I need An Agile Contract - Do's & Dont's!

“ Agility is the new stability”, as dubbed by McKinsey.

Today, Agile is not just a method, it has become a way of thinking but While working with various Delivery/Program Managers , Client engagement Managers/Heads for an RFP or during an Agile or DevOps Coaching / Consulting program in lot of organizations during my past experience , I had seen them in dilemma :

Which "Agile Contract Model" they can suggest to client & which will be helpful for them to earn more revenue ?

A lot of time discussion will be around : TME or Fixed Price & told that this is how our organization works ?

Even with the help of good consultants , delivery team , skills or solution they will not able to close the deal on time .

A question to all my Friends & Practitioners : When organization needs are changing , Requirement are evolving , customer are demanding & need faster time to market :

Don't you think : Our Contracts & Pricing Strategy need to be evolved with the changing market demand, needs & time ?

I had seen a lot of gaps in this area across all level within an organization & no specific knowledge sharing sessions , awareness , workshops/Training conducted or arranged or asked from any party which includes : Delivery Team , Sales Team , Pre Sales Team , Internal/External Senior stack-holder's , Legal teams or even from Contract writers.

While writing the Agile Contracts - What are the various aspect - "A Modern Agile Contract" must contain ?

It must :

1. Involve & Engage Customer
2. Build Trust
3. Flexible
4. Share or Adaptively Shift the Pain/Gain or Risks
5. Collaboration over negotiation
6. Focus on delivering real value

What are the areas - "A Modern Agile Contract" must avoid ?

It must avoid :

1. Incentives and penalties
2. Quality Management Plan
3. Deliverable List

I had found that , the key issues are not with the contract, they are with the contract writers and the clients they serve—reflecting the belief that success revolves more around contract negotiation and less around customer collaboration, or that project success is not the goal of contract work.

Legal professionals have a duty to consider the ramifications of a breakdown of trust and collaboration—and other problems—when framing a contract. Just as contract lawyers need to learn more about lean and agile principles, other parties need to learn more about the necessary, valid concerns of lawyers.

In coming days I'm coming with an article which will focused on :

Different types of : Agile Contracts & Pricing Strategy

which you/your organizations can adopt or discussed & used with your clients based on there requirements & flexibility .

Meanwhile , please feel free to share your opinions & views & scope to improve this article .

Cheers!

Ankit Singhal

|Consultant by Birth , Coach by Choice|

|XP, DevOps & Agile Coach , SA , CSP, CSPO , CSM , ICP-ACC , KMP , PSD , PSM|

|Mobile: +91-7760922255| |email: [email protected]|