Have you ever outsourced a web project that became a complete failure?
Have you ever outsourced a web project to an offshore supplier, getting completely stressed because it all looked very promising but in the end the project just never finished? Or you simply had to redo everything yourself?
If you did, you probably feel that outsourcing just doesn’t work. You probably started your project with a clear idea of what you wanted. You made an extended word document describing everything that had to be designed and programmed. Then you sent the specifications to the supplier you chose (of course the choice of supplier is a crucial reason for your frustrating experience, but I won’t elaborate on that in this article). The supplier
Have you ever outsourced a web project to an offshore supplier, getting completely stressed because it all looked very promising but in the end the project just never finished? Or you simply had to redo everything yourself?
If you did, you probably feel that outsourcing just doesn’t work. You probably started your project with a clear idea of what you wanted. You made an extended word document describing everything that had to be designed and programmed. Then you sent the specifications to the supplier you chose (of course the choice of supplier is a crucial reason for your frustrating experience, but I won’t elaborate on that in this article).
Wonderful! The supplier understood your needs and provided you with a rock bottom price. No doubt in your mind: let’s start. Everything seemed to work smoothly, you got a few questions during the project and the planning….did you get a planning? A few weeks later you get your beta version delivered and that’s where the tears started running from your face. And then you wonder: where did it go wrong?
Introducing: a structured process
The answer to the question where it went wrong is: lack of a clear process. When two people in two distant parts of the world start cooperating on a project, they need a common understanding on ‘how to work’. Both sides need to clearly understand what is expected of them. As the supplier (appears to) be the most experienced in the offshoring field, he should be the one laying out a process to create the common understanding.
Based on the clear process the supplier applies in your project, you obviously also have a role. Offshoring your project isn’t just ‘throwing specifications over the wall’. It requires both sides to invest time, be patient and work towards a common goal: create a cooperation in which projects can be successfully launched.
Now you probably wonder how that process may look.
While the exact sustenance of the Bridge processes is only revealed to our customers, I do want to name a few key ingredients that are needed in any successful offshore process.
A helping hand in developing clear specifications
For you as a customer, it is obviously clear what has to be built in your project. You have a clear picture in mind of the design, the functionalities, the pages, the links, everything. And you have put it to paper. Now here is where the biggest part of the success or failure of your project is determined. The supplier should help you to make the specifications clear enough for them to start working on your project. They should give you instructions on how to make wireframes or screenshots (or even better: they can develop them for you). They should make a detailed list of questions about the features in the project that are not clear to them. And only if they have the same image in mind as you do, should they tell you ‘we are ready to start’. Probably most of you know the image, but I find it illustrating to show the tension in this part of the process:
An online system for communication
This is the second most crucial element of a successful offshore process: a system that supports it. While we have skype, msn and email at our fingertips to communicate any question or remark, these tools simultaneously create the biggest risk in your project. Emails, skype & msn conversations get lost. And whether your project is big or small: there are a lot of these messages. They are stored in different pc’s, inboxes, folders, etc…creating chaos in the communication. What you need is a central cockpit where you can always find any task, bug, question or agreement. A system where you login and find the answers to your question ‘didn’t I tell the programmer before?’ or ‘what did I agree on this specific bug with them?’
Here is a short introduction to the system we use at Bridge: http://www.bridge-india.in/pmt.php
Updates
This is a human characteristic more common to people from the west then from the east: you want to receive frequent updates on the progress, risks, delays or problems in the project. The supplier should have people in place who understand this and make sure you are always 100% informed about your project.
These are just a few ingredients that are needed to successfully manage your offshore projects. There are many more that I will elaborate in future articles. I do hope it gives you some inspiration and if you intend to outsource a web project, you can easily contact our nearest office by clicking on the world map in the banner above.
embraced the opportunity and provided you with a quote after several days.
Wonderful! The supplier understood your needs and provided you with a rock bottom price. No doubt in your mind: let’s start. Everything seemed to work smoothly, you got a few questions during the project and the planning….did you get a planning? A few weeks later you get your beta version delivered and that’s where the tears started running from your face. And then you wonder: where did it go wrong?
Introducing: a structured process
The answer to the question where it went wrong is: lack of a clear process. When two people in two distant parts of the world start cooperating on a project, they need a common understanding on ‘how to work’. Both sides need to clearly understand what is expected of them. As the supplier (appears to) be the most experienced in the offshoring field, he should be the one laying out a process to create the common understanding.
