Preface

"Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned."
^{(Peter Marshall)}

Agile methods have proven superior to traditional approaches in many areas of our fast-moving times. It therefore makes sense that they are also being used more frequently by the public authorities and are reflected in HERMES. However, the experience of the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) shows that consistent application of a method is not a sufficient guarantee for successful project implementation. Other aspects are also important. We therefore encourage you to keep the following in mind:

Any transformation depends on cultural change.

From the outset, raise the awareness of everyone involved that innovation is not driven by technology alone, but rather starts with the individual employee. Encourage a willingness to engage in dialogue, learn to live with uncertainty, question taboos, and allow for errors. A zero-error culture is fatal – not only, but especially for the agile world.

Focus on the business and the end user.

As the project sponsor, steer the project by focusing on the expected business benefits and by ensuring that reporting is consistently aligned with those benefits. For example, use milestones to define when you want to realize which benefit and leave project execution primarily to the project team.

With regard to the Administration's transformation plans, do not hesitate to question existing organizations and processes. Motivate those involved to develop the solution together with the users. In the case of the Administration, users include citizens, companies, subsidy recipients, but also cantons and communes. Dare to ask everyone involved to work together so that the end result is a continuous end-to-end process.

Assemble the puzzle pieces in your plan without any gaps.

Orchestrate your projects in such a way that they jointly make a valuable contribution to achieving your strategic objectives. Involve architecture, ICSThe internal control system (ICS) of the Federal Administration, phased in between 2007 and 2008 and security officers at an early stage so that their requirements are actually taken into account. Finally, make sure you have sufficient explicit test cases for the internal controls and security elements and that they are automated to the extent possible.

Provide your organization with the necessary powers.

Secure key resources in a timely and sustainable manner and unambiguously confirm their role-specific responsibilities. Make sure that the user representative (product owner) has both the expertise and the necessary decision-making powers, and never start without a mature quality and risk management system.

We will examine these aspects during our audits in the Federal Administration, and we look forward to exploring this new world together with all users. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@efk.admin.ch.

Swiss Federal Audit Office SFAO
www.efk.admin.ch