The Government Digital Services (GDS) announced the decommissioning of the GOV.UK PaaS (GPaaS) by the end of 2023. This decision impacted over 70 services across more than a dozen government organisations, including the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), which had more than 12 services hosted on GPaaS. Despite having an established cloud strategy with services hosted on AWS and Azure, CCS required specialist support in cloud migrations, experienced in agile methodologies due to the aggressive timescales for the changes required.
Working in close partnership with CCS, BetterGov adopted a fully agile methodology to ensure flexibility, rapid decision-making, and iterative progress. We divided the project into phases, each with specific deliverables and milestones, and collaborated closely with CCS to define the priorities, scope, and objectives of each phase. This approach allowed for continuous feedback, quick adjustments, and efficient utilisation of available resources with minimal disruption to internal CCS resource capacity.
Effective communication and collaboration were prioritised throughout the project. Regular meetings, stand-ups, and progress updates were conducted to keep stakeholders informed and engaged. Our open line of communication allowed us to address concerns, provide clarifications, and align expectations effectively.
The strong partnership between BetterGov and CCS was a key success factor, fostering a collaborative environment and ensuring that the project objectives were well understood and aligned. This collaboration facilitated quick decision-making, issue resolution, and the ability to adapt to evolving requirements.
Our agile approach provided the necessary flexibility to tackle unforeseen challenges and adjust the migration plan accordingly. As the migration progressed, we continuously reviewed and refined our strategy based on feedback and emerging insights. This mindset enabled us to effectively respond to changes, optimise the migration process, and mitigate risks.
The project successfully prepared services for migration to AWS, demonstrating the benefits of using an agile methodology, such as rapid adaptation to changes, improved efficiency through a phased approach, enhanced stakeholder engagement, and a strong partnership that facilitated decision-making and collaboration. This iterative progress, based on feedback, refined outcomes, creating operational excellence.
This case study showcases our commitment to digital transformation and social empowerment, underscoring our ability to navigate complex cloud migration projects within stringent timelines while maintaining operational excellence and stakeholder engagement.
