1. Negotiating Contracts for Agile Projects: A Practical Perspective 100525008 陳石佳 1

2. Outline Abstract Research Background Data Analysis Results Conclusion 2

3. Abstract The Agile Manifesto values “customer collaboration over contract negotiation”. In many real projects, Agile practitioners spend considerable time and effort negotiating contracts with customers. This paper present some strategies to overcome the problems of negotiating contracts. 3

4. Research Background(1/2) Grounded Theory – 葛拉瑟 (B. G. Glaser) 和史特勞思 (A. L. Strauss) 於 1967 年所出版的紮根理論的發現 (The Discovery of Grounded Theory) 一書中，主張透過資料的 收集與檢驗的連續過程，以突顯研究現象的特 質。 4

5. Research Background(2/2) Participants and Procedure – Interviewed eight Agile practitioners from seven different software development organizations in India.(Included 2 CEOs) – Conducted Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews using open-ended questions. 5

6. Data Analysis Results(1/4) Agile practitioners see fixed price contracts as a major limitation that the customers impose on them. – “With Agile it’s difficult to do fixed price projects. Agile takes about embracing change, can’t do fixed price projects with changes coming in.” - Practitioner P5 6

7. Data Analysis Results(2/4) Changing Customers’ Mindsets – “All they [customers] have done is fixed price for last 20 years...very difficult to say it will not be fixed price.” - Practitioner P5 – Discuss the disadvantages of fixed bid contracts and the advantages of Agile development methods with customers. 7

8. Data Analysis Results(3/4) Providing Options – Agile practitioners offer different contract options to customers in order to encourage them to try Agile. – “Most of the time... [we] sell a certain number of iterations.” – Practitioner P3 8

9. Data Analysis Results(4/4) The Last Resort – In such situations, many Agile practitioners keep the customer unaware of the Agile practices being followed internally at the Agile organization. 9

10. Conclusion There are hard realities in practicing Agile methodologies in the real world. Has identified that Indian Agile practitioners face a critical challenge in negotiating contracts and overcoming their customers’ initial preference for fixed contracts. 10