Based on the clear process the supplier applies in your project, you obviously also have a role. Offshoring your project isn’t just ‘throwing specifications over the wall’. It requires both sides to invest time, be patient and work towards a common goal: create a cooperation in which projects can be successfully launched.
Now you probably wonder how that process may look.
While the exact sustenance of the Bridge processes is only revealed to our customers, I do want to name a few key ingredients that are needed in any successful offshore process.
A helping hand in developing clear specifications
For you as a customer, it is obviously clear what has to be built in your project. You have a clear picture in mind of the design, the functionalities, the pages, the links, everything. And you have put it to paper. Now here is where the biggest part of the success or failure of your project is determined. The supplier should help you to make the specifications clear enough for them to start working on your project. They should give you instructions on how to make wireframes or screenshots (or even better: they can develop them for you). They should make a detailed list of questions about the features in the project that are not clear to them. And only if they have the same image in mind as you do, should they tell you ‘we are ready to start’. Probably most of you know the image, but I find it illustrating to show the tension in this part of the process:
An online system for communication
This is the second most crucial element of a successful offshore process: a system that supports it. While we have skype, msn and email at our fingertips to communicate any question or remark, these tools simultaneously create the biggest risk in your project. Emails, skype & msn conversations get lost. And whether your project is big or small: there are a lot of these messages. They are stored in different pc’s, inboxes, folders, etc…creating chaos in the communication. What you need is a central cockpit where you can always find any task, bug, question or agreement. A system where you login and find the answers to your question ‘didn’t I tell the programmer before?’ or ‘what did I agree on this specific bug with them?’
Here is a short introduction to the system we use at Bridge: http://www.bridge-india.in/pmt.php
Updates
This is a human characteristic more common to people from the west then from the east: you want to receive frequent updates on the progress, risks, delays or problems in the project. The supplier should have people in place who understand this and make sure you are always 100% informed about your project.
These are just a few ingredients that are needed to successfully manage your offshore projects. There are many more that I will elaborate in future articles. I do hope it gives you some inspiration and if you intend to outsource a web project, you can easily contact our nearest office by clicking on the world map in the banner above.
embraced the opportunity and provided you with a quote after several days.
Wonderful! The supplier understood your needs and provided you with a rock bottom price. No doubt in your mind: let’s start. Everything seemed to work smoothly, you got a few questions during the project and the planning….did you get a planning? A few weeks later you get your beta version delivered and that’s where the tears started running from your face. And then you wonder: where did it go wrong?
Introducing: a structured process
The answer to the question where it went wrong is: lack of a clear process. When two people in two distant parts of the world start cooperating on a project, they need a common understanding on ‘how to work’. Both sides need to clearly understand what is expected of them. As the supplier (appears to) be the most experienced in the offshoring field, he should be the one laying out a process to create the common understanding.
Based on the clear process the supplier applies in your project, you obviously also have a role. Offshoring your project isn’t just ‘throwing specifications over the wall’. It requires both sides to invest time, be patient and work towards a common goal: create a cooperation in which projects can be successfully launched.
Now you probably wonder how that process may look.
While the exact sustenance of the Bridge processes is only revealed to our customers, I do want to name a few key ingredients that are needed in any successful offshore process.
A helping hand in developing clear specifications
For you as a customer, it is obviously clear what has to be built in your project. You have a clear picture in mind of the design, the functionalities, the pages, the links, everything. And you have put it to paper. Now here is where the biggest part of the success or failure of your project is determined. The supplier should help you to make the specifications clear enough for them to start working on your project. They should give you instructions on how to make wireframes or screenshots (or even better: they can develop them for you). They should make a detailed list of questions about the features in the project that are not clear to them. And only if they have the same image in mind as you do, should they tell you ‘we are ready to start’. Probably most of you know the image, but I find it illustrating to show the tension in this part of the process:
An online system for communication
This is the second most crucial element of a successful offshore process: a system that supports it. While we have skype, msn and email at our fingertips to communicate any question or remark, these tools simultaneously create the biggest risk in your project. Emails, skype & msn conversations get lost. And whether your project is big or small: there are a lot of these messages. They are stored in different pc’s, inboxes, folders, etc…creating chaos in the communication. What you need is a central cockpit where you can always find any task, bug, question or agreement. A system where you login and find the answers to your question ‘didn’t I tell the programmer before?’ or ‘what did I agree on this specific bug with them?’
