Are government contracts too rigid for agile? Is agile too undisciplined for a large defense contractor?
I have faced many of the challenges of applying agile in the defense industry. In my career at General Dynamics, I’ve spent years using agile methods in the development of government encryption products, I’ve consulted with a variety of engineering teams wanting to increase their agility, and I’ve led an agile initiative within our internal IT department. In this experience report, I will identify some of the contractual and cultural obstacles to agile that we’ve encountered, and will summarize the process and tool framework that we’ve evolved to address those obstacles. Agile practitioners in the defense industry will learn how we solved some familiar problems. And those outside of defense may be surprised at the innovations borne out of this environment.
