Comments for Bridge-Blog http://bridge-outsourcing.com Offshore and nearshore outsourcing Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:01:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Comment on The rising popularity of outsourcing in Germany by solikhin kasum http://bridge-outsourcing.com/outsourcing/rising-popularity-outsourcing-germany/comment-page-1#comment-3428 solikhin kasum Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:01:54 +0000 http://bridge-outsourcing.com/?p=783#comment-3428 Brief and useful input, add our points on how IT outsource more or less will grow in Germany, it may changed already by today, since IT is really progress everyday. Brief and useful input, add our points on how IT outsource more or less will grow in Germany, it may changed already by today, since IT is really progress everyday.

]]> Comment on Outsourcing: the future? by solikhin kasum http://bridge-outsourcing.com/outsourcing/outsourcing-future/comment-page-1#comment-3427 solikhin kasum Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:49:04 +0000 http://bridge-outsourcing.com/?p=1752#comment-3427 Valuable posting, enrich our knowledge about outsourcing impact in the worlds, IT outsourcing somehow make it faster while the expense become cheaper. Thank you. Valuable posting, enrich our knowledge about outsourcing impact in the worlds, IT outsourcing somehow make it faster while the expense become cheaper. Thank you.

]]> Comment on Magento stripped to bare – a contemplative guide on Magento features by replica prada handbags http://bridge-outsourcing.com/ecommerce/magento/comment-page-1#comment-3268 replica prada handbags Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:17:15 +0000 http://bridge-outsourcing.com/?p=1382#comment-3268 Great post and straight to the point. I don't know if this is truly the best place to ask but do you folks have any thoughts on where to get some professional writers? Thanks :) Caleb Great post and straight to the point. I don’t know if this is truly the best place to ask but do you folks have any thoughts on where to get some professional writers? Thanks :) Caleb

]]> Comment on Prejudices and generalizations: Indians & Eastern Europeans by Ram Ramanathan http://bridge-outsourcing.com/outsourcing/prejudices/comment-page-1#comment-3059 Ram Ramanathan Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:10:13 +0000 http://bridge-outsourcing.com/?p=1374#comment-3059 This is really a good topic. Mainly the cultural differences are the main reasons for all these misunderstandings. High expectations and take it for Granted attitude from the developed countries by delegating the task is enough are the few problems. The unavailability of the people when we try to coordinate or getting help on some topics normally they are not available or do not have time. In this case, the customer does not extend the deadline but want the tasks to finished in the same deadline and expect the highest quality of work. They have to undestand with the experience and long term association one can learn about the customer expectations and the requirements. This time should be given to any company irrespective of outsourcing or offshore development center to understand what exactly they need and what exactly has to be done. If the customer is ready to visit the outsourcing company then all the cultural differences and the gap can be reduced easily and a smooth collaboration can be had. This is my opinion. This is really a good topic. Mainly the cultural differences are the main reasons for all these misunderstandings. High expectations and take it for Granted attitude from the developed countries by delegating the task is enough are the few problems. The unavailability of the people when we try to coordinate or getting help on some topics normally they are not available or do not have time. In this case, the customer does not extend the deadline but want the tasks to finished in the same deadline and expect the highest quality of work.

They have to undestand with the experience and long term association one can learn about the customer expectations and the requirements. This time should be given to any company irrespective of outsourcing or offshore development center to understand what exactly they need and what exactly has to be done.

If the customer is ready to visit the outsourcing company then all the cultural differences and the gap can be reduced easily and a smooth collaboration can be had.

This is my opinion.

]]> Comment on The role of people in the success of offshoring by Hugo Messer http://bridge-outsourcing.com/outsourcing/offshoring-role-of-people/comment-page-1#comment-2996 Hugo Messer Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:50:32 +0000 http://bridge-outsourcing.com/?p=1691#comment-2996 Dear Erik, Viktor and Hans, thank you very much for your feedback, I believe all your comments add to the content of my article. It's always nice to see that people agree and have the same vision! hugo Dear Erik, Viktor and Hans,

thank you very much for your feedback, I believe all your comments add to the content of my article. It’s always nice to see that people agree and have the same vision!

hugo

]]> Comment on Risk Management in Small Teams by Pawel Brodzinski http://bridge-outsourcing.com/others/risk-management-small-teams/comment-page-1#comment-2945 Pawel Brodzinski Sun, 11 Jul 2010 11:44:34 +0000 http://bridge-outsourcing.com/?p=1619#comment-2945 We could discuss the semantics but if something is an issue we have bug tracker/task list to put the issue there. This is an easy part. The hard part is when there isn't real problem yet, but you feel it may appear. Task list don't work well anymore here and that's why we often have separate risk log. The problem I see with risk logs in different teams is the risk log has probably the lowest possible content quality. Actually barely anyone cares what is in the risk log. And the effort to keep it that way is pretty significant. And the effort along with low quality outcome result in negative people attitude to risk management as a whole. Informal approach described above isn't wishful thinking. I see it working every day. It isn't easy. You can't implement it in any team. But small teams are specific. Level of trust is typically much higher than in big teams. You can easily co-locate them. It is much easier to build good atmosphere etc. It isn't a sure shot method, but it works. Actually that's exactly how we're doing it in my current team and it is one of two teams I worked with, which had pretty good risk management process. (The other one had very formal way of doing it and a dedicated tool developed to support it.) We could discuss the semantics but if something is an issue we have bug tracker/task list to put the issue there. This is an easy part.

The hard part is when there isn’t real problem yet, but you feel it may appear. Task list don’t work well anymore here and that’s why we often have separate risk log. The problem I see with risk logs in different teams is the risk log has probably the lowest possible content quality. Actually barely anyone cares what is in the risk log. And the effort to keep it that way is pretty significant. And the effort along with low quality outcome result in negative people attitude to risk management as a whole.

