If you are working with the other party and simply
communicating offsite, then you are unnecessarily putting yourself into a
dangerous position. While all onsite changes and additions are a part of the
legally binding contract, nothing communicated offsite is legally binding. This
is due to the fact that offsite communication can be easily falsified (even by a
novice) and is indistinguishable from a legitimate offsite communication.
If a dispute occurs and this project goes into
arbitration, you will have no legally binding proof to backup your claims and
may be put yourself at an unnecessary disadvantage. If you are a buyer, this
could mean that features the coder agreed to do for you offsite, could be
neglected, and if the project goes to arbitration, you would still be forced to
pay the coder full price. If you are a coder, this could mean that a reduction
in the requirements agreed to by the buyer offsite could be disputed by the
buyer in arbitration, and because the reduction wasn't documented on site, you
would be found at fault for not delivering to your contract. These are just two
of many "bad" things that can happen when you don't document requirements and
deadline changes onsite.
To correct this situation:
1) Immediately document any changes to the original
contract (requirements, deadlines, etc.) onsite and ask the other party to agree
to the posting. This not only protects both of you but is also a good
communications enhancer because it lets both of you reaffirm what was agreed
upon.
2) From now on, communicate exclusively on the site.
OR...if you feel you MUST use an offsite communication channel then just
remember to always follow it up by doing just as you did in #1. After you
complete your offsite conversation, immediately document all the changes that
you’ve both agreed to onsite, and then get the other party to post back a
response saying that they agree to it. Again this not only protects both of you
but is also a good communications enhancer because it lets both of you reaffirm
what was agreed upon.
For more information on this topic (and other items that
are crucial to your success on the site) please see the following links:
(for buyers:)
