How to get users/clients implicated in iterative development?

Question

What do you do when your (external) client's users don't have the time/will to actively participate in iterative development? How do you "force" them to get implicated? Remember that often they must do this while still completing all their regular duties and that the IT department, who sponsors the software project, doesn't have the power to free some key users of their regular work.

Answer 1

Let them know that the SCRUMMs are short meetings. Let them know if they are not there that the project may get off track. Let them know that they get immediate input if they show up.

Answer 2

I make sure that the contract is a time and materials because you'll have last minute scope changes, and you want to avoid eating that cost.

Aside from that you can't force them to use the product. The best you can hope for is to publish the change and let them know. I'm facing this issue with my internal customers who miss a release or two of our software and get lost when they finally get back into it.

The best I can do is communicate to them, the changes and the importance of them looking at the changes, but at the end of the day that's about it.

Answer 3

You can't force them. Their management could, but obviously is not interested in the project. Which means they don't think it's going to yield any benefit or productivity improvement. Which in turn means that your software is not going to get used when it's done anyway.

They are the people you need to convince.

Answer 4

I think making very clear that the most frequent participants get the most input is crucial. We have one client for our latest app that is in every meeting where the others tend to be occasionally present. As a result, the features that are adjusted and/or added to the app are more useful to the one client. If you can get them to understand that their feedback truly shapes the end product they are likely to want to be there.

Answer 5

Agile requires that specific enterance criteria be meet. One of them is to have a product owner and customer collaboartion. While there are things you can do to make the role of Product Owner easier, eliminating the role is a key blocker to doing Agile. The proudct owner determines what is on the product backlog (other than technical debt) and prioritizes the backlog for the team. If you are doing work without a product backlog, then you are not value driven.

It is best to educate your business partner. To do so, immerse them in Agile by spending a week with a company or team that is doing Agile successfully. Once you have buy in proceed. Without business partner support forget it.

Answer 6

The best way I've found of getting clients interested is to show them something tangible. This normally means a user interface of some kind, even if there's is little or no real backend code. People get enthusiastic when they can visualise the product you are building for them, and can provide much more effective input and criticism under these conditions. Then, to maintain the feedback cycle, the most important thing is to make sure you take their comments on board, and show that they're input is valued. It's hard for clients to stay cynical and uninterested when they can see the project evolving and feel a part of that process.