Typical agreements in cooperation with software house
We present below a few types of contracts, which apply the most frequently in collaboration between a contractor and a software house. Of course not all of them are obligatory, however they are often concluded, especially in big and advanced projects.
NDA agreements
NDA agreement (Non Disclosure Agreement) is in other words confidentiality agreement. In practice this contract is commonly made when the realisation of the project demands access to the source with confidential data and materials, such as business information, company’s strategic plans or customers’ personal data. Thanks to the NDA agreement the contractor is assured that all of sensitive information won’t be spread or used in any undesirable ways. This type of contract is often signed at the stage of discovering customer's needs.
SLA agreements
SLA agreement (Service Level Agreement) establishes concrete tasks, which are realised by a supplier and most of all the standard of their execution. This type of contract is usually signed in B2B cooperation. The SLA is only an addition to service agreement, in which a supplier not only establishes the subject of the contract, but also commits himself to ensure appropriate quality of provided services. SLA agreement is especially crucial in realisations of projects, which are the basis of a company's efficient operation.
MSA agreements
MSA (Master Service Agreement) determines precise conditions of cooperation between the sides. For instance they can be payment terms, type of service’s warranty, issues connected with intellectual property rights, terms of confidentiality or guidelines of dispute resolution.
Statement of Work
SOW (Statement of Work) is a document that specifies accurate areas of cooperation. It contains concrete customer’s expectations of a supplier, like detailed stages of project’s realisation, a schedule of performed work, a final deadline for completing particular parts of the project and others. Well-prepared SOW helps entrepreneurs to identify which suppliers are able to fulfil the criteria, as well as prevents misinterpretation of duties by a service provider.