ed and meets the terms of the agreement covering a commitment to pay for it and take ownership or right to use. Figure 10-1 shows a process whereby needed facility, product, or service is defined, an order placed (simple case) or contract negotiated (complex case), and the goods and services delivered, accepted, and placed into use. This chapter will cover acceptance of equipment, facilities, and ser- vices. Equipment includes hardware, software, and systems. Facilities include access, switching, and transmission. Services may include items such as professional or consulting services-work-for-hire, or Operational Project Build Budget Approval Deliverables Evaluation Project & Acceptance Supplier Vender Evaluation Selection Terms & Response Conditions Evaluation Technical RFI/RFP/ Specs Progress Line (Sign Here, Press Hard) (Sign Here, Press Hard) FIGURE 10-1 Ordering, Delivery, and Acceptance Process 10 ACCEPTING DELIVERED EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES other intangibles offered by a telephone company, Internet, or hosting service provider. Acceptance of goods and services usually takes place during the pre- operational phase of a large project. If not properly planned and organized, it can delay completion and cause operational deadlines to be missed. If it is not carried out thoroughly or skipped, oper- ational effectiveness of the project can easily be degraded or impaired. Ideally, acceptance is a continuation of a logical sequence that began with a well-written technical specification or requirement and proceeded through a chain of several steps, completing the overall process. The complete high-level process includes technical requirements and specifications, business requirements, request for proposal, contract negotiation, order placement, shipping schedule, delivery, acceptance, installation, payment, and, finally, commission- ing or placing the item into operational service. Delivery and acceptance is the second and last opportunity to "sign here, press hard." The overall concern is risk management. First, real