CWDS and the Agile Approach

The agile development approach adopted by the CWS-NS Project in November 2015 has fundamentally changed how the project thinks about how it will achieve its goal of ensuring the safety, permanency and well-being of California’s children through technological means.

Rather than building an ultimate, one-time solution, we will instead develop a suite of applications through which we can deliver continually-improving, quality digital services that aid state and county workers to effectively engage and assist children and families. The agile approach has also required even closer collaboration between existing and new partners. In order to promote cohesiveness across the organization, and better describe the goals it intends to achieve, the organization has renamed itself Child Welfare Digital Services (CWDS).

The Agile Methodology

While the Agile methodology has been used by California government projects in the past, this is new level of commitment for the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS).

Click here for The Agile Manifesto principles used by CWDS.

Click here for 18F’s review of Applying Agile in Government