As with any business decision, planning is critical to the development of an SOW template. The key information required for a buyer's services procurement transactions should be determined before a template is built.
There are several impactful decisions that are made during the creation of an SOW template. Some of these decisions determine the workflow of the template, how the terms of the assignment will be defined, and the types of line items that will be allowed, among other information.
While the process of creating an SOW is carried out across five separate pages, an SOW Template is configured on only two pages, though the first page requires only one selection: the SOW Type. The second page is divided into sections that correspond to the five pages of the SOW:
- Foundational Details
- Characteristics, Clauses, and Custom Fields
- Rules
Template creation requires only these two pages because the structure of the SOW is preconfigured in SAP Fieldglass; the template mostly defines workflow options for the statement of work created from the template.
Here's what would be involved in creating an SOW template:
Classifications
Classifications are an important component in determining what templates and suppliers are available when creating a statemen of work. In fact, they are the mandatory first selection—the process of creating a statement of work cannot continue unless a Classification is selected.
Since classifications drive template selection, they are not a required element when creating an SOW Template; their function is to associate the template to the statement of work. Thus, the classification is associated to the template rather that the template being associated to the classification.
SOW Type
SOW Types allow buyers to define the settings, rules, and characteristics for individual purchasing categories. The configuration of a SOW Type directly impacts not only the SOW Templates within administration of the Services module, but also the user experience when creating a statement of work in the application. It streamlines the SOW creation process, keeping selectable attributes to a minimum by locking or even hiding fields that aren't applicable.
An SOW Type is a mandatory selection required when creating an SOW Template. In fact, it's the first thing chosen when creating a template. For that reason, an SOW type must be created and configured before a template can be configured.
Statement of Work Information
The Statement of Work section of the SOW template is where the template name is added and some workflow options are selected, such as whether the buyer or supplier or a combination of the two will define the SOW, whether the template can be used to create a Master SOW, and the currencies associated with the SOW, among other configuration options.
Clauses, Characteristics, and Custom Fields
Once the details of the SOW have been configured transactionally, the next two sections require you to accept or add clauses and characteristics.
If there is standard legal language required for the company or for the position itself, clauses can be added to the template which will then appear during SOW creation. If standard clauses are to be added to the template, a Clause Library must be created before they can be added.
Characteristics define the specifics of a project, such as costs, timelines, and milestones. They are represented on the SOW as Management Events, Schedules, Events, and Fees. In the SOW template, the Characteristics options available on the SOW—which include Events, Schedules, Fees, and Management Events—can be turned on and off and you can indicate whether they are mandatory or not. When the individual characteristics are turned on (either by making them mandatory or optional), you are given the option to add custom fields for each characteristic.
Custom Fields would also be added here. Custom fields are any fields that can be used to capture information that is not standard to the template. As with clauses, custom fields must be created separately before they can be added to the template.
Rules
An SOW template relies heavily on rules used to control not only the workflow of the SOW overall, but also how characteristics and SOW workers can be configured when a statement of work is being created, as well as how revisions are handled after the SOW is confirmed.
Rules determine the workflow of the SOW, such as what collaborative options are available to suppliers.
On the SOW template, the rules are divided into four sections:
- SOW Rules, which drive some general conditions of the SOW, such as whether the buyer or supplier can enter the maximum budget.
- SOW Revision Rules, which helps determine the options for revising the SOW
- Characteristics Rules, which includes rules for how characteristics can be added and revised
- SOW Worker Rules, which can determine how workers register, complete time and expense sheets, and who can edit worker details.
Once the template is built, associations to business units and classifications can be made.
As we dive deeper into how each of the fields, rules, and settings impact the services workflow, we'll also see how those fields are displayed on the respective SOW pages.
