best ractices of drafting statement of work

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  • 7/27/2019 BEST RACTICES OF DRAFTING STATEMENT OF WORK

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    Best Practices: DraftingStatements of Work and

    Technical Schedules

    Carolyn L. Craig, Partner, Cooley

    Christopher Sundermeier, Partner, Cooley

    , ,

    2010 Cooley LLP, Five Palo Alto Square, 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306The content of this packet is an introduction to Cooley LLPs capabilities and is not intended, by itself, to

    provide legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee future outcome.

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    SOWs and Technical Schedules

    Overview

    A statement of work (SOW) is a document thatdescribes in detail the services to be performed ande vera es to e e vere .

    Othertechnical schedules document other details of

    maintenance and support obligations.

    the contract -- the failure to properly document theperformance elements is often the reason parties end

    www.cooley.com

    .

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    SOWs and Technical Schedules

    Elements of a SOW

    Scope of work (tasks, development effort)

    Pricin and a ments amount timin ex enses

    Roles and responsibilities (assumptions)

    ,

    Schedule for performance/delivery (milestones)

    Change order process

    www.cooley.com

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    SOWs and Technical Schedules

    Other Technical Schedules

    Transition Plans (critical

    milestones/acceptancecriteria)

    Technical Architecture andProduct Standards

    Oversi ht/Mana ement Data Security Requirements

    Network Access Policies

    Process

    Service Levels (SLAs, SLCs,

    Requirements

    Customer/Vendor Equipment

    Pricing

    Reports

    an o ware Business Continuity and

    Disaster Recovery Plan

    Early Termination Fees

    Termination Assistance

    www.cooley.com

    Vendor Update/Refresh

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    SOWs and Technical Schedules

    Potential problems with SOWs/Technical Schedules

    Too general

    Reads like marketin / romotional materials

    Not treated as part of the contract

    Doesnt fill in all blanks left open in main agreement

    www.cooley.com

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    SOWs and Technical Schedules

    What takes precedence and controls?

    Main Agreement generally negotiated withcontract/legal review and approval

    SOW/Technical Schedules generally negotiated by

    business team, but more details on performance Establish Default Main agreement controls unless a

    provision in the SOW/Technical Schedule expressly

    What is and is not a conflict?

    www.cooley.com

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    SOWs and Technical Schedules

    Real Life Example #1

    Main agreement heavily negotiated as to paymentmilestones, specifically tied to functionality that woulde ava a e or e ease , e ease , etc.

    In draft SOW, payment milestones were set up as-without identifying what functionality was to beincluded in any of the interim Releases

    www.cooley.com

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    SOWs and Technical Schedules

    Real Life Example #2

    Client procuring software installation, integration andconfiguration services for new platform fixed fee of

    , n so tware an , n serv ces

    Main agreement negotiated in detail as to software

    Contractors draft SOW included only bullet points-

    year term no mention of platforms performance,end result of the services, or any milestones for

    www.cooley.com

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    SOWs and Technical Schedules

    Real Life Example #3

    Vague or subjective performance obligations

    com lies with the s ecifications and erforms to

    [Buyers] satisfaction

    provide engineers, installers and/or consultants toassist [Company] with post-sales support

    www.cooley.com

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    SOWs and Technical Schedules

    Practice Tips

    Train business team on importance of theseschedules and things to consider in drafting them

    Create a checklist of items referenced in the main

    agreement to be specified in the schedules Consider and document what takes precedence and

    controls -- avoid conflicting provisions

    e cons s en n e use o e n ons an o er terminology

    www.cooley.com

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    SOWs and Technical Schedules

    Practice Tips

    Use performance-based requirements, when possible

    Re uirements/s ecs to be stated uantitativel(how many) and qualitatively (how perform)

    Requirements must be verifiable (objectivestandards)

    Generally, identify what is to be built not how to

    u

    www.cooley.com

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    Contact Us

    Carolyn CraigPartner

    Christopher SundermeierPartner

    Peter BurnsAssociate

    Palo AltoHanover Campus3175 Hanover StreetPalo Alto, California 94304

    Phone: 650/843-5327-

    Palo AltoHanover Campus3175 Hanover StreetPalo Alto, California 94304

    Phone: 650/843-5684-

    Palo AltoHanover Campus3175 Hanover StreetPalo Alto, California 94304

    Phone: 650/843-5251-

    [email protected]

    [email protected]

    [email protected]

    www.cooley.com