Vendor Performance Assessment
Information Technology
Context
A client needed to know whether persistent delivery issues with a technology vendor reflected genuine technical challenges, unrealistic expectations, or something else. Internal opinions varied, and the vendor's explanations were difficult to verify without independent technical review.
Engagement
We conducted a technical assessment of deliverables against contractual specifications, including code review, analysis of test coverage and deployment practices, and systematic comparison of invoiced work against actual repository activity. We compared the vendor’s claims with industry best practices and standards to identify discrepancies.
Findings
Our analysis documented specific gaps: deliverables that passed acceptance testing but failed under production conditions, development practices that deviated from contractual standards, and a pattern of turning into change requests functionalities that should have been included in the original scope. We also identified areas where the client failed to enforce its own standards, leading to ambiguities that the vendor exploited.
Outcome
The client entered subsequent negotiations with a complete factual picture, able to make decisions based on undisputable evidence rather than competing narratives.