SUCCESS MAKING

Contract Lifecycle Management Critical Success Factor

<a href=”Contract”>http://www.contractlifecyclemanagement.com”>Contract lifecycle management</a> involves not only the proactive management of compliance to the negotiated terms and conditions of your agreements, it is highly dependent on how the specification and contract is constructed.

“I keep six honest serving men,(they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When, And How and Where and Who…”

Rudyard Kipling wrote the above text at the beginning of last century and hit on one of the most critical factors for successful contract lifecycle management. Whatever method of contracting you choose, and in what industry or discipline, the above remains true. If you get the specification right, then successfully managing the contract will be far easier than if you do not.

A small amount of work upfront will pay dividends during the delivery phase of the contract. Specify exactly the product or service to be delivered, and include all variables. The better your specification, the easier it will be to price, and the more accurate the price will be. Managing delivery of the contract to the terms of the contract is then a useful mechanism to ensure the success of your project. If you get the specification wrong then the contract will be useless.

The specification must form the basis of the legal document, which forms the basis of the relationship, not the other way around. And without a good specification, contract lifecycle management can be very difficult because there is no clear guide to delivery of the contract and no effective control mechanisms in place.

Contract lifecycle management software will help to streamline your contract management. But remember to get the specification right.

About the Author

Adam McInnes is the CEO of Open Windows Contracts, a leader in contract lifecycle management software. Open Windows offers a trial of their contract management software and additional material that you may be interested in.