What is Agile Procurement?
Agile Procurement refers to the approach of integrating agile development methods (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe) into public procurement processes for IT projects. The goal is to replace the rigid waterfall logic of traditional procurement with iterative, flexible structures while maintaining compliance with procurement law.
Why Agile Procurement?
Traditional IT procurement follows a waterfall model that often leads to failures in large public IT projects due to changing requirements, impossible detailed specifications, and rigid fixed-price escalations.
Legal Framework
Agile procurement is legally compliant under German procurement law through:
- Negotiated procedure (§ 14 para. 3 VgV): When services cannot be sufficiently specified
- Competitive dialogue (§ 17 VgV): For particularly complex projects
- Innovation partnership (§ 19 VgV): When market-ready solutions don't exist yet
Contract Models
| Model | Description | Suitability |
|---|---|---|
| Time & Material (T&M) | Billing by effort | High flexibility, budget risk |
| T&M with Cap | Effort-based with ceiling | Balance between flexibility and security |
| Sprint-based | Fixed price per sprint | Predictability with iterative development |
| Framework + Call-offs | Framework contract with sprint call-offs | Long-term collaboration |
| EVB-IT Service Contract | Standard IT service contract | Legal certainty |
Best Practices
- Functional specifications instead of detailed requirement documents
- Product Backlog as a living requirements document
- Definition of Done as binding quality criterion
- Sprint Reviews with the client as acceptance mechanism
- Trial sprint as an award criterion
- Exit clauses for orderly contract termination
Challenges
- Budget constraints with fixed annual budgets
- Balancing openness and specificity in tender documents
- Demonstrating value for money with T&M models
- Organizational culture change required
- Limited case law on agile procurement
Patterno Helps
With Patterno-HIT, you can specifically identify IT tenders that require or enable agile methods. Our AI recognizes relevant keywords like "Scrum," "iterative," "sprint," or "Product Owner" in procurement documents.