Supporting an Agile delivery model requires staffing changes

The piece argues that many failures in government Agile projects don’t stem from the methodology itself but from expecting vendors to carry out Agile without proper internal support.

It describes two essential in-house positions: a product owner who deeply understands the agency and can rapidly make decisions, and a technical lead who ensures code quality and vendor oversight. It also shares lessons from practice about elevating existing staff into these roles, hiring new people when needed, and ensuring that these roles are empowered rather than being appendages with “other duties.”