Kanban in the Scottish Government
How Kanban practices have helped usrespond to four key challenges within mygov.scot
@jose_casal – [email protected]@calumshepherd – [email protected]
Information spread across 160+ organisations
...over 480+ websites
6 million content items on main websites alone
We have more content items than people
VisualiseLimit WIP
Manage flowMake process policies explicit
Implement feedback loopsImprove collaboratively, evolve
experimentally
WARNINGThese were our responses to our
challenges and in our context
Don’t just copy them, *please* tailor your own
Our programme’s reputation was compromised due to early
promises and ambition
#1
The challenge of digital transformation isn’t one of technology, instead it is one that requires a focus on people
and culture
Avoided the temptation to change everything at once
We let people know that it is OK not to have all the answers
Proactively supported experimentation
We were not delivering at a pace that would support our short-term
ambitions, instead blinded by our end-goals
#2
100-day drives
Short, focused tactical delivery aligned to our roadmap
Reorganising into vertical teams to dissolve silos and enable
on-demand delivery
Moved the programme swiftly through beta and live product iterations,
helping provide clarity to others on our maturity and progress
We struggled with conflicting prioritisation and strong views from
influential members of our senior team
#3
Improved planning and visibility through the introduction of a roadmap, horizon board and
combined delivery board
Began to deliver value early and often
Morale was suffering within the teams and we were lacking opportunities for
true innovation
#4
Empowered people to deliver against our ambitions
Re-introduced regular retrospectives and reignited our
product demos
Re-introduced Hackathons for the team to explore new ideas and
solutions
Content colleagues arranged a content rally, which led to…
co-design workshops
So, have the changes all been worthwhile?
40+ releases in 200 dayscompared to
2 releases in 8 months
We have more productive relationships with public sector
subject matter experts
An increase in the transparency of our planning, clearer short term delivery and improved morale
Thank you.@jose_casal / linkedin.com/jcasal
@calumshepherd / blog.calumshep.com@mygovscot / inside.mygov.scot