The classic project process has three phases. These three phases require different legal requirements, which in some cases have to be structured using codified law, supplements to existing law and individual contractual solutions. This involves the following steps:
- Service design (planning phase, plan)
- Service transition (implementation phase, build)
- Service Operations (ongoing operation, run)
A closer look at the above three phases makes it easy to see that legal issues arise for our IT law lawyers not only when drawing up a contract, but throughout the entire duration of an IT project.
The terms “service design”, “service transition” and “service operation” are often used in this context; the entire, recurring process is understood as a service life cycle.
Prototypingis a rather unconventional method, particularly in software development and the design of websites. In the interest of early feedback, the creation of a specification sheet and its realization is dispensed with and the implementation of current solution approaches is started directly. It is therefore a flexible, communication-intensive model that does not have the phases mentioned in the classic procedure.
From a legal perspective, the disadvantage of this approach clearly lies in the area of responsibility. At the start of the project, the parties know neither the specific service owed nor the outcome, which can make it considerably more difficult to resolve a legal dispute.
