Working with offshore consultants and developers

Working with a 3rd party consultant can be a daunting task, even more when the person or the firm is miles away connected only by telephone and Internet. According to Forbes , following are the six most common mistakes firms make:

1. Underestimating the cost and complexity
2. Overestimating the overall cost savings
3. Selecting a country before understanding objectives
4. Failure to develop and effective communication program for employees
5. Select a single-source provider
6. Failure to put retention plans in place for talented people

These mistakes make more sense for big firms who are opening up a dedicated offshore center. However, it doesn’t address the mistakes that most of the entrepreneurs and small to medium sized firms make. These firms don’t have a dedicated offshore center, but do have small teams (made up of individuals or a small group of individuals). In our opinion, the most common mistakes made are:

1. Failure to make sure communication is done properly
2. Failure to understand the costs involved in the project
3. Failure to have a clear plan for the development

Communication
This is one of the most common problems faced by people. Usually providers are very prompt before a project is signed-off and then the frequency goes down. This is because, project is secured by sales staff and they are out to secure the projects (that’s their job!). When the project is signed off, the development staff isn’t too keen with keeping up with the communication. In fact, they hate it. They hate being told to send updates. The solution to this problem is that both buyer and provider should agree on what are the “expectations”. If the buyer requires daily updates, she should tell the provider. If it’s not feasible for the provider, she should suggest an alternative. Basically, there should be a common ground where both parties should agree and then that should be followed.

Another problem faced by buyers is when they are dealing with offshore providers. The technical persons usually aren’t good at communication. Specially, the level of English is quite low. This creates misunderstandings and frustrations even when communication is done properly. To cater for this, the buyers should insist on talking to the project manager or whoever will be the point of contact after the project is signed off.

The success of all projects whether in-house or outsourced, depends on communication and the importance of this should never be underestimated.

Understanding the costs involved
Buyers usually fail to understand the overall cost of the project. An idea to be developed is only an overview and implementations, in most cases, require much more effort. A lot of buyers also hate documentation and specification creation. This should not be underestimated. While it feels like a waste of time, it actually saves a lot of time later and clarifies the ideas even further. The buyers shouldn’t hesitate in even paying for such specification development. More accurate specifications mean more accurate estimates (including timelines, hours, and costs). Also these specifications provide buyers security in case the provider fails to deliver.

Having a clear plan for development
Almost all buyers want their product up and running as soon as possible. Rushing things is one of the biggest mistakes. While providers will not refuse to expedite development, it will mean more bugs and less quality code than the regular timeline. Having a good quality release a month late is better than a bad quality, full of bugs release a week before deadline. Buyers have to understand the complete process of implementation and make sure that they don’t rush things.

There are a few other things that buyers should keep in mind while working with offshore consultants. As much as possible, they should make sure that they sign some sort of contracts. These contracts should outline the “expectations” from the project. They should also try that they can either visit development center themselves or make sure that they meet the management face-to-face. Also always try to talk on phone or via video conferencing rather than through instant messaging and emails.