Insights on Agile Contracting: Bridging Theory and Practice

Agile software development, characterized by customer collaboration, evolving requirements, and value-driven features, poses certain challenges in setting up an efficient contracting process at the start of the development project. Despite the increasing number of organizations transitioning to the agile way of commissioning software, there is still lack of comprehensive research in effective contracting practices between clients and developers. In response, this paper presents the findings of a literature review in terms of identifying prevalent contracting practices for agile software projects. Such literature findings are then compared and contrasted to practitioners experiences in the field where concrete suggestions are given. Finally, we sketch how a coherent agile contract could look like.