Hazel Taylor
Abstract
Pre-partnering lets clients and vendors develop a clear understanding of a project---including how well the other will handle its inevitable complexities.
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Index Terms
- Critical risks in outsourced IT projects: the intractable and the unforeseen
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Reviews
Phillip A. Laplante
I don't know of another study of this sort. This nifty paper reports on the findings from a set of structured interviews with 25 experienced project managers working on outsourced projects, not as the "outsourcer," but as the "oursourcee," that is, as the provider of outsourced software development services. The findings validate prevailing wisdom rather than provide any surprising answers: that the two most significant risks are overoptimistic schedules and inflated client expectations. The study also reports that shifting requirements, staffing problems, and client organizational culture further compound problems for the outsourcee. The author does suggest that the way to avoid these kinds of problems involves careful expectation setting, and a more thorough requirements discovery process at the early stages of the vendor-client relationship. While the results certainly ring true, it's hard to give too much weight to any findings based on a sample size of 25. Moreover, when all of the project managers are based in Hong Kong, one has to wonder about cultural, geopolitical, or local economic influences on the findings. For those just beginning their project management careers, or for wannabes, this is a great primer on some of the pitfalls of software project management. Experienced software project managers will not find anything new here, except perhaps the discovery that software vendors suffer from the same woes as their customers.
Phillip A. Laplante
I don't know of another study of this sort. This nifty paper reports on the findings from a set of structured interviews with 25 experienced project managers working on outsourced projects, not as the "outsourcer," but as the "oursourcee," that is, as the provider of outsourced software development services. The findings validate prevailing wisdom rather than provide any surprising answers: that the two most significant risks are overoptimistic schedules and inflated client expectations. The study also reports that shifting requirements, staffing problems, and client organizational culture further compound problems for the outsourcee. The author does suggest that the way to avoid these kinds of problems involves careful expectation setting, and a more thorough requirements discovery process at the early stages of the vendor-client relationship. While the results certainly ring true, it's hard to give too much weight to any findings based on a sample size of 25. Moreover, when all of the project managers are based in Hong Kong, one has to wonder about cultural, geopolitical, or local economic influences on the findings. For those just beginning their project management careers, or for wannabes, this is a great primer on some of the pitfalls of software project management. Experienced software project managers will not find anything new here, except perhaps the discovery that software vendors suffer from the same woes as their customers.
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