Agile Time & Materials Methodology
An Agile T&M methodology is offered and charged on a time consumption basis. There is therefore no need for a specific set of requirements or deliverables to agree on from a commercial point of view.
Users can choose their own way of managing and organizing their project, for which the Skyline resources will be leveraged. While this could in theory be any type of methodology, Agile is highly recommended by Skyline, as it is proven to be the most efficient methodology that delivers the highest value for ICT integration and software projects. Hence the name Agile T&M.
As compared to the Agile Scope-Based methodology, there is not necessarily a pre-defined Solution Backlog, and no priority for the squad to keep the execution within a set budget and time frame. Of course, the squad is at liberty to organize their work in any way they deem most appropriate for the assignment at hand. This could include leveraging some of the mechanisms and techniques from the Agile Scope-Based methodology.
It could be that the squad considers this a waste of time as they know what needs to be done and what the expected outcome is. They trust that by working Agile, they will reach that outcome in the most efficient manner with the highest value, regardless of whether this will turn out to be possible in 6 months or 9 months, for example. It depends on what they come across, on the unknown challenges they inevitably will need to deal with, on the results of the reviews with the users, etc. They simply accept the nature of what they must do and put maximum focus on getting that done as quickly and efficiently as possible, without spending too much extra time on making estimates, for example.
The main advantage of Agile T&M is that the squad has maximum agility. As compared to Agile Scope-Based, they do not have to refine and time balance the Solution Backlog, or in other words, they do not have the constraint of the previously agreed timeline and budget. Of course, it is still very likely that the squad will consider a timeline and aim to stick to it, but ultimately they can decide at any time to take on extra work and move the timeline, if they consider this to be vital to achieving their goals and objectives. The latter would not be possible in an Agile Scope-Based context, as there the extra work must be balanced, which means that other requirements would have to be taken off the table (i.e. the budget and timeline cannot move).
While Agile T&M offers maximum flexibility and has the least amount of overhead, it is important to understand that this therefore also requires a squad that is very mature and conscious about the nature of the tasks at hand, about how to work together, and about how to really deliver value towards specific goals and objectives. In this constellation, the role of a Project Squad Product Owner can be fulfilled by the user organization, which can be very beneficial for the execution of the project. At the same time, this means that the assigned Product Owner must be fully qualified to get the job done, together with the assigned Project Squad and Agile Coach.
The most important practical considerations to take into account for an Agile T&M type of arrangement with Skyline are:
Clear expectations in terms of the skillsets for the resources that Skyline will allocate (e.g. development of interface connectors, design and development of automation workflows, design of graphical UIs in Visual Overview, etc.).
Clear expectations in terms of availability. As this is about human resources, it is important to consider that resources cannot be switched instantly. It can therefore take time to make a resource available (depending on other projects and on skillset expectations, for example), and once a resource is allocated for a specific timespan, any changes in that timespan also need to be planned sufficiently in advance.
Consequently, it is important for the assigned Project Squad Product Owner to have some level of visibility on what will be needed in terms of staffing, and to communicate that in a timely fashion with Skyline.