“Federal information technology officials often prioritize better serving their customers’ needs, and creating human-centered design in their products and attribute Agile methodologies as key ways to iterate alongside end users’ shifting requirements.”
“During GovernmentCIO Media & Research’s IT Modernization event Thursday, leaders from the Department of Homeland Security and the National Institute of Health’s IT Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) explained how Agile methodology makes their teams better equipped to deliver services better both in IT and acquisition…”
“NITAAC Lead Contracting Officer Keith Johnson oversees the office’s CIO-SP3 contract vehicle and will oversee the upcoming CIO-SP4 vehicle iteration. Johnson said that the proposal and review process for CIO-SP4 will be more Agile and quick in turnaround than CIO-SP3, making the upcoming vehicle more Agile and better in user experience for both prospective industry participants and federal customers.”
“Some of the changes include a reduction in technical proposal page requirements, a tiered approach to proposal review and closer engagement with federal customers. These adjustments that NITAAC made for CIO-SP4 came out of iteratively working with customers, gathering feedback and creating a collaborative environment for improvement.”
“’We’ve created this collaborative environment where we have incrementally or iteratively built upon our successes and built a pretty good organization, so our customer support is really at the heart of how we do, why we do what we do and really is the definition of an Agile approach, so collaboration is very, very important to us,’ Johnson said.”
“As CIO-SP4 approaches and as the new administration settles in and sets forth new goals, the officials all highlighted how now is a particularly heightened moment for them to be attentive to customer needs as they change, underscoring how continuing to integrate Agile methodology in with human-centered design and the user experience is key.” Read the full article here.
Source: How Agile Approaches Get to Better Human-Centered Design – By Melissa Harris, March 1, 2021. GovernmentCIO.
