Turnkey

Key takeaways

Turnkey belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Turnkey to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Turnkey from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A turnkey project (or turnkey operation) is one constructed so it can be sold to a buyer as a completed product. This is contrasted with build to order, where the constructor builds an item to the buyer's exact specifications, or when an incomplete product is sold with the assumption that the buyer would complete it. A turnkey project or contract as described by Duncan Wallace (1984) is

…. a contract where the essential design emanates from, or is supplied by, the Contractor and not the owner, so that the legal responsibility for the design, suitability and performance of the work after completion will be made to rest … with the contractor …. 'Turnkey' is treated as merely signifying the design responsibility as the contractor's. A turnkey contract is typically a construction contract under which a contractor is employed to plan, design and build a project or an infrastructure and do any other necessary development to make it functional or ‘ready to use’ at an agreed price and by a fixed date. In turnkey contracts, most of the time the employer provides the primary design. The contractor must follow the primary design provided by the employer. A turnkey computer system is a complete computer including hardware, operating system and application(s) designed and sold to satisfy specific business requirements.

Common usage Turnkey refers to something that is ready for immediate use, generally used in the sale or supply of goods or services. The word is a reference to the fact that the customer, upon receiving the product, just needs to turn the ignition key to make it operational, or that the key just needs to be turned over to the customer. Turnkey is commonly used in the construction industry, for instance, in which it refers to bundling of materials and labour by the home builder or general contractor to complete the home without owner involvement. The word is often used to describe a home built on the developer's land with the developer's financing ready for the customer to move in. If a contractor builds a "turnkey home" it frames the structure and finish the interior; everything is completed down to the cabinets and carpet. Turnkey is also commonly used in motorsports to describe a car being sold with powertrain (engine, transmission, etc.) to contrast with a vehicle sold without one so that other components may be re-used. Similarly, this term may be used to advertise the sale of an established business, including all the equipment necessary to run it, or by a business-to-business supplier providing complete packages for business start-up. An example would be the creation of a "turnkey hospital" which would be building a complete medical. In manufacturing, the turnkey manufacturing contractor (the business that takes on the turnkey project) normally provide help during the initial design process, machining and tooling, quality assurance, to production, packaging and delivery. Turnkey manufacturing have advantages in saving production time, single point of contact, cost savings and price certainty and quality assurance.

Specific usage The term turnkey is also often used in the technology industry, most commonly to describe pre-built computer "packages" in which everything needed to perform a certain type of task (e.g. audio editing) is put together by the supplier and sold as a bundle. This often includes a computer with pre-installed software, various types of hardware, and accessories. Such packages are commonly called appliances. A website with a ready-made solutions and some configurations is called a turnkey website. In real estate, turnkey is defined as a home or property that is ready for occupation for its intended purpose, i.e., a home that is fully functional, needs no upgrading or repairs (move-in ready). In commercial use, a building set up to do auto repairs would be defined as turnkey if it came fully stocked with all needed machinery and tools for that particular trade. The turnkey process includes all of the steps involved to open a location including the site selection, negotiations, space planning, construction coordination and complete installation. "Turnkey real estate" also refers to a type of investment. This process includes the purchase, construction or rehab (of an existing site), the leasing out to tenants, and then the sale of the property to a buyer. The buyer is purchasing an investment property which is producing a stream of income. In drilling, the term indicates an arrangement where a contractor must fully complete a well up to some milestone to receive any payment (in exchange for greater compensation upon completion).

See also Commercial off-the-shelf Engineering, procurement and construction Turnkey supplier Value-added reseller

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Turnkey

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Turnkey claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Turnkey before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Turnkey ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Turnkey

In research: Turnkey appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Turnkey in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Turnkey is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Business law, Facilities engineering, Product management, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Turnkey outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Turnkey in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Turnkey means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Turnkey out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Turnkey in simple terms?

A turnkey project (or turnkey operation) is one constructed so it can be sold to a buyer as a completed product. This is contrasted with build to order, where the constructor builds an item to the buyer's exact specifications, or when an incomplete product is sold with the assumption that the buyer…

Why does Turnkey matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Turnkey?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Turnkey.