Flexibility and innovation in government IT

A radical new approach to government IT that includes agile, rapid development with a focus on incremental solutions promises to deliver significantly better outcomes in shorter timeframes.

However, IT has traditionally been constrained by a web of rules built upon:

• deep seated risk aversion
• complex interdependencies
• onerous procurement practices
• sometimes weak links between users, business, policy and outsourced service providers.

This seminar will provide an opportunity to explore the Skunkworks project – an initiative from the Cabinet Office being rolled out to develop faster and cheaper ways to develop IT applications.

It will also provide an opportunity for reflections on a Home Office project that is using agile methods to develop a system of information sharing to reduce identity fraud and a Department for Work and Pensions programme that is automating service delivery through agile methods.

Key questions for the meeting include:

• what are the barriers for using agile development in Whitehall and how can they be overcome
• how will a central skunkworks unit operate and what are the limits to driving innovation from the centre?

The discussion will be chaired by Adrian Brown (Fellow, Institute for Government) and speakers include:

• Mark O’Neill - Chief Information Officer (Department for Communities and Local Government / Department for Culture, Media and Sport / Skunkworks)
• Steve Dover - Corporate Director of Major Programmes (Department for Work and Pensions)
• John Wright - Senior Consultant (Indigo Blue)

This event was supported by Research in Motion.