Create Check-Sheets from Contract

I like to create check-sheets and cheat-sheets quickly and efficiently from the contract, the primary source. On a big contract, I will do this:

1.       I take the contract and assign each line of the text a number. It’s quick because I use the automated feature for line numbering that you can find in most text editors.

2.       I open a spreadsheet and create five columns with these headers:

a.      Contract Section

b.      Start Line Number

c.      End Line Numer

d.      Description

e.      Deliverable

3.       Under “Description”, I summarize the purpose of the contractual language for each little section of the contract. Under “Start” and “End”, I give the line numbering of the text so I can easily reference the details later.

4.       Under “Deliverable”, I give each section a friendly operational name that makes intuitive sense for my project management purposes.

Filter_contract_lines

When I’ve done that (a one-time big job), I use filtering from then on to quickly pull together all the relevant sections that apply toward a check-sheet. Example: If I want to pull a quick fact list for reviewing all applicable penalties in the contract, I just filter for penalties and within minutes I’m able to create a document with a very ACCURATE summary of what is contractually binding.