Page 39 - GCN, March/April 2016

what is being developed has been ex- tremely beneficial and dramatically dif- ferent from how the agency typically works with contractors.
“When you’re talking about agile software development, it requires a heavy, heavy degree of collaboration and cooperation,” Sanghani said. “The customer needs to have a seat at the table, to help prioritize and define with us a set of requirements that we’re go- ing to deliver for them at each develop- ment sprint cycle.”
He acknowledged the project has been demanding, but Sanghani be- lieves agencies can benefit from the ability to scale the development pro- cess up or down as needed. He said the model aligns well with the utility-based computing approach that many organi- zations are embracing.
CALIFORNIA: A STEP-BY-STEP SOLUTION
A team of California agencies is also dabbling with new ways of procuring technology for the state’s new Child Welfare Services system, beginning with transitioning from a waterfall pro- curement method to an agile and itera- tive approach that aims to revamp the system one service at a time.
The state has the largest child wel- fare system in the country, with nearly 20,000 end users, social workers and other employees relying on the under- lying data, said Will Lightbourne, di- rector of the California Department of Social Services.
The existing system was developed in the early 1990s and has remained largely static since. After years of failed attempts with traditional procurement, the Department of Social Services invit- ed Code for America to evaluate a draft request for proposals for a new system. In late 2015, Code for America said the
When you’re
talking about
agile software development,
it requires a heavy, heavy degree of collaboration and cooperation. The customer needs to have a seat at the table, to help prioritize and define with us a set of requirements that we’re going to deliver for them at each development sprint cycle.
— MEHUL SANGHANI, OCTO CONSULTING GROUP
GCN MARCH/APRIL 2016 • GCN.COM 37