The recent Advice Line posting on fixed-price contracts created quite a stir. I encourage you to read the postings that follow it. The sum and substance seems to be, "It looks good in the PowerPoint, Bob." The issue is that contractors who sign up for fixed-price contracts almost always find themselves on the wrong end of loose specifications and unreasonable requests for freebies. And if payment is all on deliv The recent Advice Line posting on fixed-price contracts created quite a stir. I encourage you to read the postings that follow it.The sum and substance seems to be, “It looks good in the PowerPoint, Bob.” The issue is that contractors who sign up for fixed-price contracts almost always find themselves on the wrong end of loose specifications and unreasonable requests for freebies. And if payment is all on delivery, the client has little incentive to be reasonable.Fair enough. And if you’re a contractor and sign a contract without having tight specifications and clear provisions for handling out-of-scope requests, shame on you. (If you’re a contractor who insists on billing for every five-minute favor, shame on you even more – fair or not, your next contract depends on the quality of your relationship with your client far more than on the quality of your deliverables.) If you’re a CIO and want to engage a contractor at a fixed price, here’s some additional advice (and thanks to all who posted for their contributions to it):1. Make sure you’re providing clear specifications.2. If you can’t provide clear specifications, agree to a separate time-and-materials contract to develop them. 3. Agree to graduated payments – perhaps one third up front, one third on delivery and the remainder on acceptance.– Bob Technology Industry