When in-house resources are scarce, what should you consider before outsourcing software development?
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Follow the classic rule of 5W1H
Why : Why you want to outsource. Cost should not be only reason. Outsourcing can bring in lot of benefits such as Outside In View, access to niche skills, domain expertise, standardisation etc. But need to bring that view clearly.
What: Be clear on scope of work you want to outsource. If scope is not clear, cost can increase dramatically impacting your budgets.
When: Be sure on when you want to start the outsourcing. Timing is key. e.g. timing of year (E.g. Europe is away for Holiday season in Summer. ) , timing during project/prograrm phase (Outsourcing in starting of initial will have optimal outcome than at later phase) and so on. So timing is key to do the outsourcing.
Where: Where you are outsourcing is also important. Outsourcing can be done locally, near-shore, offshore and so on. Each comes with different benefits but have different challenges. E.g While offshore can be quite cheaper, you need to invest time to build rapport and keep patience. On other hand, local outsourcing will be beneficial given working in close vicinity on outcome, it will be quite costly. So if you have a program with long duration, it might be wise to look for offshore outsourcing.
Who: Selection of partner is always a key. This depends on work that needs to be done and scale that is required. Nowdays lot of startup companies can give you access to bleeding edge technologies at fraction of cost, if you want to experiment of latest technologies such Gen AI. But if you looking large program to be executed at scale, you would need the large partner.
How: This is the key part on how to establish Way of Working between two or more teams. Most of time,s its an evolving process. This is very much like marriage. You and partner needs to click, as you will be investing a lot of money, time and emotions in this long term relationship of outsourcing. :)
Hope it makes sense :)
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