Statement of Work for Software Development (SoW): Purpose, Structure, Examples | EPAM Anywhere Business

Project Participants

Create a more detailed list of project participants, including their expertise, responsibilities in the project, and rates. Each participant needs to know their scope of work and area of responsibility to avoid conflict and misunderstandings. You can also include individual goals and incentives for every worker involved in the project.

Financial Information

The financial part of the SoW covers budgeting, estimates, and payment terms to the service provider. For example, you can opt for a fixed-price model that prevents exceeding your budget. However, this payment model limits the scope and doesn’t allow for product flexibility, which is the desired element of an app development project. Another model is scope-based and allows more flexibility, which is especially great for long-term projects. The downside is going over your budget and overspending.

Project Timeline

To keep the project afloat and under budget, create a detailed schedule for each phase of the Scope of Work agreement. Specify the milestones, their deliverables, vital deadlines, objectives, and due dates for A/B testing and release. The more detailed the timeline, the easier the monitoring and reporting.

Standards

This part is crucial for large projects with dozens of people involved. Avoid miscommunication and mistakes by crafting a paragraph with standards for each project element. Specify the coding languages and frameworks you will be using, testing standards and KPIs, hardware and software, and other functional requirements. For example, you can include the information about the project management software you will employ throughout the project to ensure everyone is on the same page and knows how to use the program before the project starts.

Monitoring

Decide how often and in which way you would like to track the performance of the software development vendor. Depending on the level of involvement you are comfortable with, you can arrange weekly or monthly calls and reviews or utilize tracking software to continuously control the work. You should also discuss the reporting mechanisms and elaborate on the tools your vendor must use to create reports.

Terms and Conditions

This section serves to protect the client and vendor from unforeseeable issues. Include information about responsibilities and termination conditions, for example, who carries financial responsibilities if the project is cut short. The document should also touch on the contract duration and possible consequences for exceeding the end date.

Acceptance Criteria

This final chapter includes criteria that determine the success or failure of the project. Add concrete requirements that measure the performance rate of the end product as well as every stage. The definitions need to be measurable and tangible to provide clear acceptance criteria.