Being Agile in a Service Based Industry

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(No Transcript)
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Being Agile in a Service Based Industry
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• Client I have 1000, 100 requirements and 10
  days. Can you do it?
• Vendor 1 Yes.
• Vendor 2 Ummm, yeah but I dont think you
  understand your requirements, so Ill prioritize
  your requirements and start from the top. Lets
  just see how we go aye?

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Agenda

• 1. What is agile development?
• 2. What are fixed contracts and their challenges?
• 3. How can agile help in fixed contracts?

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What is Agile?

• The ability to develop software quickly, in the
  face of rapidly changing requirements.
• Reflecting on The Manifesto from Agile
  Alliance, employ a set of Principles, Practices
  and Patterns (PPP) to provide the discipline
  and feedback, as well as keep our software
  flexible and maintainable.

Practices
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The Manifesto of the Agile Alliance

• Individuals and interactions over process and
  tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

Practices
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Agile Practices

• User Stories TDD Collective Ownership
• One Team Short release iteration cycles
• Acceptance Tests Pair Programming
• Continuous Integration
• Open Workspace The Planning Game Simple
  Design Refactoring Metaphor

Practices
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Agile advocates backgrounds
Practices
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Service-Based Industry V.S. Software Product
Vendor

• The drive

Practices
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Service-Based Industry V.S. Software Product
Vendor

• The client

Practices
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Service-Based Industry V.S. Software Product
Vendor

• The money

Practices
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Service-Based Industry V.S. Software Product
Vendor

• The project

Practices
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What are Fixed Contracts

• Scope
• Timeframe
• Cost
• Deliverables
• The project plan

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Why all clients want a Fixed Price/Scope contract

• Budget
• Vendor comparison and competition
• Easier to manage
• Project planning

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Challenges for Fixed Contracts

• Customer collaboration over contract
  negotiation
• Difficult to foster a trusting relationship
• Endless change requests demoralize the team
• Scope changes, cost increases and deadlines slip
• Dissatisfied customers and service provider

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How can Agile help in Fixed Contracts

• Welcome changing requirements with Change
  Exchange not Change Request
• On time, on budget
• Satisfied customers
• Re-reprioritized requirements
• Value focused
• Shortened feedback loop

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How can Agile help in Fixed Contracts

• Frequent releases, and incremental delivery.
• Early and frequent acceptance testing
• Timely feedback
• Importance and value focused delivery
• Satisfaction, client and service provider
• Confidence building
• Real sense of progress
• True Expectation
• Project Management

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How can Agile help in Fixed Contracts

• The planning game with story cards and
  prioritization
• Delivering valued features in early releases
• Dont sweat the details , only when required
• Decide later
• Less work upfront, start development early,
  deliver early
• Helps change exchange

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How can Agile help in Fixed Contracts

• Put dropped off requirements in a following up
  project.
• One project late and over budget V.s. Two
  Projects on budget and schedule?
• Nice to have features
• Use the software before a follow up project

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How can Agile help in Fixed Contracts

• Invest in relationships with clients, not current
  project budgets.
• Money trap
• Invest in happy customer
• Better off in long term

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Conclusions

• Most uncertainties surrounds Scope this cant
  be fixed.
• Onus is on us to educate/convince our clients and
  the community about variable scoping projects in
  service based industry.
• Long term investment - fostering a constructive,
  trusting, working relationship with clients.

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Resources and References

• Agile Fixed Price Projects Part 1 and 2 by Pascal
  Van Cauwenberghe
• http//www.nayima.be/html/fixedpriceprojects.pdf
• http//www.nayima.be/download/agilefixedprice.pdf
• Agile Principles, Patterns, and Practices in C
  by Martin C. Robert, Martin Micah
• http//www.amazon.com/Principles-Patterns-Practice
  s-Robert-Martin/dp/0131857258
• Slides will be available at http//sundium.wordpre
  ss.com

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Questions?