Applied Software Project Management

Management Issues in Outsourced Projects

There are some important ways project management is different for an outsourced project than it is for a project developed in-house. It's not just the relationship with the vendor that's different; it's also the relationship between you, your management at your own company, and your team members. By paying special attention to transparency, information sharing, and communication, you can make sure these relationships lead to a successful project.

Actively Manage Your Project

If you have a relatively small project with well-defined requirements, known acceptance criteria, and a specific deadline—in other words, a fixed amount of work in a fixed period of time—then the project will probably work out fine. The success of a project like this hinges primarily on the technical competence of the programmers and on their ability to work together as a team. This is especially common when an organization that has never developed software before needs a specific piece of software written and does not want to build up its own IT infrastructure.

If you are a project manager at an organization that makes software as part of its core operations, then you are probably not in this situation, and your outsourced projects will probably not be this simple. They are much more likely to involve an open-ended commitment (one that, in some cases, could go on for years). Many organizations that outsource their work do not have a good grasp on their requirements, and ...