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2022
The Ministry of Digital Engineering recommended the use of DevOps, SCRUM, Kanban and other modern development methods when creating GIS
The Ministry of Digital Engineering has developed a draft "Methodological Recommendations for the Creation and Development of State Information Systems"[1] The recommendations complement the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 6, 2015 No. 676 "On the requirements for the procedure for the creation, development, commissioning, operation and decommissioning of state information systems and the further storage of information contained in their databases."
The document applies to FOIV, ROIV, various departments, subordinate organizations and commercial companies operating under government contracts. The recommendations describe in detail the basic principles of command formation, methods for building a development pipeline, and approaches to organizing work. Thus, the document proposes to use a set of methods already used in the development of commercial products:
- System approach;
- Methods of iterative development;
- Development scaling techniques;
- DevSecOps Practices;
- Built-in quality;
- Design thinking;
- Continuous development pipeline.
If the government decree No. 676 spells out only the basic algorithm for creating GIS, then the clarifying document details the entire cycle of creation: from the principles of forming a TA and groups of requirements to the acceptance of MVP (minimum viable product, minimum viable product) and the final system. For example, the recommendations spell out the principles of team formation, their optimal staffing, approaches to creating a development pipeline and organizing software testing. The documents describe such methods that are popular with the commercial development environment as DevOps, SCRUM, extreme programming, Kanban and the possibility of their use in creating GIS.
 | The reuse of components in the development of state information systems, the transfer of processes to "standard rails" will reduce the cost of creating GIS and speed up the process. The draft methodology was created taking into account the experience of the industry and the practices used by business, now it is necessary to get feedback from IT companies so that the methodology is "working," - commented on TAdviser Anton Taraev, Assistant Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation. |  |
| | For objective reasons, primarily due to regulatory restrictions, the sphere of state information technology lags behind the best practices adopted in the world of commercial IT. Therefore, one of the important initiatives of GosTech is the adaptation of the best IT practices into the public sector. These are practices of client-centric design, practices of operation and protection of information systems, as well as modern software development methodologies, including elements of flexible methodologies. These guidelines are one of the steps on this path, "Vladimir Rakhmanov, the first deputy director of Gostech, told TAdviser. | |
| | In my opinion, the guidelines of the Ministry of Digital Science are certainly useful for the market. In particular, the published document allows government customers to use advanced project management methods, as well as bring new functionality and value faster. At the same time, the document takes into account the main provisions of government decree No. 676, including certification of the system. This means that the customer is provided with the tools necessary to quickly launch the system into commercial operation, without wasting time on additional measures to ensure the "legality" of the system, "Ilya Simonov, director of the Digital Solutions for Industry division of the IT company CROC, shared with TAdviser. | |
2019
Russian officials were recommended to fight the culture of fear and implement Agile
The Center for Training Leaders of Digital Transformation of the RANEPA, with the participation of invited experts, has prepared guidelines for the use of flexible approaches (Agile) in the project management of government agencies ( download the document). The document on more than 160 sheets is intended to form a unified understanding among managers regarding the use of Agile for managing digitalization projects, to give recommendations on the use of Agile approaches in managing digitalization projects in government agencies, to introduce the restrictions on the use of these practices in the Russian Federation and Western experience.
The main goals of applying flexible approaches in government organizations are the authors of the recommendations to provide a new form of work on public services, projects, products, etc., ensuring a focus on value for the end user, speed of development and change, transparency, openness and manageability. Another goal is to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of teamwork, including cross-functional, interdepartmental. The goals also include speeding up the introduction of new useful products for citizens.
Digital transformation executives are being asked to assess whether Agile is right for their projects to begin with. To do this, the compilers of the document offer a methodology with a point score. At the same time, the authors recommend using a hybrid approach for planning and implementing large digitalization projects at the federal and regional levels, and for the first application of Agile, choose a separate block within the project.
| | If your project is too large to implement as a whole on Agile, do not abandon flexible development. You can divide it into blocks, each of which must meet the Agile applicability criteria. Such a balanced hybrid approach allows you to combine the advantages of both approaches, ensure optimal speed and manageability of digitalization projects, the recommendations say. | |
An important task of the manager is to convince the management and colleagues that the organization needs Agile. To do this, the document contains a special methodology on how to do this, with examples of the advantages of a flexible approach in real cases. Senior management support is designated as one of the elementary introductory conditions for the start of the Agile implementation.
After management support is received, you can assemble a team, assign product owners, etc. The flexible approach consists of many components, among which the main ones are a correctly selected team, an orientation towards the user, reasonable planning, the use of certain methods of working on the product and a number of tools. The flexible project team should be small, but with all the necessary competencies and powers, cross-functional, self-organizing, the document says.
The steps of maintaining the project on flexible methodologies in the state organization are also described in detail in the document. It is recommended to go through the following stages: "Preliminary stage," "Preparation," "Development of the alpha version," "Development of the beta version," "Development of the project (product)."
