Challenges and Best Practices Solution of Agile Project Management in Public Sector: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Applying Agile methodologies in the public sector is nothing new. In recent years, governments worldwide have moved towards Agile development, especially with the Pandemic that requires governments to move and make decisions quickly. However, the difference between the government system and the private sector, such as holding the principle of a hierarchy of authority, still challenges Agile application. This study aims to explore challenges and provide solutions for applying Agile project management in the public sector by conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) using the PRISMA method. The literature used in the SLR was obtained from four paper databases, namely Scopus, IEEE Xplore, ACM, and Emerald Insight. Five hundred ninety-five papers were found, and 18 suitable papers were obtained, which were then analyzed and obtained a total of 43 challenging issues. Each of these issues is grouped based on eight project performance domains of PMBOK 7th edition, and the solution for each challenge is obtained from the mapping results from the SLR papers and PMBOK 7th edition Guide. The results showed that the most issues were in the Development Approach and Lifecycle and Project Work domain categories, with 8 issues each. Followed by Team with 7 issues, Stakeholder with 6 issues, Delivery with 5 issues, Measurement with 4 issues, Planning with 3 issues, and Uncertainty with 2 issues. This research can be useful for academics or practitioners as a reference in facing the challenges of implementing Agile project management in the public sector

Desafíos y estrategias en la implementación de metodologías agiles en proyectos informáticos

“…Flores-Cerna et al (2022), también identifican la falta de preparación del personal como un desafío crítico, subrayando la necesidad de capacitación continua y adaptación gradual, estrategias que se han mostrado efectivas en nuestro estudio para facilitar la transición. Además, Abdullah et al (2023), y Kuchel et al (2023), señalan que una cultura organizacional y un liderazgo comprometido son esenciales para superar estos desafíos y promover un entorno de trabajo ágil.…”

Enhancing Public Service Delivery in Nigeria Through Agile Practice

“…Implicit, therefore, is that agile finds use in government digital projects, which is a core of the digital transformation of government and governance to enhance procedures and processes for improved citizen satisfaction. For example, Abdullah et al (2023) note that in 2017, 80% of US federal IT projects were categorized as Agile or iterative, further underscoring the indispensability of an agile approach to government digital projects for service delivery. In further discussion of the imperative of agile to digital government projects and organizational refinement, the following section looks at how agile practices potentially influence the public sector, specifically focusing on digital government/governance and organizational processes and procedures.…”

Scrum@PA: Tailoring an Agile Methodology to the Digital Transformation in the Public Sector

“…In order to encourage the application of Agile methodologies in the DT, guidelines and recommendations are given by several PAs, e.g., the United Kingdom [26,27] and USA federal government [28,29]. For completeness, we mention also a recent review that illustrate challenges and best practices for the adoption of Agile project management in the public sector [30]. However, those recommendations and best practices are too generic and, in fact, there are very few concrete examples on how to adopt Agile methodologies in the public sector [31], since their standard versions need to be tailored to the context in which they are applied [32], in this case, the DT.…”