Identify the scope if the project by decomposing it into its component tasks.
Then, simply agree in advance on the payment for each task, and when each task is finished, pay for it.
In the US this is called a Schedule Of Values.
You dont have to have an amount > $0 on every task and the agreed payment amount does not have to be related to the cost of the task. You dont even have to know the cost of the task. That is the contractors problem, and his business, not yours.
You have to make a decision whether you are paying by time or by progress. It is better (for you) if you pay only for tasks when they are finished and do not pay anything for partial completion of tasks. This provides an incentive for the contractor to get things finished and to stick to the schedule. If you pay for partial completion you will have the added complexity and difficulty of having to measure and agree on the progress of each task and it will just get messy for no benefit for either party.
Spider Project is most functional and powerful professional project management software.
The first SP version was launched in 1993 and since then it has been constantly improved. Today is used in 34 countries though most Spider Project customers are in Russia. Spider Project offers numerous unique functional features and is the only PM software that optimizes resource, cost, and material constrained schedules and budgets for projects and portfolios.
The unique features of Spider Project include Quantity Based Scheduling, Conditional Scheduling, Skill Scheduling, Optimal Resource, Cost and Material Leveling, Resource Critical Path Calculation, Cash and Material Flows Calculation and Management, Trend Analysis, Advanced Risk Simulation and Analysis, Calculation of Success Probability Trends, Calculation and Management of required Project Time and Cost Buffers, Application of Corporate Norms, Management of many Parallel Budgets, Multiple WBS and many others.
Spider Project was and is used for management of many large scale programs in Russia, including $51bln construction program for 2014 Winter Olympic Games preparation.
The application areas where Spider Project is successfully used include Aerospace, Banking, Construction, Defense, Energy, Engineering, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Metallurgy, Mining, Oil & Gas, Railways, Retail, Shipbuilding, Software Development, Telecommunications, Utilities, etc.
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Create Radically Better Construction Schedules with ALICE Technologies
Use the power of AI to create construction schedules that reduce risk while cutting costs and build time. With ALICE, develop the ideal schedule during preconstruction -- or recover projects that are off schedule and over budget.
Identify the scope if the project by decomposing it into its component tasks.
Then, simply agree in advance on the payment for each task, and when each task is finished, pay for it.
In the US this is called a Schedule Of Values.
You dont have to have an amount > $0 on every task and the agreed payment amount does not have to be related to the cost of the task. You dont even have to know the cost of the task. That is the contractors problem, and his business, not yours.
You have to make a decision whether you are paying by time or by progress. It is better (for you) if you pay only for tasks when they are finished and do not pay anything for partial completion of tasks. This provides an incentive for the contractor to get things finished and to stick to the schedule. If you pay for partial completion you will have the added complexity and difficulty of having to measure and agree on the progress of each task and it will just get messy for no benefit for either party.