534
August 2017
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
P
roject
M
anagement
interest of all parties to the contract. Taking a short path to get
the contract signed does not make it easier it simply pushes
any hurdles to another point in the project.
Strive to make everything as precise as possible. I know what
you’re thinking, in our industry not everything is going to be
precise and that’s why we have error budgets and accuracy
statements, not everything is perfect. Understanding that, we
need to be very plain and clear about what those standards
or accuracy statements are so that we can ensure that the
expectations of all the parties are being met. Taking the time
to ensure this type of information is clear during the initial
contract review phase is far simpler than during the execution
phase during a possible conflict.
Terms and conditions are an area where people are in general
very hesitant to request changes. Often there is this general
assumption that the other party will be upset or otherwise
annoyed with us if we request anything. Granted it doesn’t help
when those terms and conditions come as a part of a Request
for Proposal (RFP) that does everything it can to strike fear in
our hearts about doing anything other than accepting all terms
as written, no exceptions. They are actually a great opportunity
for the Project Manager to take the first cut at mitigating risk.
Polite and professionally requesting modifications are often
entertained and result in better terms for your organization.
This is true regardless of the size of the organization that you
are dealing with. Over the years of managing projects and
working on both sides of a contract I have learned that even
the largest most complicated company will entertain requested
changes to contracts. I have often heard the argument that
“they are far too large to change their terms” and that simply
isn’t true. Contracts are typically written to favor the pre-
senting party, if asked they are willing to change some of the
terms. As the Project Manager, any change that moves the
terms in a positive direction for your organization is valuable
and is worth the ask. One thing is for certain, if you don’t ask
for any changes you won’t get them.
Spending the time to review the terms and conditions and the
scope of work and really investing that upfront time in the
planning to mitigate the risk is without a doubt worth doing.
Begin with the end in mind, you’re trying to write a document
that will serve to remove ambiguity and that will limit your
risk. If a third-party were to mediate the document, you want
it to be very clear as to whether both parties did or did not
meet their obligations.
Key Items to consider
1.
Specificity, specifications and acceptance criteria
a.
Being precise will help define success on the con-
tract for both parties. Don’t be afraid to bulk up
the scope of work and break down deliverables into
smaller descriptive parts
b.
Remove ambiguity
2.
Are all assumptions defined?
3.
Be very sure that all assumptions by either party are
clearly identified
4.
Is the contract fair and reasonable?
a.
Regardless of which party was its author it needs to
be fair and reasonable
5.
Don’t assume that changes will not be entertained.
a.
Are the terms favorable to your organization? What
terms are not in your best interest? Identify what is
not favorable and ask for a change. Removal, modi-
fications and additions are all options.
6.
Were a third party not of our industry tasked with de-
termining what party had fully met the terms of your
agreement would you be able to show specifically how
you did?
Being Proactive
1.
Consider stating in all your responses and offers that
you would like the opportunity to discuss terms and
scope of work further, yes even if it says to beware of do-
ing so. You don’t need to specifically identify which ones
at the early stages, you simply want to leave the door
open to do so in the future. There are ways to make your
request without making it seem that you are non-com-
pliant to a response or too difficult to deal with.
2.
Present your own Terms and Conditions with your pro-
posal. Often times we are asked for a quote through
more informal means, use this opportunity to provide
your terms and conditions up front.
Taking the time to focus on risk mitigation in advance of
signing the contract is key to managing project risk. The risks
presented in the contract will span the entire project lifecycle
and beyond. Taking the time to do so despite any frenzy to “get
it signed” or “get the estimate in” will ensure that your project
is positioned with the best possible start.
Raquel Charrois is the vice president of Continental Map-
ping Consultants, Inc., a Project Management Professional
(PMP), and an ASPRS Certified Photogrammetrist.
Raquel is very focused on process based approaches that
unite program and business objectives, resulting in portfolio
success.
If you have questions or topics that you would like to see
discussed, please email them to
PMP@asprs.org
.
