rigid, just like a bridge should be.

When agility calls

The Agile Method, on the other hand, is designed to be nimble and is defined by Adobe as such (paraphrased):

“Agile project management is an incremental and non-linear approach to project management. It focuses on breaking down large projects into more manageable tasks, which are completed in short iterations throughout the project life cycle.”

Agile methods equip teams with the ability to change direction rapidly and provide them with the flexibility to adapt. They offer room for re-evaluation and adjustment in small, manageable increments, ensuring that – as the landscape evolves – the team's focus can also shift accordingly.

In part 2 we will go into details about how the data innovation team has been using the agile method to prototype a new public health risk detection system.

Done reading? Make sure to share your own thoughts about governments implementing the agile method by leaving a comment below⬇️

(Image credit: Unsplash)