Vendor Contracts
Structured guidance for software and vendor agreements (IP, liability, SLAs—not legal advice): confirm triggers, propose the stages below, and adapt if the user wants a lighter pass.
When to Offer This Workflow
Trigger conditions:
- User mentions MSA, order form, vendor agreement, contract review, or closely related work
- They want a structured workflow rather than ad-hoc tips
- They are preparing a review, rollout, or stakeholder communication
Initial offer: Explain the four stages briefly and ask whether to follow this workflow or work freeform. If they decline, continue in their preferred style.
Workflow Stages
Stage 1: Clarify context & goals
Anchor on deal type (SaaS, support, data processing) and risk appetite. Ask what success looks like and what must not break.
Stage 2: Structure & categories
Cover commercial, legal, security, data, and exit themes; flag unclear liability caps and indemnities for human counsel.
Stage 3: Draft & refine
Produce a red-flag summary and question list for legal/business owners—not definitive legal conclusions.
Stage 4: Verify & ship
Close the loop with owners, security review, and procurement steps as needed.
Checklist Before Completion
- Goals and constraints are explicit for vendor contract review
- Risks and trade-offs are stated, not hand-waved
- Verification steps match the change’s impact (tests, canary, peer review)
- Operational follow-through is covered (monitoring, docs, owners)
Tips for Effective Guidance
- Be procedural: stage-by-stage, with clear exit criteria
- Ask for missing context (environment, scale, deadlines) before prescribing
- Prefer checklists and concrete examples over generic platitudes
- If the user declines the workflow, switch to freeform help without lecturing
Handling Deviations
- If the user wants to skip a stage: confirm and continue with what they need.
- If context is missing: ask targeted questions before strong recommendations.
- Prefer concrete examples, trade-offs, and verification steps over generic advice.
Quality Bar
- Each recommendation should be actionable (what to do next).
- Call out failure modes relevant to vendor agreements (security, scale, UX, or ops).
- Keep tone direct and respectful of the user’s time.