ITS is pleased to announce the release of new boilerplate language for Statements of Work (SOWs) for future Vendor Line of Business (LOB) application projects. This effort was led by Elton Kelly, whose work helped bring together lessons learned from previous projects and turn them into a practical framework that agencies, vendors, and ITS teams can use going forward.
The new boilerplate language is designed to improve project clarity, reduce delivery risk, and strengthen collaboration between agencies, vendors, and ITS. Rather than requiring vendors to use a separate ITS SOW template, the language can be incorporated directly into vendor SOWs while still establishing consistent expectations around architecture, delivery, supportability, maintenance, and long-term ownership.
The first SOW using this new framework has officially been sent out for signature with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) for development of a new module in the Kisters WISKI application. This module will replace the legacy Water Measurement Instrument System and modernize the solution architecture, significantly reducing ITS maintenance workload while improving long-term supportability.
The boilerplate language was developed to address lessons learned from past projects that faced challenges such as excessive development and maintenance burdens on ITS, delayed vendor timelines, and large “big bang” releases that left limited time to address defects and user experience concerns.
Key stakeholders across ITS, including Enterprise Architecture, Project Management, Agency Relationship Managers, Operations, Finance, and other appropriate teams, will be engaged in the review of these efforts to help ensure each SOW aligns with ITS standards for supportability and long-term maintainability. This cross-functional review, paired with the boilerplate requirements, is intended to surface expectations early, clarify responsibilities, and avoid surprises later in the project lifecycle.
This work represents an important step toward modernization and reducing technical debt across the enterprise. Elton’s work to develop and refine this approach, along with input from teams across ITS, gives agencies and vendors a clearer shared understanding of expectations, responsibilities, and success criteria from the beginning of a project.
