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7 Deadly Sins of IT Outsourcing

There are 7 cardinal rules in software outsourcing, “sins” one must not commit lest the road to success becomes the death-walk to outsourcing hell.

Author: Dm Judilla

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Software companies today have been hiring project managers and engineer teams to develop their software products via outsourcing. With the high bandwidth, efficient global communication through the Internet and other peripheral technology, access to capable and cost-effective talent from any part of the world is viable.

Though software outsourcing has been the road to success for many startup software firms, others are tempted but are fearful to fail.

And they’re right to fear for there are cardinal rules in software outsourcing, “sins” one must not commit lest the road to success becomes the death-walk to outsourcing hell.

I. IGNORANCE.Have you been ignoring outsourcing because of the risks it can involve? Remember that any business incurs risks; it’s the challenge to make those risks into rewards.

Thou shall not disregard outsourcing as an option for your business.

II. BIAS. It is a common, human mistake to prefer to look within your immediate circle for resources. Hiring the colleagues or friends of your investors is more appealing than doing the hard job of finding the best team for your project which could take many months.

Thou shall not hire outsourcing providers based on simple recommendations or within your immediate circle. Thou shall hire a BPO service provider with stability, reputation and a business culture that is parallel to your own.

III. PROMISCUOUSNESS. Do not take for granted that just because you’re in a business contract with your BPO service provider, they or maybe their employees wouldn’t take advantage of you.

If you do not emphasize in your contract regarding policies and procedures to protect your intellectual property, then you’re just too naïve and you could get violated.Thou shall hire a BPO service provider who’s proactive and committed to protecting your intellectual property rights. Review their established procedures and contingencies, make sure you share the same level of electronic protection and encryption, software licenses and have this all legally stipulated in your service agreement with your BPO service provider.

IV. IRRESOLUTION. You’re the designer. You should know, or at least be aware, specifically what your software’s functions, requirements and its limitations in order to guide your outsourced team of software developers. If you’re lost, most likely so would they.

Thou shall not be unsure of your own software. Specify a reasonable set of details for effective software development. Don’t over specify or else you’ll get bogged down with low-level coding issues. Stay on top and focus on what customer can do with and expect from your software product.

V. IRRESPONSIBILITY. You’ve decided to outsource, you screened and hired a BPO service provider, you’ve sent your software specifications to the team and then now what? You wait for what happens and hope for the best? No can do.

Thou shall not totally desert your responsibilities in managing your software project. Work closely with your BPO service provider in monitoring your team’s progress and training. Provide effective supervision and incentives for good performance. Hire an engineering manager who’s goal-driven and focused on scheduled milestones and releases.

VI. TAWDRINESS. Are you organized in your methods of software development? Do you engage your team to be proactive in the design and development of your software? Do you adhere to source code controls and software release procedure standards? Do you communicate consistently with your team? Do you regularly schedule milestones and software build releases with clear definitions of software features and fixes?

If you answered “YES” to all these questions, then you are NOT GUILTY of the sin of tawdriness.

Show a little trust in your outsourced development team. Involve the team with the design of your software; take advantage of the experience and skills. They can get a final design much more quickly and cheaply while learning the details of your software.

Thou shall not allow your software development to be unstructured or subjected to spurs-of-the-moment.

VII. NEGLIGENCE. An important part of the software development process is quality assurance (QA). This should be prevalent in all stages of the software development process from step one until to the software release.

You shouldn’t be negligent in applying QA or ensuring your outsourced team applies QA to your software development. Doing so will save you a lot of headaches later on from complaining customers who found the bugs you decided to overlook. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Thou shall not wait for the last moment to test the quality of your work.

Knowing the seven deadly sins of software outsourcing and redeeming yourself through the proactive, preventive measures stated above can deliver you away from the evils of failure and closure and into the paradise of profit and product brand perpetuity.

About Author

DM Judilla researches and writes for OutsourcingOpinions.com, a website that provides well-researched articles and reviews on the latest news and issues on outsourcing business, helping business executives and entrepreneurs make informed decisions for outsourcing their business challenges for success.

Article Source: http://www.1888articles.com

7 Deadly Sins of IT Outsourcing