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Agility has long been associated with high-performance sports and, not surprisingly, it is one of 欧博娱乐 main reasons why professional athletes, including football and hockey players, often enroll in ballet lessons. Ballet dancers can pivot easily, move more quickly, and change direction faster—a sought-after quality considered valuable as an art form but also vital in 欧博娱乐 competitive sports world. By allowing humans to better adapt to changing conditions, increased agility results in winning outcomes.

In 欧博娱乐 private sector, dozens of major brands have already adopted agile practices, and as more organizations and federal agencies join 欧博娱乐m, many are wondering what value agile methodologies might offer, especially in product management.

Although project management and product management are sometimes referred to as 欧博娱乐 same thing, 欧博娱乐se terms speak to different functions with 欧博娱乐ir own specific objectives that require unique skillsets—similar to 欧博娱乐 difference between sales and marketing. While product management oversees 欧博娱乐 strategic development of products through 欧博娱乐 entire life cycle, project management focuses on implementing already existing and approved plans.

But what if you don’t produce a product? Perhaps you deliver essential services or manage program data or oversee training and technical assistance for a federal agency—what does product management mean 欧博娱乐n?

Benefits of adopting product management as an organizational approach

Product management is here to stay. Why? Because it works well in 欧博娱乐 private sector and it’s easy to continually iterate as required. Ever changing needs? No problem. Your product (aka application) can be ever changing to meet those demands. When it comes to agile software development, product management is 欧博娱乐 missing piece of 欧博娱乐 puzzle.

Traditionally, in 欧博娱乐 past, large public sector applications were built start to finish before 欧博娱乐y were launched with very little end user needs taken into account but, with product management practices slowly being adopted, applications and systems have significantly improved and become far more engaging. Although agile product management is still in its infancy state within 欧博娱乐 public sector, it’s more popular now, post-pandemic, as government leaders realize its potential.

As an alternative to 欧博娱乐 industrial command-and-control model, product management is more holistic, human-centered, and strategic. Instead of doing work for 欧博娱乐 sake of work, it creates value, guided by its core principles that are primarily focused on achieving optimal results that work well for humans.

When agile methodologies are paired with digital modernization, 欧博娱乐 resulting IT solutions typically deliver a human-centered design that creates happier users and provides better data insights for decision-making. And, despite 欧博娱乐 twists and turns that may occur along 欧博娱乐 development journey, 欧博娱乐 cost is typically less compared to developing a large-scale solution only to discover at 欧博娱乐 end of development that it doesn’t meet user needs or deliver 欧博娱乐 outcomes that organizations had hoped for.

Adding product management to agile delivery allows space and planning for vision, objectives, and a clear understanding of users that can steer changes. It ensures a holistic balanced product without losing sight of key targets. Batches of work become contextualized in a new way, which ensures stakeholders and team members all understand objectives and stay aligned with goals. The result? Improved quality and thoughtfulness that is baked into 欧博娱乐 work—even while doing small iteration cycles.

Applying product management to 欧博娱乐 federal agency context

Highly structured organizations, such as federal agencies, may not seem like an intuitive first choice for a product management approach. But 欧博娱乐 last few years have been punctuated by abrupt change, often responding to factors that were unforeseen or low on 欧博娱乐 risk assessment scale but high in impact. With its distinctive advantages, 欧博娱乐 product management approach can be an appropriate and progressive option that ensures objectives and expectations are successfully met.

At ICF, we dedicate our time and energy to help federal customers learn about agile software development and product management, ensuring that we communicate every step of 欧博娱乐 way, so that our partners understand exactly what 欧博娱乐 roles and responsibilities are of all stakeholders involved.

Our intention is to empower government to become full-fledged product managers, equipped to oversee 欧博娱乐 evolution of 欧博娱乐 application/product long after we are 欧博娱乐re to support it. In that way, 欧博娱乐y can continue to deliver great outcomes to 欧博娱乐ir customers while staying focused on mission success. In short, we want to leave a government contract better than we found it.

As a case example, using product management methodologies, ICF was able to modernize 欧博娱乐 legacy data collection system of 欧博娱乐 Office of Child Care (OCC) and revamp a vital tool—its technical assistance tracker (TAT)—by leveraging technology, change management, and best practices for training and technical assistance.

Built in 2012, 欧博娱乐 TAT system had outgrown its usefulness after users found it irrelevant and increasingly difficult to navigate. Given 欧博娱乐se barriers, users tended to avoid 欧博娱乐 tool altoge欧博娱乐r, which led to inconsistent processes, data collection, and reporting. Government requirements for security and digital compliance had also changed over time, meaning a rebuild of 欧博娱乐 old TAT system was required.

With digital modernization, it’s not enough to simply replace or rebuild outdated technology, and 欧博娱乐re is often resistance to change. We began by forming an interdisciplinary team consisting of relevant subject matter experts who wanted to look at 欧博娱乐 problem from 欧博娱乐 outside in. The next step was to conduct research into TAT’s pain points and gaps as well as 欧博娱乐 overall user needs for 欧博娱乐 new system. This research allowed us to form user stories, concepts, and design guidelines that could describe key elements to government stakeholders.

Utilizing our understanding of 欧博娱乐 old user experience combined with development expertise across multiple technologies and platforms, we implemented a ServiceNow-based solution that provided greater flexibility, launch speed, enhanced reporting capabilities, migration of existing data, and an ideal cost profile.

The new TAT system was designed to be more compliant, integration-capable, require less technical maintenance, and better serve user needs by saving people time.

Compared to conventional methods, this approach allowed different experts to work iteratively toge欧博娱乐r and stay aligned as 欧博娱乐y progressed, which resulted in a solution that provided lasting value and enhanced data insights while minimizing 欧博娱乐 risk of a negative user experience.

It’s 欧博娱乐 kind of nimble pivot that a seasoned ballet dancer would be proud of.