Overview
The public sector in Wales is complex and fast-changing. User needs change, policy priorities shift and technology evolves over time.
Traditional approaches to project delivery often assume stability: fixed scope, fixed deadlines and fixed resources. When teams cannot adapt, services risk delivering late, over budget or not meeting people’s needs.
These are often called ‘waterfall’ projects, where everything is planned up front and delivered at the end.
Agile delivery is an approach to project management where teams break work into smaller pieces and deliver in short cycles.
This avoids delivering services that are inaccessible, outdated or do not meet user needs - helping teams design and build services that respond to change, meet real needs and improve over time.
Understanding agile delivery
Agile delivery is more than a method. It’s a mindset, supported by principles and practical techniques.
It empowers teams to:
- work collaboratively across professions
- deliver value early and often
- learn as they go and adjust course
- work openly and share progress to build alignment and trust
It’s not about rigid frameworks or ceremonies. It’s about creating public value early, often and with purpose.
Core ideas of agile delivery
Agile reduces risks by breaking work into small, testable steps instead of investing heavily in a predefined solution.
Some core ideas include:
- start small and test early before committing major resources
- break projects into manageable phases
- focus on understanding the problem before investing in a solution
- measure success by value delivered to users
- think in outcomes rather than outputs
- adapt continuously based on evidence from research, feedback and data
- work in the open so others can see, learn and contribute
Start small and build momentum
You do not need a large transformation programme to begin. Start with practices that fit your context, such as:
- run short discovery activities to understand the problem before building solutions
- use simple agile methods to document and prioritise your work and make it visible
- build simple prototypes to test your ideas with users for feedback
- share early drafts, prototypes or metrics with colleagues and stakeholders
- hold short, regular check-ins to align the team
Over time, you can add more structured methods such as sprints, retrospectives or backlog refinement. The aim is to build habits of experimentation and reflection.
Common misunderstandings
Agile delivery is sometimes misunderstood. Some common misunderstandings include:
- thinking agile means no planning: agile teams plan all the time, but flexibly and in smaller cycles
- assuming agile only works for IT: agile principles apply to policy design, service design and operations too
- treating agile as following Scrum or Kanban by the book: agile is broader, about mindset and behaviours
Examples in practice
Agile delivery is widely used in digital services across government but its principles apply more broadly.
For example:
- a benefits application service can start with a simple prototype tested by a small group of users, rather than waiting months for a full system build
- a local authority website redesign can release changes page by page, learning from analytics and user feedback as it grows
- a policy team can publish early drafts, share evidence, and iterate the policy in the open, instead of working behind closed doors until sign-off
This approach helps teams:
- avoid large up-front investments in the wrong solution
- stay aligned with user needs and policy goals
- build trust with leaders and stakeholders through regular evidence of progress
For leaders, it means you do not need to wait until the end to see if a project succeeds. Services improve continuously, giving you evidence to guide funding, policy and organisational decisions.