Agile Contract Administration

[fmorelli]

"Question: FAR 42.302 lists the contract administration functions [...snip...] When performing contract administration, agencies have noted challenges in committing staff to support Agile software development. Is Agile software development feasible given agencies’ limited resources? "

It should be noted that Agile development is based on producing release candidate quality software on an iteration basis. It is far easier to assess the health of contract performance by observing and measuring actual results (working software, as assessed by the customer) that the greater work necessary to observe interim artifacts (project plan milestones, task progress, et cetera) with methodologies that perform infrequent software delivery. This should be covered more clearly in the text section, "The emphasis on working software over documentation [...snip...]"

Second, more linear software development methods tend to have significant contract administration activity toward beginning and end of contract, and especially at end when contract performance issues become evident as software goes to integration and deployment. Agile smooths out contract administration as a more constant, lower effort of on-going activity.