# 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.

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## 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.

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## 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.

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## 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.

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## 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.

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## 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.

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## 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.

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## Related

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