How do you scope and deliver agile contracts?

1 Understand the customer's goals

The first step to scoping and delivering agile contracts is to understand the customer's goals, needs, and expectations. You need to have a clear vision of what the customer wants to achieve, how they measure success, and what their priorities are. You also need to establish a trust-based relationship with the customer, where you can communicate openly and honestly, and involve them in the agile process. By understanding the customer's goals, you can align your contract with their desired outcomes, rather than specific features or deliverables.

3 Choose the right contract type

The third step to scoping and delivering agile contracts is to choose the right contract type that supports the agile approach. There are different types of contracts that can be used for agile projects, such as time and materials, fixed price, cost plus, or hybrid contracts. Each contract type has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the level of uncertainty, risk, and flexibility involved in the project. You should choose the contract type that best suits the project context, the customer's expectations, and the agile values and principles.

4 Establish a collaborative governance model

The fourth step to scoping and delivering agile contracts is to establish a collaborative governance model that enables transparency, accountability, and adaptation. This model should encompass roles, responsibilities, and rules that define how the project will be managed, monitored, and controlled. This includes how the scope will be adjusted and agreed upon throughout the project, how progress and performance will be measured and reported, how risks and issues will be identified and mitigated, how changes and variations will be handled and approved, how disputes and conflicts will be resolved, and how quality and satisfaction will be ensured. Additionally, it's important to involve the customer as an active partner in the project rather than a passive recipient of the deliverables.

5 Deliver value incrementally and iteratively

The fifth step to scoping and delivering agile contracts is to deliver value incrementally and iteratively, following the agile practices and techniques. This means that you should break down the project into small, manageable chunks of work, called iterations or sprints, that deliver a potentially releasable product increment. You should also apply the agile ceremonies, such as planning, review, retrospective, and daily stand-up, to coordinate, communicate, and improve your work. By delivering value incrementally and iteratively, you can reduce the risk of failure, increase the customer feedback, and adapt to changing needs and expectations.

6 Learn and improve continuously

The sixth and final step to scoping and delivering agile contracts is to learn and improve continuously, based on the feedback and data you collect from the project. You should use the feedback and data to evaluate the value delivered, the customer satisfaction, the project performance, and the contract effectiveness. You should also use the feedback and data to identify the gaps, issues, and opportunities for improvement, and implement the necessary actions to address them. By learning and improving continuously, you can ensure that your contract delivers the best possible value for the customer and your organization.