Partners · The agreement · Component
The obligations
What each side commits to deliver, by when, to what standard — written as observable commitments rather than as intentions.
The deliverable
What it is
Obligations written as best efforts are not obligations. They describe an attitude, and an attitude cannot be assessed or enforced.
The obligations that cause disputes are usually the ones running the other way — what the customer side must provide for the partner to perform.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The deliverables
What each side provides, described so that its delivery is a fact rather than a judgement.
3 attributes: Deliverable · Provided by · Definition of complete
LearnThe service levels
The standards attached to ongoing obligations.
3 attributes: Standard · Measured over · Consequence
LearnThe dependencies
What each side needs from the other in order to perform.
3 attributes: Dependency · Required by · Effect if late
Learn
Write your own obligations to the partner as carefully as theirs to you. That is where performance disputes actually start.
The other components in the agreement
The commercial terms
Price, payment and how both change over the term — including the mechanisms nobody looks at until they trigger.
LearnThe exit terms
How the arrangement ends — notice, transition, and what each side keeps. Negotiated while everyone is optimistic, or not at all.
Learn