Does it make sense to offshore my development project?

Many organizations are being enticed by the promise of short-term financial savings and long-term staffing elasticity anticipated through offshore development. However, it is prudent to remain cautionary before taking that leap abroad with your next project. There are pitfalls that exist with offshore development, and those pitfalls may cost you more than you are willing to pay. Understanding the inherent challenges (and potential benefits) of these efforts will permit you to make the right decision for your development needs.

The following projects generally do not lend themselves to be good offshore candidates:

• Significant end-user involvement during the lifecycle.
• Integration with other systems.
• Undefined or unclear business rules.
  

The following projects usually lend themselves well to offshoring:

• Clearly defined objectives and project specifications.
• Modularized tasks (black box of functionality).
• Industry neutral tasks (understanding business is not critical to successful task completion).
• Flexible delivery dates (as more renditions of betas may be necessary).
  

In order to make an offshore project successful the following needs to happen:

• Users must be willing to make a much larger commitment of time for communication.
• Requirements must be very clearly defined.
• Testing procedures must be more thorough.
• The offshore team must have strong communication skills in your home language.
• There must be a proven track record of success with many American companies.

It is common to overestimate the potential savings and underestimate the higher project failure rate when evaluating “offshoring”. Offshore labor rates that are lower than those in the U.S. can be a blind trap. Cultural differences, plus language and communication problems can become major issues that thwart project success. Custom Software By Preston suggests a hybrid approach. The solution is to offshore those portions of the project that are clearly defined, while the onshore team handles the more grey areas of analysis, design, and defining specifications. It takes advantage of the best of both worlds, allowing for full coordination, project control, and time management onshore, while accessing the reduced-cost offshore labor pool where it will proffer the most savings.

Now more than ever business success means utilizing technologies and resources more cost effectively. Knowing how to get there is the key to profitability. The CSP team has been doing just that for our clients since 1998. Allow us to bring our highly qualified staff and industry experience to your development project and we’ll provide you with the energy and capacity to achieve your goals. Plus, we can assist you in analyzing what may and what may not be appropriate to take offshore.