Last Updated: 09/04/21

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aXcelerate’s commitment is to provide the highest level of functionality and features for as many users of aXcelerate as possible. aXcelerate aims to meet the majority of aXcelerate customer’s requirements but also realises that there will be ongoing requirement for new features and changes to aXcelerate which are more specific to a handful of clients.

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In the event that you require an enhancement, improvement or new feature to be developed in aXcelerate there are two options:

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Ideas Forum
Post a question or idea in the Ideas Forum in the Support Centre (accessed from the Help menu in aXcelerate); These suggestions are periodically reviewed and implemented free of charge; or

Submit a request
Submit a request for custom development via the aXcelerate Support Centre. This option is only available to Turbo clients, and only one Custom Development quotation or project (per client) may be open at once. 

You will need to provide aXcelerate with sufficient details about your requested feature including but not limited to:

1. A business requirements specification of what the new feature needs to be able to do with reference to the actor(s)/user(s) who will be using the new feature;
2. Any other information that would reasonably be expected to enable aXcelerate to provide a quotation of the requested feature. For example:

                  a) A mock-up drawing of how you envision the user interface will look like after the new.                       feature has been developed; or‍

                  b) A mock-up spreadsheet of a report format that is expected (for new reports or                       enhancements to existing reports); or

                  c) A detailed description of the user experience, outcomes and use-cases

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All Custom Development enhancements implemented in aXcelerate will be made available to all current and future aXcelerate customers and as such, your request will be reviewed to determine whether it aligns with our product vision. For any project, aXcelerate will determine the best method for implementing your requested feature into the software, as enhancements may need to consider other possible use cases (which may extend the overall scope of effort).

Custom Development Process

1. You request Custom development via an aXcelerate Support Request
2. Our Product Team will evaluate your request and either reject your request, or provide a ‘ballpark’ cost estimate
3. If you agree to the ‘ballpark’ estimate (and Custom Development Terms), aXcelerate will create a Statement of Work document in accordance with these terms
4. You will be presented with a draft Statement of Work for your input, and adjustments or changes may be made with a final copy presented for your review and approval

                  a) If you approve the Statement of Work, an initial invoice will be raised in accordance with our                   custom development payment terms (explained below)

                  b) If you decide not to proceed or do not reply within 30 calendar days, an invoice will be                   raised for the time and materials taken to produce the Statement of Work, and the project will                   be closed

      5. Development will only commence on the estimated commencement date if payment has been                  received

      6. Development will be conducted and will be released into the aXcelerate Staging environment for.           User Acceptance Testing, at which point an additional invoice will be raised in accordance with our.           custom development payment terms

      7. You will have 7 calendar days to test the completed work and to provide feedback to the aXcelerate.           project manager. Any changes outside of the initial Statement of Work will be considered a change.           request (explained below)

      8. After the 7 days have lapsed, a final invoice will be raised for the outstanding balance of fees in.            accordance with our custom development payment terms and the project will be closed

Statement of Work

A Statement of Work will be created following the acceptance of the ‘ballpark’ estimate and these custom development terms.

The Statement of Work may include one or more of the following:

1. Name and key objectives for the project
2. List of key stakeholders and contacts for the project
3. Roles and responsibilities of each of the project stakeholders
4. Detailed scope of the project including the deliverables
5. Mockup designs (what the feature will look like within aXcelerate)
6. Estimated project commencement date, milestones and delivery timeframes (not actual dates)
7. Definition of success criteria so all stakeholders will know what ‘success’ and ‘completion’ means
8. Project costs (including project management, development, testing / quality assurance and an allowance for project meetings)
9. Project risks and strategies to mitigate
10. Project references documents and/or supporting materials
11. Nominated project communication channel

The time taken to produce the Statement of Work (including business requirements analysis, data mapping, process flow design, time and cost estimating, project management and any other professional service(s) required) is billable, regardless of whether the project proceeds beyond this stage or not.

A Statement of Work will remain valid for 30 calendar days from the date of issuance. Once 30 calendar days have passed, the request will need to be reviewed which may result in a change to the Statement of Work, or quoted cost.

If you decide to approve the Statement of Work document and quotation, you will need to sign and date the Statement of Work document and send a scanned copy to aXcelerate through the nominated communication channel as approval. aXcelerate will not commence any Custom Development work if approval is provided via any other means (e.g., verbally).

Managing Communication

Each custom development project will have a nominated aXcelerate key contact outlined in the Statement of Work document. The Statement of Work will also outline the communication channel where all project related communication will be made and stored.

For projects involving a third party (e.g., an integration with a Finance System), aXcelerate will participate in any establishment, project planning and scoping meetings required to define the business objectives, requirements, and technical specifications of the project. If requested, aXcelerate will also lead a project, and take on the responsibility (and the time taken) for the following project management activities:

• Convening/organising all project meetings
• Preparing the agenda for all project meetings
• Facilitating project meetings
• Ensuring all actions that need to be taken by project stakeholders are documented and distributed within one day following a project meeting
• Providing regular reports on project progress/status to all key project stakeholders as agreed prior to commencement of the project
• Any other project-related activities as agreed between aXcelerate and you

When the development is ready for User Acceptance Testing, your aXcelerate contact will provide instructions on how to access the correct testing environment and test the new feature(s). Where appropriate, your aXcelerate contact may also establish a feature demonstration meeting.

Payment Terms

aXcelerate’s Custom Development payment milestones are 50%, 25% and 25%.

• Milestone 1 - Following approval to commence the project as per the Statement of Work, you will be invoiced for 50% of the project costs. aXcelerate will not commence the project until this initial payment has been received
• Milestone 2 - Once the items outlined in the Statement of Work have been delivered into the aXcelerate Staging environment, a further invoice will be raised for 25% of the total amount, and the User Acceptance Testing phase will begin
• Milestone 3 - Upon completion of User Acceptance Testing, the remaining invoice amount will be raised

If you decline the project after receiving the finalised Statement of Work, you will be invoiced for the time and materials taken to produce the Statement of Work.

Development Timelines

aXcelerate will endeavour to provide you with an estimated commencement date and a rough estimate on when to anticipate the custom development to be ready for User Acceptance Testing.

Whilst it is aXcelerate’s intent to commence all work by the target commencement date, aXcelerate shall not guarantee any Custom Development commencement or completion dates due to factors that may be beyond our control (e.g. additional compliance requirements by the Government pushes back the target commencement date), nor shall there be any penalties levied for non-delivery by an anticipated release date.

User Acceptance Testing

Upon the release of the new feature into the Staging Environment, you will be notified via the nominated communication channel that the new feature is ready for User Acceptance Testing in your Staging account. You will have seven (7) days to test the new feature and provide your feedback to the development team via the same communication channel.

Any feedback provided within the seven day period will be evaluated under the following conditions:

• Any functionality additions or changes that fall within the scope of the original Statement of Work, and, any bugs or issues related to functionality covered by the scope of the Statement of Work will be scheduled and completed as soon as practicable
• Any changes not covered above will be treated as a Change Request or Scope Variation (explained below)

You will be notified when the additional work has been completed and is ready for testing again in your Staging account. 

Once you have accepted the satisfactory completion of the Custom Development work as tested in your Staging account, aXcelerate will schedule the release of the new feature to your Live account. If you do not provide feedback within 7 days, aXcelerate will release the development into your Live account and raise the final payment milestone and close the project.

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Change Requests and Scope Variations

Any requested changes that are not identified in the original Statement of Work document will be treated as a request for variation on the Statement of Work and will be processed as a Change Request. All Change Requests are scoped and quoted separately. You will need to approve all Change Requests via the nominated communication channel.