Topic hub
Software Delivery for Agencies
How agencies specify, build, test, accept, and maintain software, from requirements through long-term support.
Most agency software is purchased, configured, and integrated rather than written from scratch. The engineering discipline still matters: requirements that can be tested, interfaces that are documented, releases that are verified before they reach residents, and code and runbooks the agency owns at the end.
The material here covers writing requirements a vendor can price, delivery practices that produce evidence as a byproduct of working, modernizing applications without a single large cutover, meeting accessibility obligations, and what to require in a contract so that the agency can change vendors later without starting over.
HQT capabilities in this area
- Software DevelopmentAgile and DevSecOps development, legacy modernization, web portals, low-code platforms, and application support.
Services
- Agile Software Development
- DevSecOps & Delivery Pipelines
- Accessibility Remediation
- Low-Code Platforms
- Legacy Application Modernization
- Web Portals & Online Services
- APIs & Systems Integration
- Application Support & Maintenance
- Responsible AI Policy & Governance
- CAD & RMS Integration
- Emergency Management & Situational Awareness
- Landing Zones & Infrastructure as Code
Solutions by agency type
- Cybersecurity for Cities and TownsPractical security programs for municipal IT teams that support finance, public works, police, and fire with limited staff.
- Software Development for Cities and TownsResident-facing services, staff tools, and integrations between the platforms a city already owns.
- Software Development for County GovernmentsModernizing case management, integrating departmental systems, and building the tools commercial platforms leave out.
- Software Development for State AgenciesAgile and DevSecOps delivery on large state programs, directly and as a subcontractor.
- Cloud and Enterprise IT for Cities and TownsGetting city systems out of the basement, modernizing networks across facilities, and keeping cloud costs predictable.
- Data and Analytics for Cities and TownsCouncil reporting, open data, and operational dashboards built on definitions everyone agrees with.
- Technology Advisory for Cities and TownsIndependent help specifying, buying, and overseeing the systems a city will live with for a decade.
- Technology Advisory and Systems Engineering for State AgenciesRequirements, architecture, independent verification, and oversight on large state technology programs.
- Software Development for Transit and TransportationRider-facing services, open data feeds, and integration between operational and business systems.
- Software Development for Water, Power, and Public UtilitiesPortals, integrations, and legacy modernization around utility billing, metering, and asset systems, with a firm boundary at control systems.
Step-by-step guides
- How to run a technology RFP, from planning to awardA sequence for agency staff running a competitive solicitation for software or technology services, from market research through award.
- How to test an agency website for accessibilityA testing sequence combining automated scanning, keyboard testing, and screen reader review against WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
Reference articles
- Replace the system or modernize around it: a decision guideFull replacement, incremental modernization, re-platforming, or an API layer: how to compare four options for an aging system.
- A go-live readiness checklist for a new agency systemA checklist for agency project managers and department leads deciding whether a new system is ready to go live on its scheduled date.
- Stream and rain gauge telemetry for flood warning programsHow agencies specify stream and rain gauge telemetry that survives the storm: sensors, backhaul, power, alarms, and upkeep.
- Cloud, SaaS, colocation, or on-premises: choosing where agency workloads runHow public cloud, vendor-hosted SaaS, colocation, and on-premises infrastructure differ, and the criteria an agency uses to choose.
- Total cost of ownership for an agency software systemThe cost categories a full lifecycle software estimate should cover, from implementation and integrations through exit costs.
- Open311 and standards-based interfaces for service requestsHow Open311 GeoReport v2 works, what its endpoints do, and how to require it in a service request system solicitation.
- Platform engineering for agencies that build softwareHow a shared, paved road for development teams speeds delivery and keeps security consistent across applications.
- Build, buy, or configure: choosing an approach for an agency systemHow custom development, commercial products, low-code configuration, and open source compare for an agency system, and how to decide.
- Technical debt in agency systems: how to name it and fund itA practical guide for agency IT leaders on naming technical debt, ranking it by risk, and funding remediation in the budget
- Replacing PDF forms with online forms staff can maintainHow to run a forms modernization effort, from inventory and process redesign to platform choice, accessibility, and ongoing ownership.
- AI coding assistants on agency software projects: policy and reviewHow agencies and their contractors should govern AI coding assistants: data exposure, licensing, ownership, review, and disclosure.
- AI transcription for public meetings: minutes, captions, and the recordHow councils and boards use speech recognition for meeting transcripts and live captions, and where it goes wrong.
- Asset management and work order systems for public worksHow public works agencies tell a work order CMMS from a GIS linked enterprise asset management system, and what to require.
- Student information system migrations for districts and collegesWhat a student information system holds, how it connects to other school systems, and how districts and colleges plan a replacement.
- Employee and manager self-service for a deskless public workforceHow agencies extend HR self-service to field and shift staff: kiosk and mobile access, phishing-resistant login, and delegated approvals.
- Energy management information systems: utility bills, interval data, demand chargesHow an energy management information system combines utility bills, interval meter data, and weather to manage agency building energy costs.
- Contract terms agencies should include in technology contractsThe clauses that protect an agency's data, budget, and ability to change vendors.
- DevSecOps pipelines for government softwareThe stages of a secure delivery pipeline and the evidence it produces for auditors.
- Who does the work: in-house staff, a managed service, or project vendorsHiring staff, contracting a managed service, or buying project by project: what each model costs an agency in money, risk, and retained knowledge.
- User acceptance testing before a government system goes liveHow agency staff plan and run user acceptance testing: scenario-based test scripts, tester recruitment, defect severity, and formal sign-off.
- Checking a vendor's accessibility claims: VPATs and real testingHow to read a vendor's VPAT or Accessibility Conformance Report, verify the claims yourself during evaluation, and set contract terms.
- Accepting online payments: merchant services, gateways, and PCI scopeHow agencies take card and ACH payments online: merchant accounts, gateways, PCI scope and SAQ choice, fee models, and reconciliation.
From the blog
- A project is not finished until the agency can run it without the vendor
- A plain-language glossary of the technology terms in your next IT solicitation
- How we treat AI-generated code in delivery pipelines
- What we mean when we say DevSecOps
- Data conversion is the project, not the last two weeks of it
- What a screen reader finds that an accessibility scanner does not
- The accessibility rule for state and local websites is not a future problem
- Low-code or custom code? A decision guide for agencies
- Why we would build a permit portal on serverless services
- Acceptance criteria that a tester can execute and a contract can rely on
- Boring technology is the right default for systems that must run for a decade
- The questions that expose a weak architecture before award
- Discovery should be a small fixed-price project, not a free sales exercise
- CJIS for software teams: what actually changes when you touch criminal justice data