Friday November 20 or 27, 16.00 CET, Webinar (Online)

Output-based Contracting of Agile Application Development Teams: Moving Beyond Time and Materials

Most agile software development teams operate under traditional Time & Materials (T&M) or rigid fixed-price contracts that fail to align commercial incentives with actual value delivery. T&M places all risk on the client with little visibility into productivity, while fixed-price models stifle change and treat adaptation as a defect.

How can organizations establish transparent, fair, and performance-driven agreements with internal or external agile teams without heavy administrative overhead?

Join Harold van Heeringen (founder of AgileBenchmark, President of Nesma, and board member of the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group) for a practical session exploring how to build output-based financial governance for agile teams.

Key Takeaways:

• The Pitfalls of Traditional Agile Contracting: Why velocity and story points alone cannot serve as contractual or financial metrics.

• Objective Sizing and Standardization (NPR 5333 & Nesma EFS): How applying NPR 5333 and Nesma Easy Functional Sizing (EFS) brings objective, transparent, and verifiable output measurement directly to sprint backlogs.

• Structuring Output-Based Agreements: Practical frameworks for linking compensation, productivity, and quality benchmarks using ISBSG data and value-driven governance.

• Bridging the Gap: Balancing team autonomy and continuous backlog evolution with predictable financial planning and risk-sharing.

Real-Life Case Study:

We will walk through an enterprise transformation where an organization facing escalating T&M costs and opaque velocity metrics across agile teams implemented Nesma EFS and NPR 5333 standards. Discover how shifting from paying for "sitting time" to measuring functional output eliminated subjective velocity inflation and established a benchmarked price-per-function-point model.

Event Details

• Presenter: Harold van Heeringen (Nesma President, AgileBenchmark Founder, ISBSG Board)

• Date: Friday, November 20, 2026 or Friday, November 27, 2026

• Time: 16:00 (CEST)

• Platform: Zoho Webinar

• Cost: Free of charge

Register now and secure your spot:

Friday, November 20 or 27: https://live.zoho.eu/wvyy-yna-ylo

Nesma regularly organizes events: an annual physical member event (in the Netherlands), and webinars and other digital events. Next events are:

Events

Friday December 4, 16.00 CET, Webinar (Online)

Beyond Velocity: How to Use Objective Value Metrics to Better Understand and Manage Agile Team Performance4

Story points and velocity are effective tools for sprint-level team planning, but they are inherently subjective, non-transferable across teams, and useless for true performance management, cost estimation benchmarking, or executive reporting. Relying on velocity to measure productivity often leads to inflated estimates, broken trust, and missed predictability.

How can engineering and product leaders measure what agile teams actually deliver—objectively and transparently—without sliding back into heavy, bureaucratic waterfall practices?

Join Harold van Heeringen (founder of AgileBenchmark, President of Nesma, and board member of the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group) for a practical session on moving past internal velocity metrics toward reliable, industry-standard value measurement.

Key Takeaways:

• The Limits of Velocity: Why story points fluctuate, lack external standards, and fail when used as management or performance KPIs.

• Objective Sizing in Practice: How applying Nesma Easy Functional Sizing (EFS) and NPR 5333 bridges the gap between agile user stories and standardized functional output.

• Benchmarking & Productivity Analysis: Using ISBSG data and empirical norms to understand how your agile teams truly perform relative to the market.

• Data-Driven Management & Coaching: How leaders can use transparent metrics to remove impediments, optimize flow, and report meaningful progress to stakeholders.

Real-Life Case Study:

We will explore how an engineering organization replaced subjective cross-team velocity comparisons with standardized functional sizing—uncovering hidden capacity bottlenecks, restoring confidence in delivery forecasts, and enabling objective team coaching.

Who Should Attend:

Engineering Managers, Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and IT Management and Directors looking for grounded, metric-backed ways to manage agile delivery.

Event Details

• Presenter: Harold van Heeringen (Nesma President, AgileBenchmark Owner, ISBSG director)

• Date: Friday, December 4, 2026

• Time: 16:00 (CET)

• Platform: Zoho Webinar

• Cost: Free of charge

Whether you are a software metric specialist, product owner, agile coach, or involved in IT procurement and contracting, this session will provide actionable insights to future-proof your delivery and commercial models.

Secure your spot today and join the conversation!

Register now and secure your spot: https://live.zoho.eu/iiyy-yst-gvm

Thursday December 10, 16.00 CET, Webinar (Online)

Software Cost Estimation: Why Accuracy Drives Project Success

Too many software initiatives run over budget, slip past deadlines, or get canceled before delivering value—not because of poor engineering, but because of flawed upfront estimation. Relying on gut feel or optimistic intuition sets projects up for friction, scope creep, and ballooning costs.

Accurate Software Cost Estimation is a strategic advantage that unlocks real cost savings, dramatically raises project success rates, and streamlines communication and project management.

Join Harold van Heeringen (founder of AgileBenchmark, President of Nesma, ISBSG board member, and ICEAA-certified Software Cost Estimator) to explore how data-driven estimation transforms software governance—and get an exclusive first look at the Software Investment Reality Check service.

Key Takeaways:

• The True Cost of Bad Estimates: Why uncalibrated guessing and rough planning derail software investments.

• Science Over Speculation: How objective functional sizing (Nesma) and empirical data (ISBSG) enable reliable effort and timeline forecasting.

• Introducing the Software Investment Reality Check: A targeted AgileBenchmark service designed to independently audit, validate, or rescue your business cases, vendor quotes, and project estimates before you commit capital.

• Better Governance & Alignment: How transparent estimates turn tense budget negotiations into collaborative, predictable project management.

Real-Life Case Study:

We will examine a real engagement where an organization received a multi-million-dollar vendor quote for a core application development program. Applying an independent Software Investment Reality Check using objective sizing uncovered a 35% overestimation in effort—allowing the client to renegotiate terms, eliminate padding, and reallocate budget safely.

Who Should Attend:

CIOs, IT Directors, Project Portfolio Managers, Product Leaders, and Finance or Procurement executives overseeing software investments.

Event Details

• Presenter: Harold van Heeringen (Nesma President, AgileBenchmark Owner, ISBSG director)

• Date: Thursday, December 10, 2026

• Time: 16:00 (CET)

• Platform: Zoho Webinar

• Cost: Free of charge

Whether you are a software metric specialist, product owner, agile coach, or involved in IT procurement and contracting, this session will provide actionable insights to future-proof your delivery and commercial models.

Secure your spot today and join the conversation!

Register now and secure your spot: https://live.zoho.eu/cbnw-wch-dif