Agile Commissioning

What’s that??

Caveat

• This is not an attempt to explain a new set of procurement rules– For that, go to places like– NESTA or the OGC

• It’s more about how you need to begin to think in this context – your mental framework

• First, we need to describe how we want to go about doing what we want to do(!)

Things Valued

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools 

Working software over comprehensive documentation 

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation 

Responding to change over following a plan 

Manifesto for Agile Software Development

http://agilemanifesto.org/

Principles• Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous

delivery of valuable software.• Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes

harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.• Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of

months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.• Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the

project.• Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and

support they need, and trust them to get the job done.• The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a

development team is face-to-face conversation.• Working software is the primary measure of progress.• Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers,

and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.• Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.• Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.• The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing

teams.• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then

tunes and adjusts its behaviour accordingly.Manifesto for Agile Software Development

Why bother? (+ve)

Collaborative working is the order of the day

With thanks to the Ontario Gov’t archives at http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/diaries/bigs/big_39b_barn-raising.htm

Why bother (–ve)

“When it comes to Web 2.0, by the time the [organisation] has established a programme board, hired a management consultant, logged the issues, mitigated the risks and approved the Project Initiation Document, users will have got bored and moved elsewhere.”

Web 2.0 in Local Government: Are We Ready To Lose Control?Stephen Hilton

http://www.headstar.com/egblive/?p=195#more-195

Context 1

?!??

!!!!

Context 2

“New concepts can be prototyped in less time than the meeting you’d have needed to discuss it in the first place”

Simon Willison, at the launch of the Guardian’s ‘Open Platform’ (11.03.09)

My Context

How might we do this? Plan A

Architecture

? Thinking & Description

Explanatory devices (Mock-ups/ storyboards)

[Online] Consultation & evolution

[SI] Camp! Winning working models supported

Organisational approach?

Event logistics

Participants: students, savvy SMEs, Volorgs, judges, sponsors

Literacies exercises development

• Adult• Child

!!!

Maybe need to think about this a bit?

Think 1 ‘what’s the Pitch?’

Knowing what you think: pitching as a design tool

– what is the important need that you aim to meet?

– what is your approach?– what are the quantifiable benefits from

your approach?– what’s the competition?

Boyd, F. (2007) How does innovation happen? Published by Creativity East Midlands for the Creativity: Innovation and Industry conference, 6th December 2007

http://www.cii.dmu.ac.uk/resources/frank/Boyd.pdf

Think 2 - Commissioning as the corollary of developmentHave a look at the Agile Software Development page on wikipedia

– And do a mental search & replace with ‘commissioning’

• Connection with Agile Manifesto• Useful points on

– Comparisons with other methods e.g. waterfall, cowboy coding etc.

– Suitability of the approach in different project contexts– Appropriate project management tools etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development

Where & when might this be useful?

[ this isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach]

• ?

• ?

• ?• The point is that you need to think about it not just move from one

‘answer’ to another one…

Discourse available?

…on Agile Procurement at Google Groupshttp://groups.google.co.uk/group/agile-procurement?pli=1