Businesses that would like to outsource their software development and IT requirements are faced with a number of concerns. Their biggest concerns are the risks involved with respect to quality, on-time delivery and return on investment. Disclosure of confidential information and/or intellectual property to an outside party is also a cause of concern for companies wishing to outsource. Overall, the reluctance to outsource stems from a feeling of lack of control that companies experience over that particular aspect of the business. These concerns are further augmented when the outsourcing partner or service provider is based offshore.

The following project management practices for offshore projects are designed to minimize these risks and alleviate our client’s concerns:

Confidentiality Agreement: Before any disclosure of information occurs at the start of a project, a Confidentiality Agreement will be signed in order to safeguard any sensitive information or intellectual property of the client.

Development Coordinators: Both CIL and the client will appoint Development Coordinators to act as the primary non-technical contacts between both parties. The Development Coordinators will arrange all non-technical meetings/communications between the parties and will be the primary point of contact relating to the progress made with respect to the project. All notices between the parties will be presented to the Development Coordinators. All administrative matters relating to the project will be communicated through the Development Coordinators. Each Development Coordinator shall be responsible for communicating within their respective organizations and procuring the input of management for the achievement of project goals.

Technical Coordinators: Both CIL and the client will appoint Technical Coordinators to act as primary technical contacts between both parties. The Technical Coordinators will communicate with each other on a regular periodic basis regarding technical issues to assure the smooth progress of the development process.

Development Team: A team which meets the requirements for the project will be created. If the client wishes, they will be able to personally interview every member of the team. Our aim is to ensure that the client is completely satisfied with the engineers allocated to the project.

Administrative Assistant: An administrative assistant will be assigned to every project. This person will be responsible for procurement of custom software and hardware required for the project, keeping inventory of materials that might have to be imported from the client, timesheets, invoicing etc.

Deliverables: During the software development life cycle, distinct phases will be defined with specific deliverables for the client at the conclusion of every phase. The next phase will be initiated only when the client is satisfied with the deliverables and both parties achieve sign-off. Read more about this process in Software Development & Delivery