1.Universal Credit & Adoption of Agile Dave Nicoll Project Realization Ltd

2. Agenda Reason for our Interest in Universal Credits Background to Universal Credits Objectives of Universal Credits HMG Approach to Projects Agile Approach Approach to Developing Universal Credits Progress to Date Use of Agile Project Reviews and Audits National Audit Office (NAO) Findings Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) Suppliers Software Development Summary & Observations 3. Reason for Interest Universal Credit is currently one of the UKs largest public sector IT development programmes It is also largest application of Agile techniques by the UK Government Experience from this programme will impact on the future use of Agile in other government projects. 4. Background to Universal Credit Annual cost of current welfare benefits = 67bn Administration costs = 3.5bn Fraud & Erroneous payments = 5.2bn Unclaimed legitimate payments = 1.5bn Many different and complex benefit schemes Income support Job seekers allowance Employment & Support Allowance Housing Benefit Child Tax Credit 5. Objectives of Universal Credit Simplified into one single benefit Rationalise process for claimants Encourage people back to work Reduce Administration costs Consolidate information Remove multiple sources of the same information Reduce fraud and error Ensure claimants receive their full entitlement 6. HMG Approach to Projects Traditional use of the Waterfall approach Assumes all requirements are known at the outset Staged phases Distinct roles for Client and Supplier Scope of requirements are contractually defined Contracts are based on completion of the functionality Changes to functionality impact on Cost and Time Progress is measured through completion of each phase Benefits only provided at the end Many projects are criticised for Delivering late Being expensive Not providing the required functionality Poor quality 7. Agile Approach Over the last few years Industry has started moving to Agile approach Assumes many requirements are unknown at the start Short time-boxed periods of iterative development Enables system details to be developed with the customer Requires close collaboration between Client & Supplier Progressive delivery of limited functionality Incremental growth in functionality Benefits are provided throughout development Flexible contract based on sequence of increments timescale for each increment Cost for each increment Perceived Benefits of Agile Provides for rapid user feedback Removes wasteful development Quality is maintained throughout 8. Approach to Developing Universal Credit Cabinet Office recommendations departments to move away from large scale developments use Agile approach to reduce delivery risk and improve business outcomes Target is to have 50% of all development projects to using Agile by April 2013 Universal Credit assumes a Digital by Default on-line user service the largest use of Agile techniques in UK public sector 9. Costs and Forecasts Overall planned cost (to 2023) = 2.4bn Estimated net benefit (to 2022/23) = 38bn Spend to date (April 2013) Recent forecasts for IT May 2011 December 2012 396m 637m from annual Business Cases Planned Actual 431m 425m of which IT = 303m 10. Use of Agile December 2010 Project announces use of Agile January 2012 Project is reset to use Agile-2 (a Waterfall/Agile hybrid) October 2012 Project is moved to a phased approach September 2013 Project is fundamentally a Waterfall development 11. Project Reviews & Audits Two significant project reviews Major Projects Authority Review (Jan 2013) National Audit Office (NAO) Report (Sep 2013) Both reports independently concluded: Project is failing to deliver the intended benefits Development costs have escalated Functionality has been significantly reduced 12. NAO Findings on DWP No blueprint of how Universal Credit should work Insufficient Programme Management No process controls No controls over finances No controls over payments No definition or control of scope No active or visible senior leadership No experience in Agile development Reliance on suppliers for guidance Contracts based on traditional Waterfall development dont support use of Agile 13. NAO Findings on Suppliers Large established suppliers to HMG Working within existing and ongoing HMG contracts Contracts are fundamentally Waterfall Suppliers are familiar with Waterfall Development Only limited previous exposure to Agile 14. NAO Findings on Software Development Requirements Only limited business process requirements provided to the development teams Requirements provided late Software development Started early in order to meet timescales Developed code is of good quality Little documentation visibility of progress is limited Agile is most often used in small teams over 1000 people involved in this development at no time was Agile applied in the way it was intended 15. Observations and Factors for Success Project Governance and oversight is still critical to success Contracts must support the development process Documentation is still required to provide visibility of progress and content Active user involvement is required to ensure the right functionality Agile at the code level is insufficient on its own for overall project success 16. Reference Reports Universal Credits Early Progress (Sept 2013) http://www.nao.org.uk/report/universal-credit-early-progress/ Government ICT Strategy - Strategic Implementation Plan https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/cabinet-office/series/ict- strategy-resources