HOW?

How does Wayne Miller Associates take on contracts?

Wayne Miller Associates (WMA) has three types of client relationships, given in the order of desirability, with the most desirable given last:

• Fixed price contracts, with specifications and statement of work.

• Fixed hourly rate, with regular activity reports and regular billing.

• Running contract, with fixed rate and guaranteed minimum number of hours.

Fixed price contracts are considered the safest, but are the most expensive and the least flexible. They can be good if the job is well defined and a specification already exists, but even in such cases, if the work is to be shared between the in house technical staff and WMA, there is extra effort required to generate a statement of work to define the division of responsibility. The major problem with a fixed price contract is its lack of flexibility. As such it is completely unsuited to research and development jobs, as the nature of the work is to define it in progress.

Fixed hourly rate contracts with regular activity reports and regular billing are the most common, because they enable clients to monitor progress and expenditures continuously, giving them the opportunity to guide, or even to cancel the project. One very popular compromise between a fixed price contract and an hourly rate is a contract with an hourly rate and a not-to-exceed amount. This type of contract can be issued with a much more loosely defined statement of work and allows for some flexibility in the completion of the job.

Clients who have a long term relationships with Wayne Miller Associates elect to enter into a formal running contract. These contracts (Sample Contract) permit a tremendous flexibility in the scope of the work performed and protect both parties in a manner that is beyond that of a normal employer/employee relationship. In this type of relationship, the services of WMA are often employed in a wider range of activities within the client's company, working with all aspects of the business, from sales to final test.

WHERE?

Wayne Miller Associates maintains facilities suitable for many of the services that it offers. Some types of services must be carried out at the client's place of business. With other services, it is necessary to travel to different locations, for example to meet with the client's customer. For each particular client, the arrangements are different and are worked out in a manner to provide the most suitable service.