When Others Aren't As Agile As You Are

As agile software development methodologies take hold in the mainstream, organizations are finding that working with outside consultants poses a new set of challenges. In some instances, consulting organizations are able to work within an agile framework quite well. But in other situations, working with a consulting company can be more challenging than the project itself. Connecting outside consultants to your inside processes must be done. Consultants who are interested in, but not experienced with, agile will need an introduction and coaching. Consultants who aren't interested in changing their methodologies will need adaptive processes to match their approach with yours. Alicia Yanik describes how to work with vendors already under contract as well as how to contract with future vendors.

• Adopting an agile methodology after project inception
• Aligning consultant relationships with agile principles
• Consultants don't have to be agile for project success