Hardware

Many software vendors will suggest that you purchase the hardware directly through them. While this certainly is the choice of each individual organization, our experience has been that a better deal structure can be received by purchasing your hardware directly through the hardware vendor otherwise normally utilized by your organization. Whatever approach is chosen, the following contractual components should be included:

Architectural blueprints of the hardware design for all environments.

The detailed specifications of all hardware. The specifications should be at the level of detail such that an order can be placed with your hardware vendor.

Financial remuneration if the vendor's specifications are not adequate.

If you purchase the hardware from the software vendor, make sure to have the hardware warranty increased. Because much of your hardware will be used minimally during the life of the project, work with your hardware provider to increase your warranty at least to 4 years to allow more time before you need to replace the hardware.

Professional Services

It is likely that the largest portion of the financial spend for your implementation will be in professional services. It is critical therefore that professional services be limited by having proper controls around them.

Detailed role and responsibility information should be included in the contract. As an example, if you are contracting for a Project Manager, specific responsibilities should be defined in terms of expected tasks and deliverables.

Remember that the effectiveness of professional services is dependent upon the individual consultants doing the work and not the organization from which they come.
That being said, a right of refusal clause is extremely important. Make sure to include a contractual ability and responsibility to receive resumes and an ability to interview consultants before hiring.

Monthly Talent review meetings should be included in the contract. During these meetings, the project executives from both your and the vendor organization should present resource concerns. Note, this presentation should be bi-directional.

Travel can quickly consume a significant amount of the professional budget; it is therefore essential to include a detailed travel expense policy with limits on transportation, housing, and food.

We believe strongly in detailed time tracking. Weekly time sheets for each consultant should be provided and should be reconciled against the project plan. When invoices are submitted, the invoices should be reconciled against the timesheets. Penalties should be included in the contract for not adhering to weekly deadlines on time and status reporting.

Finally, termination policies should be included upfront. It's important to distinguish between "for cause" and "not for cause". Additionally, free knowledge transfer time should be included if a consultant needs to be replaced.

Training

Training is typically a fairly simple contract item. There are two key items that we tend to mitigate against.

First, you want to make sure adequate training is available to support your implementation schedule. As such, include a schedule of available training classes and/or on-site trainer availability during the period of your implementation.

Second, you want to have recourse for poor quality training to include financial remuneration or retraining.