Description
An agile agreement is a contract that exists between an agile organization and an agile supplier. While entering into contracts is not new, aligning supplier contracts with agile product development is a contemporary concept. A traditional supplier contract is a low-trust, command-and-control artifact that relies on milestones and deliverables to manage the contract and process payment. An agile agreement is different in that it requires a high-trust, iterative, and incremental approach to supplier management. An agile agreement defines the agile terms and conditions for both parties, the fixed product development time period, and the variable scope of work that the supplier will perform.
Typical Roles
Agile Leader
Agile Supplier
Procurement Department
Product Owner
Desired Behaviors
- 1.
Understand agile values and embed them in the agile agreement.
- 2.Negotiate with the agile supplier, giving consideration to the following:
- a.
Transparency
- b.
Collaboration
- c.
Failing fast
- d.
Iterative and incremental delivery
- e.
Risk
- f.
Stakeholder Engagement
- g.
Scope
- h.
Release schedule
- a.
- 3.
Continue negotiations until the contract terms and conditions are agreeable to all parties.
- 4.
Document values, contract terms, conditions, and deliverables. For example, adopt a shared definition of done with the agile supplier to enable easier acceptance of deliverables.
- 5.
Execute an agreement so that work can begin. This includes conducting regular retrospectives with the agile supplier to inspect and adapt performance.
- 6.
Monitor and maintain the agile agreement until it is fulfilled or terminated. This involves providing feedback to the procurement department that can be used to select and engage future agile suppliers.