Description of services – what is it?
According to etaizhou, a service description is a written, clear and consistent description of products or services that must / should be provided by project management within the framework of a project. The service description is therefore the basis for the agreement between the client and the contractor for the subsequent implementation of the project.
Furthermore, the service description must be precise, complete and, above all, transparent so that someone who was not present at the time of the contract can understand it. The service description contains the technical detailed concept of the corresponding project or of the project management . If it is an internal project, the service description will be provided by the initiator or sponsor of the project based on the operational needs or the requirements for the product or service.
If it is an external project, the customer issues the service description, which in this case is part of the offer document. In addition, a service description can also be part of a request for quotation, an information request or part of a contract.
A service description, which is created in project management, contains a strategic plan, the operational requirements and the description of the project scope and content. As far as the thematic structure of a service description is concerned, this is heavily dependent on the type of project development.
The usual forms of description of services:
- The description of services with a list of services
As a rule, the service is described here by the general description of the construction task (construction description) or a specification of services broken down into partial services.
- The service description with the service program
The description of services is comprehensive here. That means the range of services includes a complete description of the construction task.
In addition, in the area of contracts for technical objects and systems, the two terms specification sheet and functional specification sheet have become commonplace. In addition, a large number of specifications , requirement specification templates and more are now available online.
The contractual description of services
The contractual service description, which is created by the project manager, describes the procurement items in detail so that the potential supplier or service provider can assess whether the item can be delivered at all. As far as the details are concerned, these can vary depending on the type of item, depending on the requirements of the client or the expected form of the contract.
The contractual service description contains information such as specifications, desired quantity, performance data, performance period, Quality and also place of work as well as other requirements. In addition, all necessary additional services are recorded in this service description, such as progress reporting or maintenance services for the respective procurement item over the period of the project. In addition, several products or services can also be contained or combined as a single procurement item in a service description. The contractual service description can be revised and refined in the course of the procurement process until the contract is finally signed, of which the contractual service description is a component.
The functional description of services
In the case of the functional description of services, the contracting authority defines the service to be provided on paper according to the goal to be achieved. This means that no detailed catalog of services is created here. With the functional description of services, the bidders only receive the framework conditions that must be observed when preparing the offer. Thus there is a conceptual competition between the bidders, which occurs directly next to the price competition.
The description of services with a list of services
The service specification is part of the service description and in this the overall service to be provided is described in the form of partial services. Already after a tender for a project it is possible to describe the services with a specification of services. Alternatively, there is the service description according to the service program.
The partial services are often referred to as items in the specification of services and this is often supplemented by a general description of the project or the subject matter of the contract. In numerous industries, the specification of services with the specification of services are the basis of the orders and in many areas the specification of services is also supplemented by, for example: rules, standards and regulations. In addition, standardized text modules can also be used to precisely describe the services, such as in the building and related trades and in building services.
The specification of services from a service description is usually divided hierarchically into individual group levels, such as lot, trade, title, section and in these the various partial services are then broken down under ordinal numbers.
In general, the clear and complete presentation of the entire contract target is the great advantage of the specification of services with the specification of services. But the performance ratio is also of great advantage as a basis for obtaining offers in competition and the subsequent creation of a price comparison.
Within the specification of services with specification of services, a distinction must be made between the various partial services, which are also referred to as items. In addition, a service specification is made up of a service description in tabular form and consists of the following parts:
- Position number
- Quantity
- Unit of measure
- Text – either long or short text. The latter is mostly used again in the invoice.
- Unit Price (EP)
- Total price (GP) – this results from the multiplication of the quantity and the unit price.
For the creation of the specifications, the companies already use special software, especially in the construction industry, where the specification with the specification for the offers on tenders are common.
