Agile Contracts

I can see how Agile works for software vendors or corporates who develop software internally, but what about service companies, like IBM Business Partners, who supply software development services ? Usually client like to know what they are going to get and for how much. Fixed Price and Labour/Time and Materials contract models, with the BDUF, are prevalent method that I've come across.

So how does this work for Agile ?

Two interesting posts that contain the agile approach to the contractual obligations between customer and supplier have appeared on my RSS feed recently. They might be a useful starting point if you are pondering how to supply your services in an Agile manner and so I thought they would be worth a re-post.

Firstly, Rowan, the Scrum Trainer from my recent Certified Scrum Master training has posted the course round up, including links to further information about the Agile contract models that we covered.

Secondly, there is a very detailed description of 10 Contracts for your next Agile Software Project. Which breaks down different contract types into the following;

• How is the contract structured?
• How does it handle changes in scope (requirements)?
• How does it apportion Risk and Reward between customer and supplier?
• What model of customer relationship does it foster: competitive (my win is your loss), cooperative (win-win), indifferent (I don’t care-you lose) or dependent (heads-I-win-tails-you lose)?