Agile Digital Services: A Success Story

We’re living in an ever-changing and increasingly digital world, which is having a significant impact on the very nature of organisations and how they operate

To be successful, organisations need to be Agile and able to react quickly to an ever-evolving business landscape and fierce competition.

And it’s not just the private sector. Governments and local authorities have a great opportunity to embrace the shift to digital and revolutionise services they provide to citizens.

From personalised services in health and social care for the elderly at home, to tailored learning in education and access to culture, the tools, techniques, technology and approaches of the internet age offer greater opportunities than ever before to improve services.

The UK has already made good progress and the UN has recognised the UK as the world leader in digital government. Since the publication of the Government Digital Strategy (GDS), the UK Government and several local authorities have made significant progress in building online services.

Central to the development and delivery of effective digital services is the Agile philosophy and supporting approaches.

APMG is delighted to be working with the Agile Business Consortium to deliver the AgileDS™ training and certification scheme, supporting the new handbook published by the Consortium.

APMG has been working in partnership with the Consortium since 2009, developing the popular certifications:

• AgilePM® (Agile Project Management, 2010)
• AgilePgM® (Agile Programme Management, 2014)
• AgileBA® (Agile Business Analysis, 2015)

and accrediting training providers around the globe. AgilePM has since established itself as the world’s leading framework and certification for Agile project management, with over 97,000 exams sat since its release in 2010.

Feedback from the private betas have been very valuable

Jeremy Renwick, CxO, Agilesphere LLP said: “Agilesphere is delighted to see AgileDS enter public beta. Our public sector clients, in particular, have been looking to close the gap between the existing Agile qualifications and the reality of delivery of government digital services. AgileDS closes this gap and provides a rigorous qualification that recognises the commitment of both the individual and the organisation to developing digital skills.”

The new AgileDS handbook has been specifically designed to complement the Government Digital Service (GDS) which, since its creation in 2011, has had a transformative effect on the design and development of digital services in the UK Government.

This handbook is a great innovation that blends AgilePM, the GDS Service Design Manual, and some emerging thinking from the Agile Business Consortium around business agility. It offers practitioners involved in the design and delivery of digital services a mature Agile approach that embraces Agile product and service development in the context of Agile business change-focused programmes and projects. It allows users to gain the benefits of a rapid, responsive approach without introducing governance and control-related risks.

Alongside the new guidance, APMG has developed an official supporting syllabus, along with Foundation and Practitioner examinations to offer practitioners an exciting opportunity for professional development in the field of Agile digital service delivery.

Approved training courses are offered by APMG’s network of accredited training organisations (ATOs), certified to highest standards for training delivery.

Both APMG International and the Agile Business Consortium are committed to delivering quality solutions for practitioners. The AgileDS materials and training have been through a rigorous development process, incorporating extensive beta and public testing. This ensures a high quality and valuable training and certification experience, enabling candidates to immediately implement knowledge and practices acquired during that training.

AgileDS provides candidates with a structured framework for managing digital projects successfully. We look forward to continually supporting the initiative and the successful delivery of digital services by central and local government.

– Richard Pharro, APMG

Peter Stansbury, Lead Author AgileDS handbook, Director – Business Transformation, Evoco said: “Developing this new Agile Digital Services course in an Agile style has been a fantastic experience. Delegates have loved the empowerment and ability to help shape the training for future delegates and the courses have been highly interactive as a result. The most recent course I delivered just seemed to be “spot-on” with the content being so relevant to the delegates’ needs, and finally taking away all the pain that used to exist and that triggered this whole exercise in the first place.”

About Agile Business Consortium:

The Agile Business Consortium is a not-for-profit member organisation leading, promoting and enabling business agility worldwide.

For more information, visit agilebusiness.org/digital-services

Richard Pharro:

CEO of APMG International, the award winning examination institute which accredits training and consulting organisations to deliver courses from its broad portfolio of professional training certifications.

An experienced Civil Engineer, having worked on projects in the UK and the Middle East, Richard was a member of the Programme Management Team responsible for the redevelopment of the London Docklands in the 1980s.

agilebusiness.org