Here is a short introduction to the system we use at Bridge: http://www.bridge-india.in/pmt.php
Updates
This is a human characteristic more common to people from the west then from the east: you want to receive frequent updates on the progress, risks, delays or problems in the project. The supplier should have people in place who understand this and make sure you are always 100% informed about your project.
These are just a few ingredients that are needed to successfully manage your offshore projects. There are many more that I will elaborate in future articles. I do hope it gives you some inspiration and if you intend to outsource a web project, you can easily contact our nearest office by clicking on the world map in the banner above.
embraced the opportunity and provided you with a quote after several days.
Wonderful! The supplier understood your needs and provided you with a rock bottom price. No doubt in your mind: let’s start. Everything seemed to work smoothly, you got a few questions during the project and the planning….did you get a planning? A few weeks later you get your beta version delivered and that’s where the tears started running from your face. And then you wonder: where did it go wrong?
Introducing: a structured process
The answer to the question where it went wrong is: lack of a clear process. When two people in two distant parts of the world start cooperating on a project, they need a common understanding on ‘how to work’. Both sides need to clearly understand what is expected of them. As the supplier (appears to) be the most experienced in the offshoring field, he should be the one laying out a process to create the common understanding.
Based on the clear process the supplier applies in your project, you obviously also have a role. Offshoring your project isn’t just ‘throwing specifications over the wall’. It requires both sides to invest time, be patient and work towards a common goal: create a cooperation in which projects can be successfully launched.
Now you probably wonder how that process may look.
While the exact sustenance of the Bridge processes is only revealed to our customers, I do want to name a few key ingredients that are needed in any successful offshore process.
A helping hand in developing clear specifications
For you as a customer, it is obviously clear what has to be built in your project. You have a clear picture in mind of the design, the functionalities, the pages, the links, everything. And you have put it to paper. Now here is where the biggest part of the success or failure of your project is determined. The supplier should help you to make the specifications clear enough for them to start working on your project. They should give you instructions on how to make wireframes or screenshots (or even better: they can develop them for you). They should make a detailed list of questions about the features in the project that are not clear to them. And only if they have the same image in mind as you do, should they tell you ‘we are ready to start’. Probably most of you know the image, but I find it illustrating to show the tension in this part of the process:
An online system for communication
This is the second most crucial element of a successful offshore process: a system that supports it. While we have skype, msn and email at our fingertips to communicate any question or remark, these tools simultaneously create the biggest risk in your project. Emails, skype & msn conversations get lost. And whether your project is big or small: there are a lot of these messages. They are stored in different pc’s, inboxes, folders, etc…creating chaos in the communication. What you need is a central cockpit where you can always find any task, bug, question or agreement. A system where you login and find the answers to your question ‘didn’t I tell the programmer before?’ or ‘what did I agree on this specific bug with them?’
Here is a short introduction to the system we use at Bridge: http://www.bridge-india.in/pmt.php
Updates
This is a human characteristic more common to people from the west then from the east: you want to receive frequent updates on the progress, risks, delays or problems in the project. The supplier should have people in place who understand this and make sure you are always 100% informed about your project.
These are just a few ingredients that are needed to successfully manage your offshore projects. There are many more that I will elaborate in future articles. I do hope it gives you some inspiration and if you intend to outsource a web project, you can easily contact our nearest office by clicking on the world map in the banner above.
About Hugo Messer
Hugo Messer is a Dutch entrepreneur, distributed agile team specialist, and author. He is the founder and owner of Bridge Global, a software services provider, and ekipa.co., an agile coaching agency. He has been building and managing teams around the world for the past several years. His passion is to enable people that are spread across cultures, geography and time zones to cooperate. Whether it’s offshoring or nearshoring, he knows what it takes to make global cooperation work.
View all posts by Hugo Messer →
Nice article, with good principles. I agree that these 4 items are the essence of well-managed offshoring projects (and basically any project involving different parties, even when they are all in the same company). In the Global Project Management Framework you can find other ideas and principles that complement these: http://framework.globalprojectmanagement.org .