Policy and Practice August 2016

AGILE/MODULARITY METHODOLOGY

Traditional system development methodologies, like Waterfall, cannot keep pace with rapid advances in technology

and changing business requirements and program priorities. While the movement to agile and modular systems to

quickly deliver value has been growing in the HHS community for some time, recent federal mandates for modular

implementations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Administration on Children, Youth,

and Families (ACYF) have set in motion an irreversible movement away from lengthy waterfall implementations toward

a more agile, modular approach to new HHS system development and modernization. Make no mistake; this is a seismic

event for state HHS IT and program management. The traditional technical and program organizational infrastructure and

the culture of managing and overseeing HHS IT initiatives are built on an expectation of waterfall processes, plans, and

deliverables that are typically not created or needed on an agile project.

The shift to agile and modular implementations is not limited to system development and rollout. How do agencies procure

for these projects? Terms like agile and modular procurements have entered the HHS lexicon without clear definition

across or even within a state. Many state requests for proposal for agile software development still include deliverables

and payment points that are waterfall dependent, which inadvertently creates an unstable environment before the project

begins.

ISM2016 has several sessions addressing the many facets and challenges of moving from a waterfall to an agile/

modular world. A good place to start is to understand what IT governance needs to be in place to support agile/modular

methodologies from the project charter (planning, procurement, development and implementation, maintenance and

operations). Your agency may have a strong IT governance structure and process in place but is it suitable for agile/

modular projects? Several states that have adapted their IT governance to agile will share their challenges, outcomes, and

lessons learned.

There is a lot of buzz in the HHS community about GSA’s 18F. An office inside the General Services Administration, 18F

helps other federal, and now state, agencies build, buy, and share efficient and easy-to-use digital services. They are

proponents of modular procurements and agile development. California has brought 18F and others on board and is

moving forward with a modular and agile approach to delivering their Comprehensive Child Welfare Information Systems.

Come to ISM2016 and hear how California is leveraging 18F to replace a year-long procurement for a monolithic system

and deliver working software in a matter of weeks.

While the movement to agile is gaining momentum and federal backing, your IT portfolio includes massive investments in

legacy systems supported by a workforce and management that are rooted in waterfall methodologies for maintenance

and operations as well as enhancements. Today’s IT organizations require a workforce that can accommodate both

waterfall and agile processes. Having both teams work concurrently and, it is hoped, collaboratively within an organization

requires planning and understanding the different skills and motivators required to ensure that both agile and waterfall

teams are productive.

The advent of agile and modular methodologies requires HHS agencies and the private sector to rethink the role of a

System Integrator (SI). Is an SI still needed? Can an SI also be the developer of one or more modules? How and when

should an agency procure for an SI? ISM2016 provides a forum for states and the private sector to address these, and other

questions about how and if an SI can provide value in an agile world.