The Agile Methodology

Agile project management is a methodology that is commonly used to deliver complex projects due to its ability to adapt to change. The goal of Agile is to anticipate change, allow for more flexibility and use an incremental approach to deliver demonstrable value to the customer. Agile builds incrementally from the start of the project, instead of trying to deliver the entire product at once at the end and requires the business owner(s) to remain involved at multiple steps along the way so that they have a product that they are happy with at the end.

While the core concepts and principals of Agile are typically applied to software development, these practices can be applied to any work process or product. DEEP’s initial application of Agile practices will be in relation to IT development projects and will impact both OIM and the various business project teams working with OIM on several IT initiatives.

DEEP has worked hard to gain approval from the State IT Investment Committee for two investments, one for ezFile Phase 2 and one for Sites Case Management System (Sites CMS). These two initiatives will soon be going out for RFP and the development of these IT projects will need to conform to the Agile development methodology.

The Site Information and Case Management System (Sites CMS) project will consolidate the project management and data tracking needs of multiple DEEP business areas that support various aspects of discovery and remediation of contaminated and potentially contaminated sites including Dispatch, Oil & Chemical Spills, Leaking Underground Storage Tanks, PCBs, Emergency Response, Site Assessment & Support Unit (SASU), Remediation, and Cost Recovery. Project goals include providing a responsive application that can be leveraged by emergency response and other field staff to view and update data and documents directly from their mobile devices, eliminating legacy systems, and creating common electronic interfaces and workflows for enforcement actions that can be extended outside of this project for potential re-use throughout the agency.

The ezFile Electronic Permitting (ezFile Phase 2) project will extend the DEEP ezFile platform to incorporate the remainder of DEEP’s application, licensing, permitting, and registration processes. This project will provide a more streamlined, efficient approach to both the external public interface and internal workflows based on lessons learned from previous projects. The focus of the project will be on the intake process to increase our services and online presence to the public by offering expanded electronic filing options.

Agile is a change in methodology that will challenge us to change our culture. It requires a commitment of management, business, and IT resources. OIM is actively working on an Agile transformation and training plan to prepare us for these and all future IT projects that will conform to the Agile Methodology.