In 2018, the notion of Agile Software Development has become the norm where we work. Here's a small sample of the guidance
- Update 2016: Considerations for Using Agile in DOD Acquisition
- Handbook for Implementing Agile in Department of Defense Information Technology Acquisition
- Agile Software Development
- Agile Software Teams: How to Engagement with Systems Engineering of DoD Acquisition Programs
- Defense Agile Acquisition Guide: Tailoring DoD IT Acquisition Structures and Processes to Rapidly Deliver Capabilities
- Adapting Agile Processes for Military Acquisition Programs
- Federal Aviation Administration Agile Acquisition Principles and Practices
- Escape the Waterfall: Agile for Aerospace
- An Industry Practice Guide for Agile on Earned Value Management Programs
- Leading SAFe / Agile in Government for Executives: Overview
Now in this domain, there are governance processes in play
- Federal Acquisition Regulations - The FAR site contains each agency take on the FAR as well. This site has been accessed 2,300,509,644. So when you hear that federal acquisition is a narrow field from some agile thought leaders, thinks again. The 2017 IT budget for the Federal Government was $95,688,000,000. The feds are the largest consumer of ERP and general software development services on the planet
- Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement
- Systems and Software Engineering Guidance - ISO 12207 - provides processes that can be employed for defining, controlling, and improving software life cycle processes within an organization or a project. Agile is mapped onto ISO 12207
- Systems Engineering Guidance ISO 12588 - since all software systems where we work are part of some larger system
With all these external guidance, each firm has it's software implementation processes as well. A small sample:
- Case Study: Agile Systems Engineering at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Integrated Fighter Group
- The Best of Both Worlds: Agile Development Meets Product Line Engineering at Lockheed Martin
- Agile for Armed Forces
- Raytheon used agile methods to aid USAF software upgrades
- Agile Development Methods for Space Operations
- Adopting Agile Ground Software Development
- Scrum To The Stars: Agile Innovation in Aerospace
What's the Point?
Agile development is applicable to ALL software development domains. The dreaded Waterfall process used by some agilest was debunked in 1978.
True Waterfall applies distinct stages to software development, in which each stage generally completes before the next starts, with a Stage-Gate between each phase. For example, requirements must be reviewed and approved.
Stage Gates are useful for things like cybersecurity approach, performance assessment before go-live, training of operations and support staff.
Susan Madsen's Blog speaks to Migrating to Agile from a Waterfall paradigm
All this has been sorted out on most the of the projects we work, so what's the Point
It's time to stop using the waterfall process as a strawman for bad project management. It's time to recognize that software-intensive system of systems domains have specific needs for managing.
