Collaboration Framework — SkillMix

Plain-language summary of how SkillMix runs client engagements: scoping, billing, change handling, acceptance, and hand-over. The authoritative, binding version is at https://skillmix.nl/Collaboration-Framework. This markdown mirror exists for LLM context and is not the legal document.

Core principles

  • Scope Sprint dependency. No implementation work begins without a completed, paid Scope Sprint defining scope and written success criteria.
  • No-cure-no-pay applies to implementation only, measured strictly against Scope Sprint success criteria. The Scope Sprint itself is always paid.
  • Fixed price, fixed date. Implementation engagements are quoted at a fixed price with a fixed delivery date. No time-and-materials billing.
  • Pro-rata invoicing applies for partial acceptance or phased delivery — fees are invoiced proportionally to the accepted work.
  • You own the output. On full payment, the client owns the delivered code, prompts, models, infrastructure, and documentation. No lock-in.

Phases of an engagement

  1. Free exploration call — 20–30 minutes, no commitment, no fee. Used to qualify fit and outline scope.
  2. Paid Scope Sprint — 1–2 weeks. Produces:
    • Written scope and out-of-scope list
    • Written, measurable acceptance criteria
    • A fixed implementation price
    • A delivery date
    • A risk register
  3. Implementation — fixed price, fixed date, weekly demos, no steerco.
    • Automation: prototype (~2 weeks, no-cure-no-pay) → build (4–8 weeks, fixed price).
    • Agents: prototype (~2 weeks, no-cure-no-pay) → harden (4–8 weeks, fixed price) → optional frontier retainer.
    • Modeling: build (6–12 weeks, fixed price), no-cure-no-pay against acceptance criteria.
  4. Acceptance & hand-over — implementation is tested against the written acceptance criteria. If it clears the bar, we invoice. If not, we keep going on our time until it does — or we don't invoice at all.
  5. Optional run / retainer — month-to-month monitoring, small changes, model refresh, or (for swarms) frontier model swaps.

Change handling

  • Material scope changes trigger a short re-scoping pass. We write a new fixed price for the new scope and the client decides whether to take it. Original no-cure-no-pay terms apply only to the originally scoped deliverable.
  • Minor clarifications during the build are handled within the existing scope at no extra cost.
  • Discovery-phase billing is never used. All scope work is concentrated in the Scope Sprint.

Cadence & decision-making

  • Weekly working demos during the build phase.
  • Decisions by end of call wherever possible. No steerco, no escalation theatre.
  • Riskiest part first. Builds start with the riskiest part of the scope, so plan-breaking issues surface early.

Confidentiality & IP

  • All client information is treated as confidential. NDAs are standard and signed on request.
  • On full payment, the client owns the code, prompts, models, training data, infrastructure-as-code, audit logs, and documentation.
  • SkillMix retains the right to reuse generic methods, patterns, and unmodified open-source components.

Hosting, data, and security

  • EU-hosted by default. All managed infrastructure runs in the EU.
  • On-prem and local deployment available for regulated data and clients with hard data-residency constraints.
  • Standard DPAs and sub-processor agreements are signed before any personal data is processed.
  • Every agent / automation that touches money, customers, or irreversible state routes through an approval queue by default. Audit logs cover every tool call.

Related

  • Service Terms: https://skillmix.nl/service-terms — see also /service-terms.md
  • Privacy Policy: https://skillmix.nl/privacy — see also /privacy.md
  • Authoritative collaboration framework: https://skillmix.nl/Collaboration-Framework