Outsource It!

If you need to expand your business but not your budget, if your group has an intense but short-term project, if you don’t have the skill set to get a job done-it’s time to think about outsourcing. Starting from the first step (should you outsource part of your tech work?) to the last (how can you protect your intellectual property?), you’ll learn everything about setting up projects overseas.

Sending your prized assets halfway around the world-or halfway around the country-takes a lot of courage for technical leads accustomed to doing things themselves. This book is full of real-life examples that show you how outsourcing really works.

Learn how to choose your outsourcing destination by defining selection criteria tables and applying weights to them. You’ll see how to pick the right vendor and understand why recommendations aren’t the right way to do it. Then calculate the quality of the code your offshore developers turn in. You’ll find out how to adjust your waterfall or agile project for an overseas team, and you’ll see why outsourcing QA is not always the prudent approach. Your offshore team will never be as productive as your local team-you’ll learn why that doesn’t always matter. Finally, you’ll discover how much money you’ll spend to outsource and how much you can save-which is sometimes more than you’d think and less than you’d like.

Written by an expert who’s seen it all, Outsource It! will help you avoid mistakes and give you the confidence and the skills to take your project wherever it needs to go.

Q & A with Outsource It! author Nick Krym

Q. Why did you write Outsource It!?

A. Outsourced projects have been a big part of my professional life for more than 20 years, and I’ve seen countless failures. In the vast majority of the cases, the failures were due to the buyers’ lack of knowledge– and these were smart, well-intended technology pros. I hope Outsource It! will prevent some of these failures and help readers make the most of their outsourcing engagements.

Q. What elements of outsourcing do you concentrate on in your book?

A. Outsource It! covers the entire lifecycle of outsourcing, from making the decision whether to outsource, to terminating an engagement. Some of the most important topics the book covers are vendor selection, contract negotiation, running distributed engagements, mitigating risks, and communication strategies.

Q. What are the most common outsourcing mistakes?

A. If I had to name only one, it would be going offshore when better alternatives are available right in your own backyard. Another common mistake is treating outsourcing lightly. Offshore outsourcing is one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal, but mishandled, it can misfire, creating a lot of direct and collateral damage.

Q. Is there a secret sauce to your outsourcing strategies?

A. I really don’t think so. Outsource It! is based on simple, down-to-earth techniques that most of us can easily implement. I do cover a few topics that are “voodoo” of a sort– for example, vendor personality– which could be a critical element for engagement success.

Q. What the minimum and maximum sizes for a project that one should consider for outsourcing?

A. There are no high or low limits for outsourcing. Ridiculously small tasks such as cleaning up PowerPoint presentations can be outsourced to freelancers. Huge tasks such as implementing ERP systems for multinational corporations are commonly outsourced, as well. The key is to match the vendor to the task at hand.

Q. Is India the best place for outsourcing IT projects?

A. It all depends on the needs of the projects and realities of the organization. For some engagements, outsourcing to Latin America could be more meaningful; in some cases, China presents a great alternative to India; in other cases, Eastern Europe can offer a lot of advantages. Even North America offers great options with rural outsourcing or outsourcing to Canada.

Table of Contents

Part I Decide If, What, and How to Outsource
1. Make an Educated Decision
2. Define and Refine Your Action Plan
3. Select the Right Sourcing Model

Part II Find the Right Vendors part.find
4. Start with a Broad Search
5. Move from a Long List to the Chosen Few
6. Choose the Right-Size Vendor
7. Find the Personality Magic
8. Finalize the Selection

Part III Negotiate Solid Contracts
9. Negotiate for Long-Term Success
10. Learn Contract and Rate Essentials

Part IV Lead Distributed Engagements
11. Control Your Engagement
12. Build and Lead Distributed Teams
13. Adjust Your Development Model to Fit Your Situation

Part V Keep Risks under Control
14. Mitigate the Risks of Your Engagements
15. Minimize the Cost of Failures
16. Maintain the Spirit of Partnership

A1. Destination: Asia
A2. Destination: Europe
A3. Destination: The Americas
A4. Outsourcing Readiness Assessment Checklist
A5. Vendor Search Criteria
A6. Outsourcing Checklist
A7. Offshore Vendor Technical Assessment

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