Quarterly Delivery and Relationship Assessment¶
“Partnership maturity grows through reflection, not reports.”
Purpose¶
The Quarterly Delivery and Relationship Assessment provides a structured checkpoint to evaluate the health, maturity, and trajectory of the ongoing client–vendor engagement.
It measures both delivery performance and relationship maturity to:
- Identify what has evolved since the last Diagnostic or Assessment,
- Re-align expectations and metrics between Client and Vendor,
- Strengthen systemic trust and prevent silent degradation of engagement quality.
This tool turns continuous improvement into a shared quarterly ritual rather than a reactive exercise.
Applies To¶
| Dimension | Scope |
|---|---|
| SDLC Stages | Ongoing Delivery → MVP / v1 → Post-v1 Evolution |
| 3SF Relationship Lines | Engagement ↔ Delivery ↔ Value |
| 3SF Layers | Stable Rules Layer (SRL) + Rule Audit Checklist (RAC) |
| Maturity Target | From Co-Creative Trust → toward Strategic Partnership |
Actors / Roles¶
| Client Side | Vendor Side | Shared Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Sponsor | Account Lead | Ensure business and partnership alignment across portfolio. |
| Product Leader | Delivery Facilitator | Review delivery flow, backlog health, and outcome alignment. |
| Solution Architect | Solution Architect | Evaluate technical evolution and design integrity. |
| Governance Officer | Engineering Director | Verify compliance, continuity, and risk management. |
| Requirements Analyst, Experience Designer | Technical Integrator, Practice Lead | Review quality, usability, and system coherence. |
Steps / Routines¶
1. Prepare Evidence and Signals¶
- Collect performance metrics (velocity, incidents, releases, satisfaction).
- Summarize progress against previous Diagnostic and Improvement Backlog.
- Compile survey or pulse feedback from both teams.
2. Evaluate Relationship Maturity¶
- Apply the 3SF Maturity Grid across all three relationship lines.
- Rate current state and discuss deltas since last quarter.
- Use narrative reasoning: “What changed, why, and what did we learn?”
3. Assess Delivery Health¶
- Review flow efficiency, predictability, and outcome correlation.
- Identify systemic blockers or cross-team dependencies.
- Validate that stable rules (SRL) are still effective.
4. Identify Next Maturity Levers¶
- Select one Engagement lever (e.g., trust rituals),
one Delivery lever (e.g., joint planning),
and one Value lever (e.g., outcome-based metrics). - Define targeted improvements for the next 3 months.
5. Facilitate the Quarterly Review Session¶
- Conduct a 2-hour structured conversation led jointly by the Delivery Facilitator and Product Leader.
- Include both Executive Sponsor and Account Lead for alignment on strategic direction.
- Conclude with a signed Quarterly Alignment Record (QAR) summarizing decisions.
6. Publish and Track¶
- Update the Maturity Dashboard and Improvement Backlog.
- Plan follow-up in next retrospectives or governance meetings.
Inputs / Outputs¶
| Inputs | Outputs |
|---|---|
| Previous Diagnostic or Assessment reports, metrics dashboards, Improvement Backlog | Quarterly Alignment Record (QAR), updated Maturity Dashboard, new Improvement Plan |
Metrics / Signals¶
| Category | Example Indicators |
|---|---|
| Maturity Delta | +1 level on at least one relationship line per two quarters. |
| Engagement Quality | ≥ 80% survey score on trust, clarity, and communication. |
| Delivery Health | <15% churn in backlog due to unclear priorities. |
| Value Realization | ≥ 70% of delivered items linked to measurable outcomes. |
| System Stability | No recurring systemic issues across two consecutive quarters. |
Common Pitfalls¶
- Treating the assessment as a KPI review instead of a relationship reflection.
- Focusing only on delivery metrics and ignoring value signals.
- Lack of senior involvement (Sponsor / Account Lead).
- Overcomplicating the scoring instead of discussing narratives.
- Not translating insights into actionable next steps.
Scaling Notes¶
| Maturity Stage | Evolution Focus |
|---|---|
| Co-Creative → Strategic Partner | Establish shared portfolio governance and joint success metrics. |
| Strategic Partner → Integrated Partner | Formalize 3SF assessments as part of enterprise governance cadence. |
At higher maturity, assessments evolve into joint portfolio reviews connecting multiple projects under one relationship umbrella.
Client-Side Application¶
Objective: Maintain visibility into how the vendor partnership contributes to both product outcomes and organizational learning.
Client actions
- Gather stakeholder feedback (Product, IT, Compliance).
- Validate vendor delivery outcomes against business KPIs.
- Participate in rating and narrative discussion openly.
- Identify internal policy or dependency changes required to sustain maturity growth.
- Endorse the next-quarter improvement levers and allocate needed support.
Vendor-Side Application¶
Objective: Demonstrate delivery maturity, anticipate systemic risks, and nurture trust through transparency.
Vendor actions
- Prepare delivery and relationship metrics with context and narrative.
- Facilitate the assessment workshop jointly with the client.
- Summarize improvement recommendations in QAR format.
- Highlight proactive actions taken since last quarter.
- Support governance follow-up and accountability tracking.
Summary¶
The Quarterly Delivery and Relationship Assessment transforms performance review into relationship evolution.
It anchors the 3SF maturity journey in real, measurable progress — ensuring that trust, value, and flow advance together.
This tool closes the feedback loop between system observation and system evolution, forming the foundation for strategic partnership readiness.