How does customer collaboration weigh over contract negotiation?

Collaboration in Scrum refers to the Scrum Core Team working together and interfacing with the
stakeholders to create and validate the deliverables of the project to meet the goals outlined in the
Project Vision. It is important to note the difference between cooperation and collaboration here.
Cooperation occurs when the work product consists of the sum of the work efforts of various people
on a team. Collaboration occurs when a team works together to play off each other’s inputs to produce
something greater.
The core dimensions of collaborative work are as follows:
• Awareness—Individuals working together need to be aware of each other’s work.
• Articulation—Collaborating individuals must partition work into units, divide the units among
team members, and then after the work is done, reintegrate it.
• Appropriation—Adapting technology to one’s own situation; the technology may be used in a
manner completely different than expected by the designers.
Benefits of Collaboration in Scrum Projects
The Agile Manifesto (Fowler & Highsmith, 2001) stresses “customer collaboration over contract
negotiation.” Thus, the Scrum framework adopts an approach in which the Scrum Core Team members
(Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Scrum Team), collaborate with each other and the stakeholders to
create the deliverables that provide greatest possible value to the customer. This collaboration occurs
throughout the project.
Collaboration ensures that the following project benefits are realized:
1. The need for changes due to poorly clarified requirements is minimized. For example, during
the Create Project Vision, Develop Epic(s), and Create Prioritized Product Backlog processes,
the Product Owner collaborates with stakeholders to create the Project Vision, Epic(s), and
Prioritized Product Backlog, respectively. This will ensure that there is clarity among Scrum
Core Team members on the work that is required to complete the project. The Scrum Team
collaborates continuously with the Product Owner and stakeholders through a transparent
Prioritized Product Backlog to create the project deliverables. The processes Conduct Daily
Standup, Groom Prioritized Product Backlog, and Retrospect Sprint provide scope to the Scrum
Core Team members to discuss what has been done and collaborate on what needs to be done.
Thus the number of Change Requests from the customer and rework is minimized.
2. Risks are identified and dealt with efficiently. For example, risks to the project are identified and
assessed in the Develop Epic(s), Create Deliverables, and Conduct Daily Standup processes by the
Scrum Core Team members. The Scrum meeting tools such as the Daily Standup Meeting, Sprint
Planning Meeting, Prioritized Product Backlog Review Meeting, and so on provide opportunities
to the team to not only identify and assess risks, but also to implement risk responses to high-
priority risks.
3. True potential of the team is realized. For example, the Conduct Daily Standup process provides
scope for the Scrum Team to collaborate and understand the strengths and weaknesses of
its members. If a team member has missed a task deadline, the Scrum Team members align
themselves collaboratively to complete the task and meet the targets agreed to for completing
the Sprint.
4. Continuous improvement is ensured through lessons learned. For example, the Scrum Team
uses the Retrospect Sprint process to identify what went well and what did not go well in the
previous Sprint. This provides an opportunity to the Scrum Master to work with the team
to rework and improve the team for the next scheduled Sprint. This will also ensure that
collaboration is even more effective in the next Sprint.
Importance of Colocation in Collaboration
For many of the Scrum practices, high-bandwidth communication is required. To enable this, it is
preferred that team members are colocated. Colocation allows both formal and informal interaction
between team members. This provides the advantage of having team members always at hand for
coordination, problem-solving, and learning. Some of the benefits of colocation are the following:
• Questions get answered quickly.
• Problems are fixed on the spot.
• Less friction occurs between interactions.
• Trust is gained and awarded much more quickly.
Collaboration tools that can be used for colocated or distributed teams are as follows:
1. Colocated Teams (i.e., teams working in the same office)—In Scrum, it is preferable to have
colocated teams. If colocated, preferred modes of communication include face-to-face
interactions, Decision Rooms or War Rooms, Scrumboards, wall displays, shared tables, and so
on.
2. Distributed Teams (i.e., teams working in different physical locations)—Although colocated
teams are preferred, at times the Scrum Team may be distributed due to outsourcing,
offshoring, different physical locations, work-from-home options, etc. Some tools that
could be used for effective collaboration with distributed teams include video conferencing,
instant messaging, chats, social media, shared screens, and software tools which simulate the
functionality of Scrumboards, wall displays, and so on.

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Agile Transformation: Establishing a Sense of Urgency

An Agile coach is consulted by the client primarily for two reasons:

• They want proactive help, from start to finish, all through the transformation process.
• The client tried doing it themselves with not-so-successful results in trying to adopt Agile.

From time to time there, it is found that there is disparity in what companies interpret Agile to be and what Agile actually is. After all, Agile is a new framework of product development and not just an extension of the traditional Software Development Lifecycle methodology.

It is tough to create major, organization-wide changes. The change method in the context of an Agile transformation is even more complicated, because more often than not, instead of coming down from the executive management, it has a propensity to to radiate out from the development group. Change has to be made effective at the highest level of management, then only will should change be implemented at the lower levels in the organization. It is, in this regard, that a sense of urgency needs to be created.

Creating urgency would require courageous and sometimes risk-inducing actions that are usually associated with good leader. We typically would not appreciate real leadership in today’s world as a majority of the organizations are over managed and under led, and managing everything is the central value. It’s hard to get expect a drastically different act from somebody one who has been appreciated more than two decades for being thoughtful and judicious.

A few ways to establish a sense of urgency are discussed below:

• Create a predicament by making an organizational fiasco visible. Most businesses attempt to cover-up, obscure, or tone down organizational failures. So, if a key milestone like a product delivery date is missed instead of creating an excuse and blaming it square on the gridlock in the legal department, the failure has to be focused on, talked about, and used as leverage to shock people, so that they start thinking and talking about change.
• Share data about economic performance and customer satisfaction index throughout the organization. This is another area where there is confusion to be found. It is difficult for most employees of the organization to feel a sense of urgency when the senior management is continuously communicating to the stakeholders that ‘all is well’. Economic performance and customer satisfaction data has to be shared across the organization so that everyone is conversing from the same point of reference.
• Provide people with maximum information on the upcoming opportunities. All stakeholders have to be informed continuously about the many rewards for taking advantage of those opportunities, and the fact that the organization is mostly unable to fully utilize those opportunities. Apart from this, the shortcomings also need to be highlighted. This leads people to start asking questions, which in turn motivate them to become more competitive. They will try to go after the market opportunities.

This is how urgency may be increased. After all, creating a sense of urgency paves the way for sowing the seeds of successful change in an organization.

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