ABSTRACT
The contracts used in outsourcing business can be roughly grouped in three categories.
• Fixed-price contracts. An estimate of the workload is prepared in advance, and the contract partners agree on a fixed amount of money for the entire project.
• Unit-price contracts. The contract sets a certain sum to be paid per hour of actual working time (i.e., payment for “time” and “material”).
• Service agreements. The provider substitutes for the customer’s internal IT department for a certain period of time. The contract specifies the vendor’s duties and the monthly fees.
Project contracts involve more-or-less detailed written requirements determined before the implementation can start. When the implementation is finished, the product must be officially accepted by the customer. In most projects, the implementation is followed by a guarantee period during which reported failures must be repaired without additional payment.