The authors of the document pay special attention to interdepartmental projects, where interaction is hampered by external and internal factors, such as complex and confusing interaction regulations, the need for numerous approvals; the need to go through the entire chain of responsibility to resolve even minor issues. Among the internal factors are the "culture of fear" and hidden competition between departments.
A cross-functional team can be formed, for example, by creating multi-agency workgroups. For the effective work of such a team, all participants must devote at least 50% of the time to work in the team, the authors of the document estimated. The interdepartmental project team is most effective if it operates in one territory, in case of territorial distribution, it is recommended to provide interaction mechanisms.
The authors of the recommendations and the top 10 errors in the implementation of "GosAgile" were analyzed. These include:
1. The manager's lack of personal interest in change.
2. Haphazard implementation of recommendations from books, formal adherence to Agile values.
3. Incorrect selection or division of responsibilities in the team.
4. Resisting change from operational managers and employees.
5. An attempt to implement Agile throughout the organization at once.
6. Setting an ambitious, too grandiose goal in front of the team that is unlikely to be achieved in the near term.
7. One Scrum master for two teams or more.
8. Create a system of project activities without reference to any measurable totals.
9. Avoidance of retrospective.
10. Lack of control after project commissioning.
One of the difficulties is also a gradual return back to bureaucratic tracks, due to the fact that the organization's employees cease to follow the values and principles of Agile.
A separate section is devoted to the restructuring of culture in the organization so that flexible approaches work in it. The authors note that even in a small organization, the models of interaction between people do not change either in a week or in a month and recommend that managers tune in to long-term consistent work, the result of which will not appear immediately.
| | Agile for the most part is not a tool for controlling and managing a team, but a culture of work, a mindset, the principles of relationships at work. Agile will transform your way of thinking and your understanding of working culture, the recommendations say. | |
Application of Agile in Real Practice
It is impossible to make a modern product, working within the framework of old bureaucratic procedures, says Maxim Parshin, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation.
| | Therefore, when developing superservices - a new type of public electronic services, we used the Agile approach. Cross-disciplinary teams, which included representatives of government agencies, business, public organizations and end users of services, worked in sprint segments. We plan to go further and create a "super service factory" constantly operating in the Agile format, for example, in Moscow City, - said Maxim Parshin. | |
Deputy Head of the Department Alexander Albychev spoke about the use of Agile in the Federal Treasury in an interview with TAdviser.
| | Actively apply. There is a software platform in which we control KPIs and conduct project management, completely built on agile. It is very difficult to control on a single board. When I had it, there were 300 stickers, and the planing (stand-up) took place for three hours. Once a week is simply impossible. In reality, this needs to be done at the level below, at the level of each project manager. They hung these boards, but then realized that they had to synchronize. Therefore, they made a software platform, and they already drew these "boards" in it and began to exchange results with each other online, "he said. | |
According to Albychev, in the Treasury, all activities are immersed in the Agile methodology.
| | Relatively speaking, we take every step in the implementation of the project using this methodology. That is, we take two-week sprints, and with these sprints we step towards achieving goals. This does not mean that we watch software every two weeks - this is already Scrum, this is already towards development. We are developing agile not in this direction, but in the direction of project management. Relatively speaking, the preparation of the test environment, the preparation and organization of access, the preparation of the standard, the purchase - everything goes on agile. It goes in the sense that on the kanban board there is a sticker "Create technical requirements." The creation of technical requirements for the formation of a technical assignment is a two-week sprint. And we do not use agile in development, but we do not have our own development. We are thinking about this, but so far we have not reached this, - explained Alexander Albychev. | |
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation used Agile approaches in the creation of the National Payment Card System. In general, the Agile transformation increased the speed of achieving results in the Central Bank by 50%. The head of the Central Bank's project office, Svetlana Ivanova, previously said that the Scrum team is "forced" to give results, and by creating such a team, there is a 100% understanding that it will be. The result is achieved quickly, transparently and efficiently.
The project approach and flexible methodologies are applied by the FIU Office in the Kirov and Industrial Districts of Samara in the development of software products. Egor Kryunkin, head of this department, said that with the introduction of Agile, the team began to issue effective products suitable for the customer. Among the advantages of the new approach, experts immediately noted the ability to quickly track the error and correct it, constant feedback from the customer, quick delivery of time to market.
{{quote 'Agile is good because you can quickly check the functionality and understand how individual parts of the product satisfy the customer and whether it is possible to move on, "Kryunkin noted[2] .}}
2017: Creation of a subgroup on Agile under the Presidium of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation
In April 2017, under the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Strategic Development and Priority Projects, a subgroup appeared on the use of flexible approaches in government projects. It operates under the patronage of the working group on the development of project activities.
The goal of the new subgroup is to improve the efficiency of the authorities by applying flexible approaches that have already proven themselves in the commercial sector. First of all, we are talking about the use of such approaches in IT projects.
