Preparing a Client for Working with Agile - John Gordon, Director of Software Development at...

PORTLANDWEBWORKS.COMPORTLANDWEBWORKS.COM

Fixed Price Projects in an Agile World

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John GordonDirector of Software Development

01.11.2017

PRESENTED BYPRESENTED BY

PORTLANDWEBWORKS.COM

PORTLAND WEBWORKS—

Established software and web application development firm,

founded in 1999.

33 Person team representing essential project disciplines- Project Management / Account Service- Business Analysis- User Experience / Design- Software Development- Quality Assurance

Deep experience in representing public-sector clients in both public facing and internal web initiatives.


Who are our clients?—

State & Federal government (Maine, Colorado, Idaho, EPA etc.)

Non-profit institutions (Healthcare, Higher Education, Trade Associations)

Private sector corporations (Olympia Sports, L.L. Bean, Sappi Paper, etc.)


Seen This Before?


Fixed Bids are a Fact of Life

●Clients feel the need to protect themselves when partnering with a new consultant

●Public sector projects are almost always fixed bid


Fixed Price Assumes Everything is fixed


Client Education is KeyClients need to understand we know the least about a project when that project is first started.

●priorities change●new requirements are discovered●Timelines change

Attempting to follow a roadmap created when we know the least doesn’t do anyone any good.


Key Education Points


Expressly State Things Will Change

“I agree that this set of requirements represents our best understanding of the requirements for the next portion of this project and that the solution described will meet our needs as we understand them today. I agree to make future changes in this baseline through the project’s defined change process. I realize that changes might require us to renegotiate cost, resource, and schedule commitments.”


The goal of any project is to achieve a desired outcome. The output required to achieve the project outcome can take many shapes.


Use Milestone Payments To Decide What’s in Scope

●Approaching a milestone’s budgeted amount is the right time to discuss modifying scope.

●Give the client the opportunity to make a conscious decision about what kind of output is needed to deliver the desired outcome.


Question Time

Preparing a Client for Working with Agile - John Gordon, Director of Software Development at...

Leadership & Management

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