The Waterfall Mindset

How and why the public sector is tipping over the edge and what you can do to land safely

Waterfalls are beautiful. People love them and every year travel to bathe in the fast flowing water that topples over the edge. Yet, once the water has dropped, it doesn’t return to the top to fall again (unless you consider the hydrologic cycle). 

The public sector has a history of creating physical items, for example passports, houses and legislation. Many were established through projects with strict rules and regulations which set out exactly the requirement and date to be launched. Waterfall methodologies (e.g. PRINCE2) was and often still is an effective delivery method.

As a Product Manager with a background in the public sector, I'll be sharing what I know about product management in this space.

Adapting to change in the digital era

As the public sector moves further into the digital era, the means services are provided are adapting to this change. This did not happen overnight. In 1994 the government created open.gov.uk, followed by “The Office of the e-envoy” (1999), and later, UK Online, DirectGov and so on. These offered citizen advice and services, alongside dedicated departmental websites. In 2010 the Minister for the Cabinet Office gained a mandate to enforce a change to the center of digital government. The Government Digital Service (GDS) was created, focusing on the principles of Agile delivery.

From my experience working in government between 2012 and 2022 I saw the different phases of the adoption of agile, from skepticism to acceptance. As with many, this was through interacting with GDS and the move to GOV.UK.

Waterfall and Agile in 2023

By 2023, agile works in parallel with waterfall, there is a balance or mix of methods. Waterfall remains relevant for building some physical items, such as flood defenses, where there is no iterative path. Whilst supporting digital technology can be created through agile.

This mix of methods leads to challenges as project and delivery managers need to understand both methodologies.

In technology, the history of waterfall is still visible. GDS introduced Agile to many departments, whilst centralising a part of their digital function. The result is that some teams/people did not join in the agile journey. This is exacerbated in departments that provide physical items, through frequent use of waterfall. For example, the Request for Change (RfC) process can be affected by governance, planning, approval and a tightly bound scope. A four week process is not uncommon and changes to your release plan can cause further delays. 

Challenges

What to consider when joining a role, but especially relevant within public sector bodies or departments.

Mixed methodologies

Government departments have not all seen Agile in practice. Agile Product Managers new to the public sector may find that some concepts appear alien. The mix of methods leads to challenges as project and delivery managers need to understand both methodologies. Terms and words such as ‘Scrum’ or ‘Kanban’ can be confusing and the lack of certain project tools such as defined GANTT charts may seem risky. Product Managers play a role in enabling those in the public sector to understand the approach, guiding on how and why it works.

Consider: Checking and gauging stakeholder knowledge. Start simple and build up knowledge with colleagues and expect to guide people on the journey to understand agile in practice. Focus on middle management as key influencers.

Culture

Different public sector bodies or departments will focus on specific parts of society. Colleagues may have joined because they feel passionately about that particular sector. Due to public scrutiny colleagues may feel more or less open about the work they do. The level of autonomy colleagues have to complete their work will vary and some sectors are more regulated than others. Hierarchical structures and ministerial leadership can cause a disconnect between staff, management and leadership.

Consider: Understand the department or public sector body. Take time to learn its history, products and culture. If possible, review online materials, surveys and other materials to gain this knowledge. Identify rules and regulations that can apply to understand the boundaries of autonomy and stay aware of hierarchical disconnection.

Roles and responsibilities

Depending on the size of the department or public sector body, there could be dedicated IT. There can sometimes be a disconnect between these internal teams which can lead to confusion and overlap. In addition, the public sector is moving further towards Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) roles; there are over 40 roles in the Profession Capability Framework. However adoption of these roles is mixed. Responsibilities can vary, with roles within organisations being wider or more nuanced than anticipated.

Consider: Roles and responsibilities in government often differ, understand the level of digital maturity the organisation has and familiarise yourself with the DDaT framework to avoid confusion. Understand the scope of your role as quickly as possible to avoid a misunderstanding in responsibilities.

Governance

People are often surprised when joining work in the public sector at how long it can take to ‘make things happen’. The methods of waterfall have worked to avoid risk in the past, so often they get applied to digital deliveries. This can include governance and approval mechanisms that can feel archaic. These serve to reduce risk and protect the organisation from public scrutiny. In digital, there is a gradual move towards a more agile approach. Unless streamlined, expect governance, planning and approval to reduce the agility of releases. Enabling agility is possible, but the change itself will need interaction through governance. 

Consider: Taking time to understand the governance involved in making changes early on. Review the release map and the velocity of previous releases. Contact others within the organisation to understand their release process, don't expect standardisation of releases.

In conclusion

To draw back on my original analogy. Waterfalls can still be beautiful. Agile is similar to the tide, encroaching and retreating daily in repetition and many people love the sea, just as much.