It’s better to collaborate with our customer than to contract with them? Indeed, but without a contract we’ll never be given the opportunity to collaborate. So what to do?
The problem lies less with the need to contract more with what we fundamentally contract (and pay) for. Many past attempts at Agile Contracting appear to the average customer as equivalent to “no contract at all” and are thus rejected as theoretical ideals at best.
What is needed is a middle ground – an approach to contracting that support Agility as well as the fundamental needs of the customer and vendors alike. A 21st century approach which matches a mature approach to agile, economics and business.
You will learn:
1. Why traditionally formed software contracts are a barrier to Agility
2. The basic principles that should underlie *any* agile sourcing initiative
3. The difference between legally enforceable and acceptable
4. Which aspects are important to consider in a contract that supports Agility
5. Common Agile Contracting pitfalls to avoid
6. How to talk about Agile contracts to lawyers and customers
7. The underlying hazards in Agile Contracting that nobody seems to be talking about
8. Understanding the difference between a *Sales Problem* and a *Contracting Problem*
This session takes a Systems approach to the Agile Contracting problem; extending and updating the original premiss from the Agile 2009 session “The Prisoner’s Dilemma: Applying Game Theory to the Problem of Agile Contracting” – by blending in both the author’s personal experience as well as the most recent developments in Agile, Behavioural Economics, Game Theory, Social Complexity and Psychology.
