The statement of work functions as a guideline for contractors, suppliers, producers, etc to meet the requirements set by the consumer. These requirements include the scope and location of work, applicable standards, deliverable schedules, special requirements, and acceptance criteria. The statement of work is usually bound by a contract that assigns the responsibilities to the contractor to carry out the desired work. The statement of work, therefore, must have unambiguous information and guidelines to eliminate any misconception and chances of unacceptable outcomes. If the statement of work is ambiguous, the contractor will be forced to interpret certain information. One such statement of work component that tends to be unclear is the Deliverables/Services.
The deliverables/services section of the statement of work clearly outlines what is expected of the contractor in terms of the tangible products or outcomes to receive the payment for the contract, generally, it is the result. However, any statement of work’ can be unclear regarding the deliverables/services.
Many statements do not identify the date of delivery or the required type of deliverable. This results in the contractor interpreting the information in a way that is suitable for him/her. This often results in unsatisfactory production and the deliverables are often returned to the contractor and no payment is made.
In many cases the detailed information is not provided, e.g. the packaging size of the deliverables, or depending on the deliverable, if a hard or soft copy is required, the structural requirements, etc.
Moreover, the payment plans are not clearly outlined whether the payment will occur after the completion of a certain milestone, a certain period, or towards the end of the contract. The payment policy is also not included which highlights whether the bidder would have to propose a price or whether the company would dictate the amount of payment.
Lastly, how the work is to be done is also left upon the contractor. Resource quality issues, concerns and requirements, communication requirements, production requirements, and the approach used in production are not discussed resulting in increased ambiguity.
Several steps can be taken to make this component more understandable. The deliveries/services portion of the statement of work would have to be re-written.
The company should identify and explain in detail what it expects of the deliverables. The name of the deliverable should be outlined clearly and the description of its contents, structure, size, quality, and format i.e. hard copy or soft copy, based on the type of deliverable should be clearly stated in the statement of work. Moreover, the required number of copies or deliveries of the deliverable, the language in which it is required, any supplementary items such as manuals of portfolios, etc if required should be stated clearly.
The mode, time, and frequency of payments on deliveries should also be highlighted clearly. This further encourages the contractor to meet the standards, milestones, and deadlines. The terms of payment on deliverables should also be stated.
Lastly, but most importantly, the way the contractor should go about the production of deliverables should also be clearly stated to avoid future conflict. This includes the resource quality requirements, performance standards, approach to be used, communication requirements, transportation requirements, etc should all be included.
References
- Peter. S. Cole. (2003). How to Write a Statement of Work. 5th Edition. Management Concepts.
- Michael G Martin. (2002). Delivering Project Excellence with the Statement of Work. Illustrated. Management Concepts.
- Joe Taylor. (2009). How a Statement of Work can save your project.