Oleg Kachanov, director of the informatization projects department of the Ministry of Communications, was appointed the head of the subgroup. Ivan Dubrovin, managing partner of ScrumTrek, Agile-coach, leader and founder of the GOSAgile movement, became the deputy head of the subgroup.
Prior to working at ScrumTrek, Dubrovin participated in the preparation and launch of Sberbank's Agile transformation as part of the first team of reformers, built the processes for creating and developing the e-government of the Tyumen region, and led projects for reengineering e-government development processes in the Ministry of Communications.
The subgroup included representatives of federal and regional authorities, as well as business, including integrators. From federal bodies, for example, these are representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Government Apparatus, etc. Among the business representatives are Vice President of Lanit Viktor Serebryakov, Chief Systems Architect of Custis Maxim Tsepkov, Dubrovin's colleague from ScrumTrek Sergey Baranov. Also among the participants are representatives of RVC, Sberbank. A complete list of TAdviser participants in the subgroup was not provided.
Ivan Dubrovin began the development of the GOS-Agile movement back in 2015, then working at the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications. He told TAdviser that meetings of representatives of the public sector to study experience in applying flexible approaches and exchange them began in 2015.
Even then, it became clear that without supporting the initiative at a higher state level and an integrated solution to the problem of great progress in the implementation of flexible approaches, Dubrovin explained to TAdviser.
| | Agile practices mean working closely together on the People and Communication over Processes and Tools project, focusing on the end result, dynamically shaping requirements, and ensuring they are implemented through ongoing customer engagement. We would like to implement these practices in public authorities, therefore the Federal Project Office has formed a special subgroup on flexible management methods, says Oleg Bilev, director of the Center for Project Management, RANEPA which the government has identified as the center of competence in the field of project management in authorities and which is actively involved in the development of methodology and in supporting departmental and regional project teams, and trains officials | |
The subgroup was formed on April 12, 2017. It plans to fulfill its tasks according to a flexible approach - sprints with a period of one month, within each of which a number of issues should be worked out.
In 2017, the subgroup plans to do a lot of work to study and improve the regulatory framework in order to eliminate barriers to the use of Agile in state projects. Changes in legal acts Ivan Dubrovin calls the key result that the subgroup expects following the results of the first year of work.
| | We want to make Agile approaches, primarily for IT projects, legal and legal, "he says. - Moreover, at this stage we are not talking about the mandatory level of use of such approaches for everyone. We want to make them available to those state customers who are ready for this or have a desire to try. | |
Changes need to be made to existing legal acts and, possibly, to develop new ones, explains Dubrovin. For example, government decree No. 676 on the requirements for the procedure for the creation, development, commissioning, operation and decommissioning of state information systems. It spelled out a classic cascade approach, invented back in the 70s. And the former relevant years before the 90s, he explains.
The cascade paradigm is also declared by the existing GOST 34 - a set of recommendation standards for automated systems and the stages of their creation, which also complicates the use of flexible approaches.
Dubrovin told TAdviser that the changes to the regulatory framework of the Agile subgroup, after preparation, plans to first submit to the working group on the development of project activities under the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Strategic Development and Priority Projects. After that, they must go to the level of the Presidium, which is headed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and then - according to the appropriate legislative procedure, depending on the level of the legal act.
In addition to developing proposals for improving regulatory legal acts for IT projects in the public sector, among the tasks for 2017 is to test flexible approaches at several IT and non-IT projects of the federal and regional level, organize work with regulatory and control bodies and obtain official positions of regulators and controllers on the applicability of flexible approaches in IT projects, prepare draft regulatory legal acts.
Another task is to develop guidelines for the use of flexible approaches in the implementation of projects.
Ivan Dubrovin notes that at the same time you need to understand that Agile is not a panacea and is not needed in all projects.
| | When replicating an already created solution, for example, the customer does not need Agile, a plan with checkpoints is enough. If something new, or serious changes to existing systems are created, new technologies and products are used, then in the initial SOW, it is difficult to take into account all new introductory plans. In these cases, the most effective approach is iteratively, implementing step by step small amounts of functionality and, evaluating these results, making further decisions, "Dubrovin explained. | |
Ivan Dubrovin considers one of the main advantages of using Agile approaches in state projects to accelerate the introduction of IT systems and increase operational efficiency.
Another important advantage is to increase the motivation of employees and, as a result, the influx of qualified specialists to work in government agencies, he says. Now civil servants are demotivated by bureaucratic procedures and the fact that they often do not see the results of their work for a long time, so there are no queues of professionals there, Dubrovin notes.
| | People enjoy working in Agile culture and that reduces the level of managerial oppression, bureaucracy. A favorable culture will undoubtedly contribute to the influx of high-class specialists into the state sphere, - believes Ivan Dubrovin. | |
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Notes
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