According to the NBS Contracts and Law Survey 2018, scope creep disrupted projects more than any other factor: Variations were also the main cause of 42% of disputes. So what can we do about scope creep? Are
Defining the scope of your contract is critical. Firstly, the scope is the starting point for determining whether any goods, works and services provided are extras – if not, they should be included in the original contract price. Secondly, the contract terms will explain if the extent of the change
I want you to have the confidence to read, understand and use simple contracts. Although technology is threatening to blunder in and take over the contract world (mwah ha ha), we need to first focus on creating human-readable contracts. Read the full edition here » What’s the first thing you
Most contracts will include some form of mechanism or procedure allowing the parties to change the goods, works and services being provided. There are a number of myths about variation clauses because a simple express clause such as this in NEC4 “The Project Manager may give an instruction which changes
The Winfield Rock Report Overcoming the Legal and Contractual Barriers of BIM reported that BIM aficionados expressed ‘sympathy for lawyers having to wade through endless jargon’. Te he he! For once the boot is on the other foot. I spend my life helping professionals overcome jargon: writing jargon-free contracts, training
Do your contracts demonstrate your honesty and trustworthiness? There are more than 50 ways to lose credibility and trust (read more) but if you want to be the right sort of company to do business with, read on. Read the full edition here » It’s snowing here, but it feels
The Winfield Rock Report Overcoming the Legal and Contractual Barriers of BIM [available here] is a great step-forward in explaining both the essentials of BIM and the barriers to its adoption. As a contract and plain language specialist, the Report chimes with my experience: too much jargon too many initialisms
Early in 2018 on twitter, plain language expert Dominique Joseph (@clearerworld), Tim Cummins (@tcummins from the IACCM), Ken Adams (@KonciseD) watched closely by Stefania Passera (@StewieKee), asked who was doing a good job of making contracts more user-friendly? Initially, we got side-tracked because Dom had framed her question to ask
I have a thing about creating lovable contracts. After all, contracts help you run your business, which helps you make money, which helps you live the life you love. Hence, contracts should be lovable. In Stefania Passera’s thesis, she says that a standard, ‘design-free’ reactively drafted contract conveys the impression
In studying the role of contract visualization, Stefania Passera’s doctoral dissertation Beyond the wall of contract text (2017), she cites research that: Clear and implementable contract terms are crucial in building successful business relationships Well-structured and well-developed agreements foster better relations Long-term successful relationships require strengthened terms on communication, role