Situation: a software developer (vendor) for a project uses JIRA for managing sprints, stories, etc. However, the organization (customer) does not use JIRA and is not planning on implementing it any time soon.
Possible solutions?
1) Buy regular JIRA licenses for the duration of the project and then "export" everything to the organization's tools.
2) Vendor proposed to provide 1 JIRA license to the customer (for the Product Owner). The PO would be the only role in the organization able to update and interact through JIRA with the vendor.
3) Other options?
What are your thoughts? Anyone has encountered similar situations and how did you solved it?
This way you can deploy Jira for free in in-house server and unlimited users can use it. Saving Changes...
Deryl LeePM II| AO USCourtsColumbia, Md, United States
If the vendor is workig for their customer then they should use the tools provided by their customer. Period
For future contracts, this issue should be defined in the contract. The suggested solutions (#1 or #2) could be defined and the cost of license included in the contract. Installation of JIRA requires certain technical configurations. These must be in place in order for the vendor or the customer to use JIRA.
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1 reply by Scott Theus
Feb 10, 2020 11:04 AM
Scott Theus
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I realize this is an older post, but fell the need to chime in on it.
I would argue that forcing the vendor to use the customer's PM tool exclusively could be disruptive to the project. With T&M the organization will be paying more for time the vendor spend learning a new tool, changing processes on the project team, licensing for the new tool, and more. They also risk delays in delivery due to the unfamiliarity of the tool and potential missed dependencies. With a fixed bid, these costs and risks will be written into the SOW.
The customer PM should first ask why they care about the tool the vendor uses; what value does it bring to the project for the customer?
If the vendor is providing regular status reports, keeping up on sprints, delivering the MVP for testing and validation regularly, and inviting the customer to participate in demos then it shouldn't matter what tool is being used.
The customer cares about timely deliveries, staying on budget, any dependencies they need to be aware of and track as part of the overall projects, etc. All of that can be done with the vendor using one tool and the customer another.
Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
Depends on the SOW and agreements b/t the organizations for the project. If the client is in control of the project, with the vendor more of a staff aug, then typically, the vendor will use the tools existing within the client's organization. During this will either require the vendor project team provisioned client laptops or accounts to access the tools and services required.
On the flip-side, if the vendor is in control of the project, what I've seen is the vendor will utilize their existing tools, though, provide external stakeholders access. So, with this, there is still transparency between organizations. Saving Changes...
One consideration is the type of license. The vendor proposal to license only the Product Owner might indicate that they do licensing by Named User. Another licensing strategy is by Seat. Thus one Seat license could be used by any valid user, but only one user could be using the single Seat license at one time.
Does the vendor use any type of PM tools themselves? That is, should you consider using their standard rather then asking them to use your standard (which appears to be JIRA)? Saving Changes...
Must be in place in order for the vendor to use JIRA. Saving Changes...
DORA LUZ MejiaCEO| IT ExploreEnvigado, Antioquia, Colombia
I consider vendor to adjust to the customer need.
Vendor can use jira but the customer can track all the project in their tool and having special points to share.
I tried Jira for large projects with multivendor appoach and Jira is very limited tool in my oppinion Saving Changes...
Vivek BhatiaPrincipal| The Bhatia GroupOakland, Ca, United States
What service is the vendor providing? I'm dealing with a similar issue right now (divergent management tools). I"m running a thing for the client, the primary vendor uses a different tool. Is it a fixed price contract or time & materials?
If it's fixed price then the vendor can do whatever they want, just get the thing done on time. But they need to communicate with client personnel in the communication mechanism used by the client.
If it's time & materials the vendor shouldn't care, since they'll be compensated for it. Saving Changes...
Depends upon the sophistication of the customer. I've run into major resistance to Jira from those who either don't have the time or the inclination to use it. It's not easy to navigate and it's easy to get lost. Customers who hate the PM tool will think the vendor is inflexible and hard to deal with. The vendor will use the customer's tools if they are wise. Saving Changes...
