Contract negotiation here refers to the process of trying to come to terms with the customer and trying to obtain a finalized list of requirements, costs, and deadlines. This may seem like the perfect way to ensure efficiency when in reality, it only leads to more problems in the future. Traditional processes that relied on contracts to dictate what was delivered in the end often had to deal with the disparity between what was expected and what was delivered.
While contracts will always be an important aspect of doing business, this list of things that we are obligated to offer the client is absolutely not a replacement for dynamic communication with the client.
Collaboration would mean that there is an open channel of communication and discussion between the Agile teams and the client that ensures minimal errors in development, shorter delivery periods, and a much lower probability of incurring additional costs.
Processes that implement the Agile Values encourage a constant feedback loop between clients and development teams. Teams usually seek feedback from clients very early on in the development process and keep the channels open for continuous communication to ensure that the end product/service that they deliver is one that truly captures the needs of the customer and the changes that have occurred in the environment.
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