5 Things GovCon Leaders Need to Know About Agile in 2026

As federal agencies push toward outcome-based acquisition, agile delivery is no longer optional — it's expected. But many program managers are still working with outdated mental models of what agile means in a government context. Here are five things every GovCon leader needs to know in 2026.

1. Agile and FAR Are Not Mutually Exclusive

The most persistent myth in federal IT is that agile methods can't work within Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) structures. This is wrong. Thousands of federal programs run true Scrum and SAFe cadences today within FAR-compliant contract vehicles.

The key is structuring your contract to support iterative delivery. Task-and-materials (T&M) contracts are naturally more agile-compatible, but even fixed-price contracts can support sprint-based delivery when the statement of work is structured around outcomes rather than deliverables.

2. Agile Metrics Are Different Than Waterfall Metrics

Tracking lines of code completed or phases signed off is waterfall thinking. Agile programs measure velocity (points completed per sprint), sprint predictability, defect escape rates, and — most importantly — user outcomes.

Ask your contractor what metrics they track in their sprint reviews. If the answer is "hours burned" and "deliverables submitted," you're not running agile — you're running waterfall with shorter phases.

3. Product Owner Engagement Is Non-Negotiable

The biggest cause of agile failure in government is an unavailable Product Owner. The government representative who sets priorities must be engaged weekly — ideally daily. Sprint reviews without real stakeholder input degrade into status theater.

Build Product Owner engagement into your acquisition strategy and program management plan. Without it, your agile program will drift toward waterfall regardless of what your contractor claims.

4. DevSecOps Is the Technical Foundation

Agile without DevSecOps produces fast iteration but slow deployment. The goal is working software in the hands of users at the end of every sprint — not working software on a development server waiting six months for an ATO.

Invest in DevSecOps pipelines early. Automated security scanning, Infrastructure-as-Code, and continuous testing reduce the time from code to production from months to days.

5. The Most Important Agile Ceremony Is the Retrospective

Sprint planning gets all the attention. But the retrospective — the team's honest assessment of what worked, what didn't, and what to change — is where agile programs actually improve. Without retrospectives, teams repeat the same mistakes sprint after sprint.

Require your contractor to share retrospective action items. A team that can't tell you what they're improving isn't running a healthy agile program.

The Bottom Line

Agile in 2026 is a baseline expectation for federal IT, not a differentiator. The question isn't whether your program is "agile" — it's whether your program is *actually* delivering working software to users in short cycles, with real feedback loops, and continuous improvement. If it's not, it's time to have a direct conversation with your delivery team.