The transition to Agile methodologies is an ongoing journey across the government. Adopting Agile software development enables organizations to quickly adapt to functional and operational priorities and deliver capabilities that amplify mission success.
Organizations need a framework that addresses the complexities of scaling operations to deliver Agile-at-scale across multiple teams in an organization. Agile’s iterative development process enables faster mission solution delivery and more frequent collaboration to solve challenges and provide new capabilities. Scaled Agile Framework®(SAFe®) is an industry-standard methodology consisting of principles, best practices, and workflow processes to implement Agile practices for large organizations, including the federal government.
For more than 20 years CACI has successfully transitioned government organizations to Agile, and more importantly, delivered the benefits of Agile software development. One example of this is how CACI’s Agile SAFe development process helped the Air Force to modernize and transform the U.S. Air Force’s Defense Enterprise Accounting and Management System (DEAMS) program, to produce more efficient, transparent, and cost-effective results. Reports now post in minutes instead of hours and the Air Force can accurately track financial expenditures against budget with access to real-time data.
17,000
Users
170
Installations Worldwide
65%
Reduction in
Processing Time
3,400
Personnel Transitioned
The Challenge: The Slow Flow of Waterfall Development
For more than a decade, the DEAMS program has managed all Air Force financial transactions and reports for Congress. DEAMS also manages the reporting, control, and execution of the Air Force General Fund and the working capital fund of the U.S. Transportation Command, as well as supporting all Air Force major commands, unified commands, and the U.S. Space Force.
DEAMS used traditional waterfall-based software development – all systems requirements were developed upfront, and work progressed linearly in a series of phases. This development path ultimately hindered the program as work slowed for years while implementing a needed software upgrade. CACI began work on the DEAMS program in January 2019 and the company’s first priorities were to complete the system upgrade and stabilize the system.
The Results: Modernization through Agile Development
CACI quickly launched an Agile development plan that involved stabilizing the DEAMS system and underlying Oracle Federal Financial software, building a solid foundation for new work, and retiring a backlog of technical requirements.
CACI implemented an Agile SAFe development process on three critical initiatives:
Treasury direct disbursing
Advanced reporting
Governance risk and controls for compliance
The Air Force also needed to implement the previous system upgrade and retire a considerable backlog of technical and functional debt to modernize and expand the coverage of the DEAMS system. CACI successfully delivered these tasks, creating a more stable and secure system. This empowered the Air Force to roll out DEAMS further across Air Force organizations.
Effectively delivering Agile on the DEAMS program has set a course for continuous capability development and delivery that has made it possible for the Air Force to shift from stabilization to modernization of the system. Reports now post in minutes instead of hours, and new software releases are delivered in weeks instead of months. Most importantly, the Air Force can accurately track financial expenditures against budget with access to real-time data to support the effective utilization of funding. Agile also yielded performance improvements to Civilian Pay Processing that reduced processing time by 65%. This helped the Secretary of the Air Force/Financial Management to easily transition U.S. Force civilian payroll for 3,400 personnel from the legacy General Accounting and Finance System to DEAMS. Overall execution, speed, and quality of DEAMS fiscal year-end activities and closeout improved.
The Future: Aligning to the Air Force’s Emerging Needs
CACI and the Air Force continue maturing the Agile rhythm with prioritized software development at scale, sprint planning, release management, and the company’s industry-leading Agile Solution Factory, which delivers the benefits of Agile at scale for this program. CACI also worked with the Air Force on its transformation and adoption from SAFe 5.0 configuration to the more advanced Portfolio Essential SAFe.