Rapid AI prototyping in government: How agencies can move fast and get it right
Federal agencies are exploring AI with more confidence. Nearly half of the 100 federal leaders who responded to our recent survey reported they’re running small-scale AI pilots. But they’re also struggling to see returns on those experiments. Only 16% said they’re actively scaling their AI efforts, and only 8% have mature AI solutions that are delivering results.
That disconnect can be traced to the federal government’s traditional approach to digital modernization. In many cases, agencies determine in advance the kind of solution they need, then find a vendor via RFP who can produce it. But that process is too slow in the age of AI. The technology is advancing so fast that agencies can’t define the right solution in advance.
Instead, agencies should consider adopting a rapid prototyping approach that supports multiple AI experiments occurring in parallel within a secure environment. Through rapid prototyping, agencies can see clearly where AI delivers value to their mission before moving forward to testing, refining, and deploying solutions at scale.
How rapid prototyping leads to smart scaling
Traditionally, the order of operations in federal tech development starts with an idea, then moves to developing a business case, then transitions to creating a prototype. But agencies tend to get stuck in the middle—they can’t conceive of what AI can do unless they witness firsthand how a solution addresses their specific use cases.
Because of advancements in AI technology, reduction in experimentation costs, and the availability of a platform like ICF Fathom, we can flip those last two phases. We can bring together technologists, strategists, and domain experts to develop a prototype in just days, not months.
The cross-functional teams that develop prototypes understand that not every idea will succeed, but even failures have lessons that can help them meet mission goals more effectively. Rapid prototyping allows agency leaders to validate AI ideas early and accelerate time to value.
Once prototypes are developed, we can bring in stakeholders to preview the solution in their agency context, validating that it will achieve the desired outcome. The agency can then more realistically quantify the value of the prototype, creating a more informed, less theoretical business case for investment.
Developers can then scale selected solutions to production, increasing returns on the agency’s AI investments while reducing wasted time and costs on concepts that don’t work.
Rapid prototyping can move federal AI from exploration to action
To help agencies push their AI strategies from pilots to progress, we recently launched ICF Fathom. Fathom provides secure, low-risk environments for rapid prototyping and production-ready environments to build and deploy solutions, allowing agencies to incrementally scale their AI strategies.
What does that look like in practice? Here are three examples of how federal leaders are using rapid prototyping to accelerate innovation and deliver measurable impact:
Modernizing federal procurement
When a federal client needed to transform a fragmented, manual acquisition process, we partnered with them to build an AI-driven procurement system. In Fathom’s secure sandboxes, contracting officers queried prototypes with natural language and received real-time, explainable insights. These officers saw firsthand how AI could enhance procurement before deciding to scale the solution, shortening the cycle from idea to production and maximizing returns.
Improving transportation safety
A federal transportation safety agency wanted to proactively identify rail safety risks and improve decision-making. We developed rapid prototypes that validated assumptions about data integration, user workflows, and AI capabilities, showcasing “quick wins” that built trust among stakeholders. By leveraging cloud services and tools like Azure OpenAI and Microsoft Copilot, we helped the agency accelerate development and scalability, moving from concept to impact in weeks.
Enhancing fraud detection
When a federal immigration agency sought to improve fraud detection, we built a rapid prototype using microservices and machine learning. This solution reconciled conflicting data across systems, automating eligibility verification. Stakeholders test-drove the tools in Fathom’s secure sandbox before scaling to production, and the solution was operationalized in just six months.
These are just a few of the challenges that AI is helping our federal clients solve. Through rapid prototyping, agencies can accelerate progress on these and many other federal priorities, shifting from exploration to impact.
Move your agency from whiteboard to wins faster
To borrow a hockey analogy, the traditional models of federal technology development push agencies to where the AI puck has been, not where it’s going. To skate where the proverbial AI puck will be, agencies should consider a rapid prototyping approach to AI development. ICF Fathom can help, empowering agencies to reap the benefits of rapid prototyping and meet their missions as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.
To learn more about how ICF Fathom can help your agency safely scale its AI ambitions, contact us today.
