The core purpose of a software development agreement is to regulate the production of software. Very often, it will also contain a licence allowing the customer to use the software. Quite often, it will include maintenance and support services as well.
We have a selection of different template software development agreements available for download:
All of these template documents include a licence clause.
We also draft bespoke development agreements for both software developers and their customers.
In addition to the matters dealt with in a software licence, a development agreement will usually needs to cover most of the following matters.
Specification – Will the software be specified in detail at the outset, or will a rough specification be elaborated during the development process?
Development process – Different styles of development process (e.g. waterfall, spiral, agile) require different levels of developer-customer interaction, and therefore legal terms. Version control, consultations, and changes to both specification and pricing will usually need to be dealt with here.
Testing – What testing must the developer perform before delivering the software? What about the customer? What are the consequences of test failures?
Customer cooperation – What does the customer need to provide to the developer to ensure that the development process runs smoothly? Will customer default here have an impact upon billing?
Intellectual property – Will any copyright be assigned to the customer, or will it merely be licensed?
