Contracting

VORtech wants to be a partner for its customers. A partner that provides knowledge and capacity in software development for computational applications. The contractual form of this partnership depends on the customer and assignment.

A first start: the Model Scan

New clients often assess our services by allowing us to do a short project. Such a first project is usually based on our Modelscan: a brief, standard audit of the quality and issues of a particular piece of computational software. In many cases, the client asks us to focus our assessment on a particular issue and to make recommendations on that. More information can be found in our brochure: Modelscan: A clear insight into your scientific software.

Projects

Some customers need our services only once. For example to develop a particular application or to solve a mathematical problem. This work is usually done in the form of a project, often with a fixed price. Also, the internal administrative processes at the customer’s can be a reason for doing projects. Depending on the location, a project can be partly done in the customer’s offices.

Framework Agreement

For many of our clients, demand for our services fluctuates. Sometimes, significant effort is required, for example, when developing a new feature or releasing a new product. At other times, it can be limited to handling incidental issues. A framework agreement is often a good solution for these situations. In it, we agree on how we will collaborate and under what conditions. For example, we can handle short requests up to a certain maximum budget with just an email about the expected effort, while larger tasks are offered with a small quote. By arranging many things in the framework agreement, we can quickly adapt to needs.

Coupon contract

A special form of framework agreement is the coupon contract. The client pays, often in advance, for a number of hours of work and uses those hours as needed. This type of engagement is also very suitable for consultancy projects, where a VORtech consultant, acting as an advisor to management, monitors and contributes to development projects.

Maintenance contract

Customers that have a mature software product often outsource the maintenance of the software to us. In a maintenance contract we perform continuous services like handling issues and building releases. Also larger efforts can be done in the framework of a maintenance contract. Service levels are typically part of the contract definition.

Location

When working on projects, we believe it’s important that our employees can quickly leverage the knowledge and experience of their colleagues. Moreover, as a company, we take full responsibility for our colleagues’ development. Therefore, at least some of the work is done at our office. However, contact with the client’s domain experts is also crucial. Therefore, VORtechers often work on-site at the client’s premises a few days a week, or client employees come to our office to work with our colleagues in the project rooms we’ve set up for this purpose.

VORtech offers a fact sheet about the company and the way we work: VORtech Scientific Software Engineers.