Is It Out of Scope? — Web development
Is writing documentation for the client's dev team out of scope for a web development project?
Usually yes, unless documentation was explicitly listed as a deliverable in the original quote.
Most builds are quoted against working code, not a documentation deliverable. When a client's in-house team is about to take over maintenance, the request for "proper docs" is a real, separate writing effort.
Is it out of scope?
Yes, unless it was quoted. Writing documentation — architecture notes, setup instructions, decision rationale — takes real time distinct from building the thing being documented.
Clause typically implicated
Clause typically implicated
Deliverables clause→ — The quote covers building working code; written documentation for a handoff is a separate, unquoted deliverable unless it was explicitly listed.
Example contract wording
Example contract wording (illustrative, not legal advice)
The build was quoted for working code, not a documentation deliverable — I can put together handoff docs for your team as a separate scoped piece.
How MarginFlow flags it
MarginFlow flags documentation requests outside_scope on development contracts unless the SOW explicitly named documentation as a deliverable.