Client Cadence

It is very important that we are clear and transparent with our clients. Having a regular cadence with the client will go far in achieving that. It is important, however, to understand the desire of the client to participate in certain type of meetings. Having a conversation with the client about their opportunities to participate and their actual desire to participate will help set the proper cadence.

Weekly Meetings

At a minimum, weekly meetings should be had with client so that the state of the project is shared and understood. Additionally, with Kanban, this meeting will be an opportunity to set priorities, review timelines and create new releases. The engineers on the project (or a representative from each department) should be present in these meetings.

Scrum Kick-Offs

The client (who is often the SME or PO) should be present at these meetings. It allows the engineers ask question and give demonstrations of progress on the project. It also brings the client into the process and makes them part of the success of the team, increasing the client buy-in.

Stand-Ups

Not all clients want to be at the stand-ups, however, it is important to give them the opportunity to join. Ensure that the client knows that purpose of the stand-up is a simple update. If the client would like to have a longer discussion, let the engineers drop-off and continue the conversation. During the stand-ups it will be important to identify blockers and where they exist.

Related

• Client Buy-In — earning client alignment with Agile
• Client Interactions — PM and account management in meetings