contracting for agile software development

Agile Contracting - Agile 2008 - Chris Spagnuolo and Rachel Weston

Agile ContractingChallenges

Proposals and MarketingNon-agile competitionSales and marketing don’t understand agilePurchasing office review of proposalUnrealistic budgets/schedules

RiskFinancial risks for both clients and contractorsExposure risk for clients

Change ManagementFixed scope contracts while welcoming changeContract negotiations and change requestsFixed delivery date for specified functionality

Conflicting Client PracticesNon-agile client reporting requirementsRequired joint development teamsInvoicing requirements

Client InvolvementClient not able to handle their responsibilityClient organization can’t handle the pace of agileDelayed acceptance feedback loopsLack of attendance at reviews/demosLow user testingStand-ups without clientProduct owner involvementLack of client focusProduct owner not representative of stakeholders

Contractor ResponsibilityDistributed teamsInconsistent iterationsFaking agileGetting the client involved

Project CloseoutOut of budgetThe definition of done…done.Poor transition planning

Agile Contracting - Agile 2008 - Chris Spagnuolo and Rachel Weston

Agile ContractingStrategies

Proposals and MarketingHit the waterfall problem upfront in proposalsTrain sales and marketing in agileIntroduce agile on smaller pilot projectsEducate in your proposalsUse the agile engagement roadmapCite agile statistics

RiskPropose a shared risk model and demonstratethe benefits of this to the client

Change ManagementFocus on bigger boxes, looser scope contractsOpt for flexible scope over T&M when you canDefine scope boundaries with product vision, product roadmaps, and release plansUnderstand and use your velocity to provide eitherscope or schedule estimatesBuild in slack with full disclosure

Conflicting Client PracticesBuild agile education for clients into your contractsClearly define the overhead for non-agile reportingrequirements

Client InvolvementClearly define client roles andresponsibilities in your contractIdentify the product owner role in the contract

Project CloseoutProvide a clear definition of done in your contractDetermine and provide the cost of knowledge and tech transfer in your contract

Agile Contracting - ADP 2008 - Chris Spagnuolo and Rachel Weston

Agile Contracting/ProposalLanguage Sample

In our agile approach, budget and time select the requirements that can be delivered. Our clients have the ultimate project control and may declare their satisfaction with the application as a whole at any time in the development process. Our clients can decide that although there is budget remaining, the delivery team has met their objectives and can call the project complete.

On the flip side, although the total budget may be expended on this project, and all backlog items may not have been developed, our clients are guaranteed to have live, working functionality that is of the highest value to them due to the constant inspection and adaptation of the project backlog.