Contracting for Agile Software Development in the Department of Defense: An Introduction

This technical note (TN), part of an ongoing Software Engineering Institute (SEI) series on Agile in the Department of Defense (DoD), addresses effective contracting for Agile software development. Contracting officers do not receive career field education targeted at achieving successful outcomes with Agile software development methods. For the purposes of this TN, the SEI gathered data from program office team members, contractors, and contracting officers about the state of contracting activities involving Agile development. The authors conducted a series of interviews and mined past interviews and survey data on Agile software development to understand common questions and concerns and provide some real-world examples to address them. This TN offers a primer on Agile based on a contracting officer's goals, describes how program office teams need to support contracting efforts, and addresses common concerns about Agile and how those concerns can be mitigated in the contracting process.