Statistics New Zealand is Agile

Continued Implementation of AGILE Process at Statistics NZ

May 2011

Content

ProblemInnovationBenefitsChallengesLessons Learned

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SDLC process itself seen as a waterfall processHard to complete and obtain approval for software requirements (“analysis paralysis”)Very difficult to change requirements to reflect new findingsLong learning curve for all involved partiesBusiness confidence was diminishing and morale in IT was low

SDLC Challenges

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Agile SCRUM Process - Complete Change

Innovation

AGILE initiative started in development team in Christchurch in a small project (Introduction of Selective Editing into Overseas Trade).It was soon expanded to projects such as Population Census 2011, Better Economic Statistics (BESt) and Business ToolBox.

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Benefits

Transparency Collaboration and CommunicationRegular FeedbackImproved Morale

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New Challenges

Alignment of AGILE method with the corporate business planning processes.Impact on testing and business analysisImpact on infrastructure servicesCultural change in IT and business teamsDeployments through environmentsTeam co-location

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AGILE Business As Usual

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Summary

The AGILE SDLC is our primary method for software delivery.It is used by 4 teams in Christchurch, 3 teams in Wellington and 1 team in Auckland.AGILE Community of Practise (CoP).Most important: we have delivered all our IT projects successfully when using AGILE SDLC.

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Questions?

"Everyone openly communicates their progress""The AGILE framework is "well set up to deal with changes""You never lose sight of the end goal""Constantly having to prioritise"... "have to make the hard calls“"I do love it“… (feedback from business units)

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