For a long time, modernizing legacy systems in the federal government meant a massive overhaul with high price tags and timelines that could stretch across years. These days, agencies are accelerating modernization with low-code tools that put business teams in the driver’s seat and centers of excellence to support their efforts.

While traditional software development methods require deep technical expertise and coding knowledge, low-code tools allow non-technical staff to build and refine applications. They can easily incorporate advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and automation into business processes like contract writing and case management for faster and more accurate results.

However, low-code efforts can benefit from centralized help. Some agencies and systems integrators establish centers of excellence (CoEs) to offer best practices, technical expertise and unified support for these development efforts. CoEs enable a common approach to widespread modernization, allowing agencies to nimbly respond to the evolving digital needs of the public and their workforces.

Here are some tips for finding success with a CoE:

Build relationships with the agency’s business leaders

The U.S. government’s software modernization policy encourages repurposing software wherever and whenever possible, and a CoE can play a vital role in turning that mandate into reality.

By building a product marketplace, centers can showcase all the complete products available agency-wide for other programs to adopt. Reuse reduces costs and development time so agencies can deploy solutions more quickly and cost-effectively.

But that’s only part of a successful CoE strategy. Product marketplaces open the door to conversations for further projects. Staff within the CoE must forge relationships with the business programs, portfolios and product lines to understand their goals and help them navigate new product requests. These partnerships keep a CoE aligned with business needs while advancing agency-wide modernization.

Start with good governance

Any agency establishing a CoE must begin with a robust governance framework that articulates the roles, rules and standards around low-code development and delivery. A framework focused on reducing risk is essential whether an agency is considering a small-scale pilot or an enterprise-level software factory that may have dozens of project teams developing and delivering in multi-tenant environments.

Think about resiliency upfront

In addition to a robust governance framework, agencies must consider resilience from the beginning. Before a CoE deploys new products, agencies must develop technical debt management plans, put the proper infrastructure in place, and rigorously test the platforms and tools. This preparation avoids platform resiliency issues, application change-related difficulties, or unintentionally degrading tools already deployed. It also preserves the often hard-earned trust of officials considering other modernization projects.

Cultivate citizen developers

When agencies first started adopting low- and no-code tools, a considerable buzz surrounded the possibility of citizen developers. A CoE can make this a reality by providing strong governance and skilled low-code engineers to manage their work. Embracing outside help is another way agencies can multiply their low-code workforce and increase the pace of modernization.

The bottom line

By 2025, Gartner predicts a third of legacy government applications will be displaced by solutions engineered on low-code platforms and maintained by fusion teams. A CoE harnesses these powerful development platforms to allow teams to develop their own solutions while keeping them aligned with agency goals. This structure achieves cost-savings through repurposed software, accelerates time to deployment, and democratizes modernization efforts.

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