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Getting approval for agile spending
David Wilks, 11 April 2014 — Uncategorized
Today, GDS and HM Treasury publish new clarification of business case guidance. We needed to explain how government organisations get permission to spend money on agile work.
We consulted central government departments and the Major Projects Authority, who have been asking for this clarification for months. This will cut bureaucracy and encourage innovation, making digital transformation easier across government.
The guidance clarification applies to major projects. But, it is good practice for government organisations to also follow the same principles internally when dealing with smaller spend.
An overview
This publication clarifies that government organisations can spend up to £750k on discovery and alpha in most cases. Cabinet Office spend controls can approve this – no need for an HM Treasury business case.
The guidance clarification recommends that projects track progress against business cases using digital service demonstrations, agile burn charts and product backlogs rather than traditional lengthy IT documents.
The guidance clarification recommends streamlining business cases through:
more use of relatively light touch Programme Business Cases
using agile discovery to replace the Strategic Outline Case in most cases
avoiding the need for a separate Full Business Case stage where procurement uses a pre-competed arrangement such as the Digital Services Framework
What this means
For people not involved in government spending, this may seem a bit dry.
For agile and finance teams in government departments, this guidance clarification has produced incredible interest. I have had dozens of enquiries from people keen to see it published, and it produced a lively discussion at the Sprint 14 conference.
This could be the most exciting administrative change this year in supporting an agile culture in government.
Follow David on Twitter, and don’t forget to sign up for email alerts.
You may also be interested in:
Agile testing at the Home Office
How we do user research in agile terms
The role of the agile wall at GDS
Tags: agile,business case guidance
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1 comment
Gazza — 11/04/2014
Great news. Government business case approvals processes have been one of the main factors behind many project delays in the past. Some approvals take longer than the actual delivery! Anything that makes this slicker and more responsive is a big plus.
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Government Digital Service
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Blog
Government Digital Service
Search for:
Organisations: Cabinet Office, Government Digital Service
Topics: Government efficiency, transparency and accountability
atomemail alerts
Getting approval for agile spending
David Wilks, 11 April 2014 — Uncategorized
Today, GDS and HM Treasury publish new clarification of business case guidance. We needed to explain how government organisations get permission to spend money on agile work.
We consulted central government departments and the Major Projects Authority, who have been asking for this clarification for months. This will cut bureaucracy and encourage innovation, making digital transformation easier across government.
The guidance clarification applies to major projects. But, it is good practice for government organisations to also follow the same principles internally when dealing with smaller spend.
An overview
This publication clarifies that government organisations can spend up to £750k on discovery and alpha in most cases. Cabinet Office spend controls can approve this – no need for an HM Treasury business case.
The guidance clarification recommends that projects track progress against business cases using digital service demonstrations, agile burn charts and product backlogs rather than traditional lengthy IT documents.
The guidance clarification recommends streamlining business cases through:
more use of relatively light touch Programme Business Cases
using agile discovery to replace the Strategic Outline Case in most cases
avoiding the need for a separate Full Business Case stage where procurement uses a pre-competed arrangement such as the Digital Services Framework
What this means
For people not involved in government spending, this may seem a bit dry.
For agile and finance teams in government departments, this guidance clarification has produced incredible interest. I have had dozens of enquiries from people keen to see it published, and it produced a lively discussion at the Sprint 14 conference.
This could be the most exciting administrative change this year in supporting an agile culture in government.
Follow David on Twitter, and don’t forget to sign up for email alerts.
You may also be interested in:
Agile testing at the Home Office
How we do user research in agile terms
The role of the agile wall at GDS
Tags: agile,business case guidance
The Performance Platform: open for business
Share this page
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest
1 comment
Gazza — 11/04/2014
Great news. Government business case approvals processes have been one of the main factors behind many project delays in the past. Some approvals take longer than the actual delivery! Anything that makes this slicker and more responsive is a big plus.
Reply
Leave a comment
Comment
Government Digital Service
The Government Digital Service (GDS) is leading the digital transformation of government.
Find out more.
What we do
GDS on Twitter
Work for us
Current vacancies at GDS
We're looking for technical analysts, performance managers and more...
Follow @UKGovDigiJobs
Comments and moderation policy
Read our guidelines
Recent Posts
Getting approval for agile spending April 11, 2014
The Performance Platform: open for business April 7, 2014
Weekend links: Environment Agency blog, weeknotes, interning at FCO and more April 5, 2014
Comments and moderation
Read our guidelines
All GOV.UK blogs GOV.UK All departments All topics All policies Cookies
Open Government Licence
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v2.0, except where otherwise stated
© Crown copyright
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