Making sure things go smoothly
- Ensure you have a contract which clearly states what is expected of both parties and what should be delivered - if you can, include detailed requirements and acceptance criteria (which is the criteria the delivery will be measured against) - your digital partner should be able to help with this.
- Don’t forget to include requirements around ongoing maintenance and hosting as well as continuous improvement (if relevant). Including a review point(s) in your contract should enable you to rescale maintenance/hosting where the levels are too high or too low.
- Make sure you agree a contract manager from each side so that you and the supplier know who to discuss the contract and performance with.
- Agree ways of working from the outset of a project. This could include:
- Ensure you have agreed input needed by you/your team early on in the process and stick to your tasks. If you can’t meet a deadline let your digital partner know.
- Most digital providers will be working in Agile and would expect to show you regular progress at Show and Tell meetings, as well as some of the other ceremonies. See details in the Delivering Effectively materials.
- Be willing to review the work regularly and provide detailed feedback - it is better to raise a problem sooner rather than later so that it can be sorted.
- If your requirements change, discuss them with the partner and make any required changes to your contract so that expectations are managed and agreed in writing.
- If appropriate, ask you digital supplier to share knowledge with you and your team so that you are being brought along on the journey and your team gain some experience from working with the supplier.
