The problem with following a contract in traditional development is very similar to following specifications. Both the customer and the development team figure out more about a project as time goes on. Customers might not realize what they really wanted until the contract has been finished or development is in its advanced stages. By this point, changes to the contract are not possible. Everyone is stuck with what the contract said, even if it isn’t applicable anymore.
Instead of making a contract at the very beginning, Agile software development gets customer feedback through the entire process. The Scrum team and stakeholders work toward the end product together. This gives customers more control over the project and allows them to give input about what they do or do not like. It also gives developers a better idea of what they are creating. Instead of sticking to a contract that gives few behavioral details, developers can ask stakeholders about feature details. This gives them better information to work with while creating a product that stakeholders will be happier with.
Responding to Change
Any project has a plan, but different management styles allow a plan to be more or less tentative. Some management styles require a team to follow the plan to the letter. Any deviation is unacceptable. Other styles use a plan only as a suggestion and adapt to the situation as necessary.
Recommended Further Reading
The following materials may assist you in order to get the most out of this course:
Course Contents
Section 1: Agile Project Management
Section 2: Using the Agile Manifesto to Deliver Change
Section 3: The 12 Agile Principles
Section 4: The Agile Fundamentals
Section 5: The Declaration of Interdependence
Section 6: Agile Development Frameworks
Section 7: Introduction to Scrum
Section 8: Scrum Projects
Section 9: Scrum Project Roles
Section 10: Meet the Scrum Team
Section 11: Building the Scrum Team
Section 12: Scrum in Projects, Programs & Portfolios
Section 13: How to Manage an Agile Project
Section 14: Leadership Styles
Section 15: The Agile Project Life-cycle
Section 16: Business Justification with Agile
Section 17: Calculating the Benefits With Agile
Section 18: Quality in Agile
Section 19: Acceptance Criteria and the Prioritised Product Backlog
Section 20: Quality Management in Scrum
Section 21: Change in Scrum
Section 22: Integrating Change in Scrum
Section 23: Managing Change in Scrum
Section 24: Risk in Scrum
Section 25: Risk Assessment Techniques
Section 26: Initiating an Agile Project
Section 27: Forming the Scrum Team
Section 28: Epics and Personas
Section 29: Creating the Prioritised Product Backlog
Section 30: Conduct Release Planning
Section 31: The Project Business Case
Section 32: Planning in Scrum
Section 33: Scrum Boards
Section 34: Sprint Planning
Section 35: User Stories
Section 36: User Stories and Tasks
Section 37: The Sprint Backlog
Section 38: Implementation of Scrum
Section 39: The Daily Scrum
Section 40: The Product Backlog
Section 41: Scrum Charts
Section 42: Review and Retrospective
Section 43: Scrum of Scrums
Section 44: Validating a Sprint
Section 45: Retrospective Sprint
Section 46: Releasing the Product
Section 47: Project Retrospective
Section 48: The Communication Plan
Section 49: Formal Business Sign-off
Section 50: Scaling Scrum
Section 51: Stakeholders
Section 52: Programs and Portfolios