Agile at OPM
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The document discusses how the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) successfully used Agile methods to modernize its Federal retirement system. Previously, traditional approaches had failed to deliver an online retirement system. Using Agile, OPM shifted to focus on collaborating closely with subject matter experts to understand their needs. This allowed iterative delivery of a working data reporting solution. Challenges in applying Agile in the Federal government included issues with governance and earned value management metrics. However, OPM has continued expanding the use of Agile for additional projects.
Agile at OPM
- 1. Agile at the Office Of Personnel Management (A True Story)
- 2. Richard Cheng Agile trainer & coach Excella Agile Center of Excellence Lead Member of Scrum Alliance, Agile Alliance, Agile Leadership Network, PMI CST, CSM, CSPO, CSP, PMI-ACP, PMP Founder & executive committee member of Agile Defense Adoption Proponents Team (ADAPT), the Agile DoD Task Force Deep expertise in Federal, commercial, and non-profit Agile transformations
- 3. David Neumann Role @ DOL Accreditations
- 4. Objectives Demonstrate how Agile brought success to OPM’s Retirement Systems Modernization (RSM) data program Discuss challenges with Agile in the Federal government Interactive
- 5. History - Retirement System Modernization (RSM) As is – paper based Federal retirement system and infrastructure To be – electronic online system called RetireEZ Used traditional requirements, design, implement, and test cycles to develop the system Testing phases uncovered serious issues Issues eventually resulted in a mutual agreement by OPM and the vendor to terminate the RetireEZ contract
- 6. Agile Solution Identify the value Communication & Collaboration Iterative delivery
- 7. Identify the Value Previous efforts tried to do a lot:
- 9. Agile Solution Identify the value Communication & Collaboration Iterative delivery
- 10. Top Down COTS vs Bottom Up Custom COTS • Executives • PM / Governance • Vendor • Date Driven Custom • SMEs • Policy • Legal Requirements • Regulations • Scope Driven
- 11. Source of Requirements Retirement System OPM Adjudicator External Data Providers Daily meetings with individual data providers Twice a week meetings with internal SMES SMEs understand retirement process Shifted focus from telling SMEs how the system works to understanding their needs SSC's need to know data to send Shifted focus from gathering requirements to confirming requirements
- 12. Communication and Collaboration Previous solutions – the requirements and the data has to fit the system New solution – the system has to fit the requirements and the data Working closely with the SMEs to understand their needs Understanding true data and program needs Building collaborative relationship SMEs vested in program SMEs identified with the team and attended the SSC meetings as part of the team
- 13. Agile Solution Identify the value Communication & Collaboration Iterative delivery
- 14. RSM Data Project PMs BA Dev The Scrum Team PMO SMEs
- 15. Timeline In a two week sprint, our planning takes one day. Thus our planning period is 10% of our overall timeline. Extremely short (by industry standards) and effective M T W TH F Planning SME Meeting SME Meeting SME Meeting SME Meeting Planning
- 16. 1. Sprint Backlog Planning 2. Sprint Backlog Review 3. Sprint Tasking 4. Execution 5. Sprint Retrospective 4. Sprint Closing
- 17. Process Workflow Overview 1. Sprint Backlog Planning The business decides and prioritizes features they want …. 2. Sprint Backlog Review Team estimates and commits to features …. 3. Sprint Tasking Team determines how to implement features …. 4. Execution Team performs the work …. 5. Sprint Closing Team reviews completed work …. 6. Sprint Retrospective Team improves process ….
- 18. Results Shifted focus from writing about how we’re going to write the feed specifications, to actually developing the feed specifications Published the Guide to Retirement Data Reporting Delivered a real-world working solution vetted by external and internal Federal retirement SMEs OPM piloting additional Agile projects
- 19. Challenges - Governance Governance PMO addressed most of the governance issues Status reports easier because we had real time data EVM largest challenge EVM is not inherently anti-Agile, issues are with implementations of EVM Phase based on a waterfall SDLC Not being able to change line items Measurement of value
- 20. Agile EVM Req Design Dev Release QA EVM Timeline Development Requirements EVM Timeline To this…. Requirements Development From this to this… EVM Timeline
- 21. Challenges Misconceptions Funding / Procurement Politics
- 22. Agile and Federal Contracts Agile Projects Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 3 ….. BPA / IDIQ Task Order 1 Task Order 2 Task Order 3 …..
- 23. 2. The top features ready for delivery 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Work Completed Work Remaining Project Due Date
- 24. Fixed Date / Fixed Scope Outcomes of Fixed Date / Fixed Scope projects: Waterfall 1. Delivered on time and working as expected 2. “Delivered” on time … with issues 3. Cannot deliver on time, need to extend Scrum 1. Delivered on time and working as expected 2. The highest valued stories are delivered by the requested date and working as expected Do not sacrifice quality to meet dates
- 25. OPM Current State Despite recent press, focused iterative delivery produces results Electronic data standards defined and published Next steps data viewer is the “future of the solution” OPM Agile evolution USAJOBS USA Staffing Agile expansion
- 26. Mr. Kenneth Zawodney in statements before Congress*: How Agile has helped: “..Modernize our IT infrastructure incrementally, employing a cost effective and efficient modular approach to transition away from paper and into the modern era…” Results: • “…Establishing the capability of gathering electronic data..” • “…In 2012, we launched the Data Viewer…” • “..11 agencies are in a pilot for the Data Viewer..” • “..Continue to deploy the Data Viewer to all agencies within the Federal government…” *http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Mr.-ZAWODNY-Testimony.pdf
- 27. Contact Information Richard K Cheng richard.cheng@excella.com 703-967-8620 http://www.excella.com Twitter: @RichardKCheng
Editor's Notes
- #9: The data problem itself is complicated It requires focused attention Prior attempts, the SMEs trying to solve data problem at the same time as trying to solve all the other problems, but all of these other problems required having the data problem solved
- #11: At a high level, the issues where that the Vendor and Execs approached it as COTS, where the actual system users needed more custom solutions Resulted in a lot of changes requests and requirements that took the COTS based solution outside of what it could really do System implementers didn’t understand the true needs
- #12: Data Providers submit data to Adjudicators Adjudicators process data for the retirement system Adjudicators process and put into retirement system We were meeting with Data Providers Needed to meet with SMEs SMEs understand retirement process Shifted focus from telling SMEs how the system works to understanding their needs SSC's need to know data to send Shifted focus from gathering requirements to confirming requirements From: Daily meetings with individual external SSCs Monthly meetings with internal SMEs and SSCs To: Twice a week meetings with internal SMEs Monthly meetings with internal SMEs and SSCs
- #22: Call out IDIQ
- #24: Here we identify that though this project did not complete all of it’s scope by the due date, it did complete 80% of the project. Also note that the 80% completed represents the top 80% most important part of the project.
- #26: Ken Zwadny – testimony on the Hill in his testimony referenced data viewer as the future of the solution From pie in the sky