Hi all,
Here I am again… new to client facing project management and this post refers to implementing a new Agile project to a client that either know nothing about Agile or knows something and wants to try it out.
How do you start with a proposal? How do you reassure your potential client that it will work and will be delivered on time/scope/budget? Do you charge the client for the initial preparations that might take a long time? What are the budget implications? What are any other considerations? How do you kick off the project? And so on…
Again, any help will be helpful so thank you all very much in advance! Saving Changes...
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Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
If you ask me, forget about trying to implement something pushing your client. Mainly, a new way of working call it Agile, Lean, Six Sigma, or other things. Except you are hiring to do that. If you are talking about you have to work in a mixing environment (the team is composed by people from you and your client) then create your plan talking to your client the needed conditions, assumptions, restrictions, key success factors you need from them to get the project goals and no more than that. Remember that Agile is not a method but if you will use a method based on Agile then especify to your client what you need from them. In my case, when i face this type of things, I use the method I have to use internally and I work with the client using defined "interfaces". Some time it implies to customize the Agile based method i am using at this time. Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
From the perspective of the vendor side, if you're organization's implementation framework/methodology includes Agile practices, it should ideally be part of the sales process in describing the how on getting the work done. You would not want the client to feel 'blindsided' by selecting your organization as the vendor, only to be told later about the implementation process.
That said, their level of comfort with the proposed process will certainly be a deciding factor for them. Will the client have members on the implementation team? Will they need training on this delivery model? Is that included in the timeline? What is in the SOW/MSA? All things to be considered. Saving Changes...
Wade HarshmanScrum Master| GDITIndianapolis, In, United States
How your team accomplishes it's work is not normally relevant to a customer, unless there are some odd regulatory or marketing requirements about how the work will be done. What most customers care about is time and budget. When will the work be done? How much will this cost? (Sometimes you'll have to remind the customer about things like scope and quality.)
But if you really want to have an effective Agile team, you're going to need an active customer who is a part of the process. Try to gauge how engaged your customer will be. That level of engagement might affect your overall approach. Saving Changes...
Even if the customer isn't directly performing any delivery activities, an adaptive lifecycle means they will be much more involved throughout the life of the project. This may also influence how status reporting is done. In both case, it will be important to set expectations and if they are unable to align with those, the delivery approach should be adapted accordingly.
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Veronica, I agree with Kiron’s point of view. In order to achieve buy-in throughout the project, you have to set expectations and coach the stakeholders from the outset of the project so a few meeting in the start would certainly help to align expectations. Saving Changes...
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