Guides for senior leaders
Short reference pages for senior civil servants who sponsor digital and agile work. Each one takes about five minutes to read and assumes no technical background.
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Agile for senior civil servants: what you need to know
You can sponsor agile delivery well without becoming a practitioner. Here are the five things to know, what to leave to the team and what to do in your first month.
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Ten questions to ask your agile delivery team
Ten questions you can ask at a show and tell without any technical background. Each comes with what a good answer sounds like and what should worry you.
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The SRO's role in agile delivery and governance
An SRO in an agile programme sets the outcome, takes the decisions the team cannot and sees the work first hand. This guide covers what GDS asks of you and how your board and reporting change.
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How to read a delivery forecast: a guide for leaders
A good delivery forecast gives a date with odds, worked out from what the team has finished so far. This guide shows how to read one, why to distrust a single date and what to ask.
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Agile business cases and digital spend controls in 2026
The government replaced the digital and technology spend controls on 1st April 2026. This guide covers what replaced them, when you still need HM Treasury and how to fund agile work in stages.
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AI for government leaders: questions before a pilot
Eight questions to ask before you approve an AI pilot, with the part of the government's AI Playbook behind each one. None of them calls for technical knowledge.