3.4 The Department's plans to transform defence procurement include using 'agile' approaches. Agile is a methodology widely used for delivery of digital services, where the speed of technological change would overtake traditional procurement approaches. While such programmes still have a defined outcome, requirements and solutions are developed iteratively. Therefore, the balance of cost, time and capability is subject to constant change.
3.5 Delivery teams have, however, identified that agile is not compatible with those types of contract favoured by the Department which emphasise certainty of output and cost (see paragraph 3.3). In addition, teams delivering the New Style of IT (Deployed) programme and the Morpheus project identified other issues with the early adoption of agile. These included:
• project and programme teams being left to learn about agile by trial and error;
• a lack of shared understanding of what is to be delivered among Departmental stakeholders and suppliers;
• customers' reluctance to accept trade-offs in capability to improve deliverability;
• lack of experience of the technique within some suppliers; and
• problems for agile programmes interfacing with related programmes which are being procured conventionally.