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Description of  Managing Software Project Outsourcing: A Practical Guide (Optimise Book 8)

As globalization becomes more and more prevalent, many companies are increasingly considering outsourcing. They can and frequently do outsource activities that were once strictly performed in-house. Outsourcing is essentially the practice of hiring experts outside your company to perform tasks that are outside your core business areas. Outsourced employees can reside in your city, elsewhere in your country, or in any other country in the world. Hiring experts in other countries is known as offshoring. Are you interested in lowering operating costs or improving company focus? Are you seeking flexibility? Or perhaps you're interested in mitigating risk. If so, you're not alone these are all reasons companies decide to outsource. Each outsourced project is different, and your responsibilities will change depending on the nature of the project. For instance, your duties would be different on a larger-scale software project than on a smaller- scale one. But regardless of the scale, organizational strategy, or type of project, it's important that you understand all aspects of outsourcing in order for it to be managed properly. In this book, you'll learn the steps you can take to prepare for managing an outsourced software project. First, you'll find out about the managerial implications of working on an outsourced project. Then, you'll learn how to define your needs. Finally, you'll find out the importance of a governance model. The success of your outsourced project depends on finding the best vendor for the job. Your vendor needs to match your requirements for the project. And you need to be confident that the vendor can carry out the work well. In this course, you'll learn how to go about selecting a vendor, so that your project has the best possible chance of success. You'll find out how to develop a Request for Proposal, so that you get all the information you need to properly judge your vendors' bids. You'll learn about a process for assessing vendor proposals and vendor suitability to help you create a shortlist of vendors to open discussions with. You'll learn the best way to negotiate with your vendor, so that both you and the vendor get what you need. And you'll find out how to create an effective contract that includes everything you need from the vendor to ensure a good outcome for your project. Your relationship with your new vendor might last for just one project, or it might be a partnership that goes on for years. Either way, this course can help you lay the groundwork to find a partner who meets your needs and help ensure that your project goes smoothly. There's no doubt that establishing a working relationship with an outsourced team can be challenging. When you're outsourcing a software project, you depend on the outsourced team to produce quality results that align with your company's goals. However, most of the time you can't physically be there to monitor progress. For that reason, you need to build a positive relationship based on flexibility and trust right from the start. Getting off to a positive start with the outsourced team goes a long way toward achieving project success. It helps to describe your expectations clearly. It also enables you to be ready to compromise when necessary. It's important to understand and respect the differences in the outsourced team's language, culture, and time zone. And, as with any working relationship, being able to communicate effectively is key. In this book, you'll learn how to develop a positive working relationship with your outsourced team from the very beginning of your software project. This includes preparing both the outsourced team and your in-house team for the project and the relationship. Read more