News | Article: "Have you ever outsourced a web project that became a complete failure?" |
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You probably started your project with a clear idea of what you wanted. You made an extended document describing everything that had to be designed and programmed. Then you sent the requirement specifications to the supplier you chose (of course the choice of supplier is a crucial reason for your frustrating experience, but we won’t elaborate on that in this article). The supplier embraced the opportunity and provided you with a quote after several days. Wonderful ! The supplier understood your needs and provided you with a rock bottom price. No doubt in your mind: let’s start. Everything seemed to work smoothly, you got a few questions during the project and the planning….did you get a planning? A few weeks later you get your beta version delivered and that’s where the tears started running from your face. And then you wonder: where did it go wrong? Introducing a structured process: The answer to the question where it went wrong is: lack of a clear process. When two people in two distant parts of the world start cooperating on a project, they need a common understanding on ‘how to work’. Both sides need to clearly understand what is expected of them. As the supplier (appears to) be the most experienced in the outsourcing offshore field, he should be the one laying out a process to create the common understanding. Based on the clear process the supplier applies in your project, you obviously also have a role. Offshore outsourcing your project isn’t just ‘throwing specifications over the wall’. It requires both sides to invest time, be patient and work towards a common goal: create a cooperation in which projects can be successfully launched. Now you probably wonder how that process may look. While the exact steps of Internetwebbureau’s processes is only revealed to our clients, we do want to name a few key items that are needed in any successful offshore outsourcing process: A helping hand in defining clear requirement specifications: For you as a client, it is obviously clear what has to be built in your project. You have a clear picture in mind of the design, the functionalities, the pages, the links, everything. And you have put it to paper. Now here is where the biggest part of the success or failure of your project is determined. The supplier should help you to make the specifications clear enough for them to start working on your project. They should give you instructions on how to make wireframes or screenshots (or even better: they can develop them for you). They should make a detailed list of questions about the features in the project that are not clear to them. And only if they have the same image in mind as you do, should they tell you ‘we are ready to start’. Internetwebbureau will ensure, together with the client, a clear scope and clear specifications. An online system for communication: This is the second most crucial element of a successful offshore process: a system that supports it. While we have e-mail, chat and phone (Skype) at our fingertips to communicate any question or remark, these tools simultaneously create the biggest risk in your project. E-mails, chat and phone conversations get lost. And whether your project is big or small: there are a lot of these messages. They are stored in different pc’s, inboxes, folders, etc…creating chaos in the communication. What you need is a central cockpit where you can always find any task, bug, question or agreement. A system where you login and find the answers to your question ‘didn’t I tell the programmer before?’ or ‘what did I agree on this specific bug with them?’ This is a human characteristic more common to people from the west then from the east: you want to receive frequent updates on the progress, risks, delays or problems in the project. The supplier should have people in place who understand this and make sure you are always 100% informed about your project. Internetwebbureau does use proper project management practices like clear communication lines, transparent webbased project management tools in order to ensure the best communication between all parties involved in most efficient and effective way. These are just a few items, out of many more, that are needed to successfully manage your offshore outsourcing projects. We do hope it gives you some guidelines and if you intend to outsource offshore a web project, of course we hope you will think of us. We will make sure you web project will become a success.
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