#61 IT项目变更&会议协商

Sabina Kolbeck is the head of Save-It

an IT firm

that has been contracted by QPG to update their website

and build them a new intranet

she is having a video conference with Matt

the head of IT at QPG

they are reaching the end of their meeting

OK so is that everything

nearly

there's just one thing left

which has come to me from my finance director

oh yes

your invoice of last month

there's a supplementary charge for the website

that's right

are you talking about

the extra costs for the marketing pages

yes

why isn't that work included as part of the main cost

well because when we drew up the contract

70% of the fee was for the intranet costs

as it was going to be a much more complex project

but your marketing department

has requested many changes and additions

which weren't part of the agreement

but there's a clause in the contract

which covers additional work

well it says

any additional work will be charged over and above the agreed fee

yes I know the clause you mean

but it also says

that any fee for this kind of work must be agreed by both parties

but when your marketing people emailed me with their requests

I checked with you at the time

but only the actual changes

so you're saying we should have renegotiated on this price

I'm saying we should have discussed any additional fees

I wasn't aware that this part of the job was going to be costed separately

look I'm sure we can resolve this

how would you feel about including this cost in the intranet costs

because that side of the project has in fact been easier than any of us expected

but they are two different jobs

I don't think we can talk about them as the same thing

the fact is that website has become a much bigger project than we originally agreed on

so I'm sorry but we can't agree to that

there is also an issue of the late fee

both projects have run overtime

and there's a clause in the contract for this

yes but Matt come on

the intranet is ready

more or less we still have some glitches

well the website is only delayed because of marketing

look what are your main concerns here

the dates for this or just the amount of the last invoice

well both Sabina

I'm under a lot of pressure from my people

asking why there are so many delays

and now there are additional costs

OK Matt

let's see if we can work this out

I want to check I understand you correctly first

so your main concern is the existence of additional costs when there are delays

and the fact that people are putting you under pressure

is that right

that's it

OK well

I think we may be able to resolve this

I can probably work something out

regarding the fees on this occasion

but my main concern is that

I don't want to find myself in a position in the future where I don't get paid for additional work requested by other departments

does that make sense

sure

in which case

what I propose is this

first let's forget the additional fee for this month

in return

would you agree to dropping any late fees this time

I think that would be OK

I'm still concerned about the delays though

absolutely

I quite understand

so the second part of my proposal relates to the delays

now obviously

there's nothing I can do about delay so far

and as I say

I think these have come from both sides

the problem has been more to do with the communication between us

when marketing have approached me with more changes and requests

does that sound fair

yes I simply needed clearer estimates from you

in terms of additional costs and times involved

OK so in future I suggest we make it clear

that if there are any further changes and major work

we need to talk

that way you'll be up to date on progress

and you won't be receiving any nasty surprises when the invoice arrives

at the same time

I won't be worried about putting in additional work for free

that sounds good I think

one thing

I think any agreements we make for additional work and time

should also be confirmed in writing

that's a really sensible idea

I need to spend as much time on this project myself as I can

so would you be prepared to take on the responsibility for drafting these agreements

sure

I'd prefer it that way myself

great

so just to be clear

we've agreed that you will send me the replacement invoice taking off the additional charges

and that I'll forget about the late fees

and we've also agreed that in future

you will approach me as soon as you've been asked to do anything extra

which will affect progress and additional costs

and that you'll draft confirmations following any discussions

great that makes life easier

I'll confirm this agreement in writing too

actually Matt

now we've got that out of the way

I need to speak to you

because marketing have just told me they

want changes made to the customer's pages