Building a Website is an important step for any business owner.

Now, you can have a plethora of reasons for getting a website in the first place.

You might want to sell your products on it. 

You might want to deliver a clear message of your services to your potential clients.

Whatever the reason might be, the point is you are getting a website developed.

And because you are getting it developed by a third party, you need to protect your time and money.

Let me show you how you can do that with this case study.

Our client had a rough time with a previous web development agency, leading to the termination of their contract.

They hired another agency to complete their project, but this time, they wanted to ensure the same thing did not happen again.

And that's why they needed a good contract, which is where we came in.

Problems:

1) Unclear Deliverables

The Deliverables were not clear.

On several occasions, there were disputes over whether a certain part was included in the original scope.

2) Absence of Project Updates

There was no clarity over project updates.

No process for review, acceptance, and revisions was there.

This further caused delay.

3) IP Ownership and Transfer Ambiguity

There was no clarity over the ownership and transfer of IP in the source code.

Whether the IP is owned by the client during the project, or is it only given after the completion of the project.

Solutions:

1) Clear Scope and Timelines:

As per the discussion with our client, we reviewed their SOW and the timelines for each milestone.

The first step was to ensure that timelines were not treated as mere formalities by putting in necessary provisions for non-compliance.

And also, we provided for the right to terminate and damages in case of significant delays by the vendor.

2) Structured Acceptance and Revisions

We made provisions for the periodic review of the project by the client and acceptance criteria and method for each milestone delivery.

And also provided “revisions requests’ for clients, including the scope of revisions and turnaround time.

This was fairly balanced by including deemed acceptance to avoid exploitation of vendors as well.

Focusing on all parties involved.

3) IP Ownership and Transfer

We had to clarify the IP rights in this project.

So we clarified the ownership rights over the source code of the website DURING the project.

We also included the conditions where the vendor would be transferring the complete source code to the client.

Finally, we made provisions for the delivery of unfinished source code if the project does not go smoothly.

All the pain points the client faced with the previous agency were addressed.

And going forward, the client had a better idea of what to expect out of the new agency.

All in all, it was a successful project.

Whether you are a client or a service provider, clarity is important.

Especially if you are providing or buying premium services.

Then you need to be extra careful - make sure you know what you are getting or paying for.

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