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THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS AN AGILE
CONTRACT
Agile Slovenia 2014
Dušan Omerčević, VP of Product Development
@dusano
http://restreaming.me
We’ve become agile but our
customers have not; how can we
make our customers more agile?
We can’t do much; we are bound
by the terms of contract.
Agile contract
Agenda
1. What is contract?
2. What is “agile contract” unicorn supposed to be?
3. Three example contracts
4. Surviving without unicorns
An agreement creating obligations
enforceable by law.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/contract
Why contracts?
• A way for customer and vendor to discuss the
common goal.
• Agreement drafting is taken much more serious
if law is involved.
• Insurance policy against many things that
commonly go wrong
• Save your ass document
Essential elements of a contract
• What
• When
• Price
Essential elements of a contract
• What
• When
• Price
Agile contract unicorn is a dream that only two
elements of a contract can be specified, while
either time, price, or scope can be left out.
Traffic Management System
Total project value:
5M euro
Our part: Control Software
• price: ~100K EUR
• time: August ‘04 to January ‘05
• scope: detailed functional specifications
Yellow pages/Firma.si
Vendor point of view
• price: standard hourly rate
• time: January to July ‘09
• scope: 3000 hours
“Time and materials” contract
Our point of view
• price: ~150,00 EUR
• time: January to July ‘09
• scope: yellow pages with user reviews and
feedback
“fixed-everything” contract
Zemanta reporting dashboard
Project plan
• price: 7 engineers
• time: May to July 2015
• scope: reports aggregation, reporting dashboard,
basic campaign management
internal, but still “fixed-everything” contract
(enforced/sanctioned by CEO)
Surviving without unicorns
1. Understand customer’s internal politics
Surviving without unicorns
1. Understand customer’s internal politics
2. Put buffers in place when planning
Surviving without unicorns
1. Understand customer’s internal politics
2. Put buffers in place when planning
3. Concentrate on scope
Surviving without unicorns
1. Understand customer’s internal politics
2. Put buffers in place when planning
3. Concentrate on scope
4. Don’t compromise on quality
Surviving without unicorns
1. Understand customer’s internal politics
2. Put buffers in place when planning
3. Concentrate on scope
4. Don’t compromise on quality
5. Good personal relationships go a long way
Agile elements of a standard contract
• milestones
• change requests
• early termination clauses
Conclusions
• Contracts are grounded in legal system
• If both parties agree, contracts can be changed at
will
• If parties disagree, contract must be specific
enough for a judge to rule on the obligations
• Good project managers were agile long before it
was cool
HVALA!
Dušan Omerčević, VP of Product Development
@dusano
http://restreaming.me
Photo credits
Unicorn - https://www.flickr.com/photos/vblibrary/8472794574/

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There’s no such thing as an agile contract - Agile Slovenia 2014

  • 1. THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS AN AGILE CONTRACT Agile Slovenia 2014 Dušan Omerčević, VP of Product Development @dusano http://restreaming.me
  • 2. We’ve become agile but our customers have not; how can we make our customers more agile?
  • 3. We can’t do much; we are bound by the terms of contract.
  • 5. Agenda 1. What is contract? 2. What is “agile contract” unicorn supposed to be? 3. Three example contracts 4. Surviving without unicorns
  • 6. An agreement creating obligations enforceable by law. http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/contract
  • 7. Why contracts? • A way for customer and vendor to discuss the common goal. • Agreement drafting is taken much more serious if law is involved. • Insurance policy against many things that commonly go wrong • Save your ass document
  • 8. Essential elements of a contract • What • When • Price
  • 9. Essential elements of a contract • What • When • Price Agile contract unicorn is a dream that only two elements of a contract can be specified, while either time, price, or scope can be left out.
  • 10. Traffic Management System Total project value: 5M euro
  • 11. Our part: Control Software • price: ~100K EUR • time: August ‘04 to January ‘05 • scope: detailed functional specifications
  • 13. Vendor point of view • price: standard hourly rate • time: January to July ‘09 • scope: 3000 hours “Time and materials” contract
  • 14. Our point of view • price: ~150,00 EUR • time: January to July ‘09 • scope: yellow pages with user reviews and feedback “fixed-everything” contract
  • 16. Project plan • price: 7 engineers • time: May to July 2015 • scope: reports aggregation, reporting dashboard, basic campaign management internal, but still “fixed-everything” contract (enforced/sanctioned by CEO)
  • 17. Surviving without unicorns 1. Understand customer’s internal politics
  • 18. Surviving without unicorns 1. Understand customer’s internal politics 2. Put buffers in place when planning
  • 19. Surviving without unicorns 1. Understand customer’s internal politics 2. Put buffers in place when planning 3. Concentrate on scope
  • 20. Surviving without unicorns 1. Understand customer’s internal politics 2. Put buffers in place when planning 3. Concentrate on scope 4. Don’t compromise on quality
  • 21. Surviving without unicorns 1. Understand customer’s internal politics 2. Put buffers in place when planning 3. Concentrate on scope 4. Don’t compromise on quality 5. Good personal relationships go a long way
  • 22. Agile elements of a standard contract • milestones • change requests • early termination clauses
  • 23. Conclusions • Contracts are grounded in legal system • If both parties agree, contracts can be changed at will • If parties disagree, contract must be specific enough for a judge to rule on the obligations • Good project managers were agile long before it was cool
  • 24. HVALA! Dušan Omerčević, VP of Product Development @dusano http://restreaming.me
  • 25. Photo credits Unicorn - https://www.flickr.com/photos/vblibrary/8472794574/