Use These Nine Elements to Complete a Statement of Work
Sunday, April 2, 2017, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
Partnering with high performing suppliers can be critical to delivering successful projects.
Whether you’re hiring a supplier to deliver equipment, provide consultancy or simply make the coffee—the key is to document your requirements for their delivery upfront within a “Statement of Work” (SOW).
Without a detailed SOW it will be difficult to manage your suppliers performance, as you will not have a clearly laid out set of requirements upon which to base their performance.
(Note that some organizations use an SOW on internal projects – often as another name for a Charter. However, I am using the term now as a procurement document – that is, between a buyer and a seller.)
Although you may have a formal supplier contract in place, the contract will most likely specify the legal aspects of the relationship – not the specific procurement requirements of your project in detail.
Creating a detailed Statement of Work is not too difficult a task. Complete the following steps to create a comprehensive SOW for your project.
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Background
Describe any perspective or background information that makes sense for the project.
For instance, you may wish only to work with suppliers over a certain company size, with experience providing certain types of products and a detailed knowledge of your industry and local market.
You may also require that the supplier has a certain number of years experience and clients who can to act as referees.
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Deliverables
Provide a detailed description of the deliverables and or services to be provided by the supplier.
For each product, describe in detail its components (if a ‘good’) as well as any skill-sets required (if a ‘service’).
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Dates
Clearly state the dates within which deliverables must be complete, and any other expectations for the deliverables or services.
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Training
Identify the training required by your project team, if any, to ensure that maximum benefits are gained from the goods and services provided by the supplier.
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Documentation
List any documentation to be supplied, such as an Operating Manual, User Guide, Business Processes or Support Procedures.
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Support
Describe the level of support required of the supplier by specifying thing like the support hours needed and the level of support to be given.
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Other materials
Include any other materials and equipment to be provided by the supplier to the project team.
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Acceptance
Describe the process for acceptance of each deliverable, to ensure that deliverables are formally reviewed and accepted by the project team before they are deemed ‘complete’.
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Payment terms
Identify the conditions and terms for making payment to a supplier for goods and services rendered.
That’s it. If you complete each of the steps listed above, you will create a comprehensive Statement of Work which can be used to get the most out of your supplier relationship.
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This column is © copyright to www.Method123.com and originally appeared in their weekly project management tip newsletter.
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