Informal approach described above isn’t wishful thinking. I see it working every day. It isn’t easy. You can’t implement it in any team. But small teams are specific. Level of trust is typically much higher than in big teams. You can easily co-locate them. It is much easier to build good atmosphere etc.

It isn’t a sure shot method, but it works. Actually that’s exactly how we’re doing it in my current team and it is one of two teams I worked with, which had pretty good risk management process. (The other one had very formal way of doing it and a dedicated tool developed to support it.)

]]> Comment on Risk Management in Small Teams by Lina http://bridge-outsourcing.com/others/risk-management-small-teams/comment-page-1#comment-2877 Lina Fri, 09 Jul 2010 11:39:22 +0000 http://bridge-outsourcing.com/?p=1619#comment-2877 It is a nice thought.. But I would call it more a wishful thinking. Having a vast Project Management background, I agree with the part that for small teams the classic Risk management is time consuming and not cost effective. Still, in my experience there has to be some kind of Risk management method, at least a Risk log. If the name Risk is not good, call it Open issues list, but have a list. Otherwise you may lose some of the risks. Small teams work very closely and discuss risks all the time anyway, still people being human, get distracted. One has a sick child at home, the other have a car in the garage and have to discuss repairs on the phone every couple of hours, the third is on a business trip. So you identify the risks in time only if you ask the right questions, which means that somebody in the team need to be constantly aware. Since he is human too, managing Risks log as a task, helps you to have it in mind always. And sometime a small problem develops into a big one and this development might be missed if the problem when small wasn't monitored because of forgetfulness. It is a nice thought.. But I would call it more a wishful thinking.
Having a vast Project Management background, I agree with the part that for small teams the classic Risk management is time consuming and not cost effective. Still, in my experience there has to be some kind of Risk management method, at least a Risk log. If the name Risk is not good, call it Open issues list, but have a list.
Otherwise you may lose some of the risks. Small teams work very closely and discuss risks all the time anyway, still people being human, get distracted. One has a sick child at home, the other have a car in the garage and have to discuss repairs on the phone every couple of hours, the third is on a business trip. So you identify the risks in time only if you ask the right questions, which means that somebody in the team need to be constantly aware. Since he is human too, managing Risks log as a task, helps you to have it in mind always.
And sometime a small problem develops into a big one and this development might be missed if the problem when small wasn’t monitored because of forgetfulness.

]]> Comment on The role of people in the success of offshoring by Hans Tienhoven http://bridge-outsourcing.com/outsourcing/offshoring-role-of-people/comment-page-1#comment-2873 Hans Tienhoven Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:46:47 +0000 http://bridge-outsourcing.com/?p=1691#comment-2873 Hugo, I too, fully agree with you. The people make the difference. Companies who engage with off/nearshore suppliers should indeed never approach this solely as a cost saving tool. It can be an very nice side effect and in the long run it will pay off literally. However, the main goal is to accomodate a need for capacity/growth. Companies should ask themselves, how would we satisfy a need for capacity here in the home country. You would be very careful who you select to be a member of your team. Not only should this new person be very capable and knowledgeable on the things you want him/her to be doing, but also you want to be sure this person will have a good soft skill set which matches with the current members of the team. Why would it be any different when you off/nearshore? Just because there is a fysical difference between the teams? This point alone makes it even more crucial you have people in your foreign team who understand your goals, values and culture. Talking of culture: when engaging with an off/nearshore team there will always be cultural differences, no matter how you slice it. That will only be a problem if you do not recognize and/or accept it. Embrace these differences, make sure you know how to deal with it, make sure your home team knows how to deal with it. It will make everyones work much more interesting (and I do not mean this in a cynical way.... ;-)) People make the difference, not only close by but also far away. Hugo,

I too, fully agree with you. The people make the difference. Companies who engage with off/nearshore suppliers should indeed never approach this solely as a cost saving tool. It can be an very nice side effect and in the long run it will pay off literally. However, the main goal is to accomodate a need for capacity/growth. Companies should ask themselves, how would we satisfy a need for capacity here in the home country. You would be very careful who you select to be a member of your team. Not only should this new person be very capable and knowledgeable on the things you want him/her to be doing, but also you want to be sure this person will have a good soft skill set which matches with the current members of the team. Why would it be any different when you off/nearshore? Just because there is a fysical difference between the teams? This point alone makes it even more crucial you have people in your foreign team who understand your goals, values and culture. Talking of culture: when engaging with an off/nearshore team there will always be cultural differences, no matter how you slice it. That will only be a problem if you do not recognize and/or accept it. Embrace these differences, make sure you know how to deal with it, make sure your home team knows how to deal with it. It will make everyones work much more interesting (and I do not mean this in a cynical way…. ;-) ) People make the difference, not only close by but also far away.

]]> Comment on The role of people in the success of offshoring by Viktor Bogdanov http://bridge-outsourcing.com/outsourcing/offshoring-role-of-people/comment-page-1#comment-2858 Viktor Bogdanov Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:51:21 +0000 http://bridge-outsourcing.com/?p=1691#comment-2858 To be able to get as much value from the outsourced development/operations as possible, the client company should tend to engage with its IT services supplier so as to have as much control of its project teams as possible, including own PM's relocation to the supplier's office, 100% involvement / decision making in the hiring process and ability to manage costs (as incurred actual costs of outsourcing unfortunately often exceed the contracted ones, as the practice shows). The supplier should be regarded as a space and resource provider and administrative issues solver rather than the "project conductor". Companies who think they'll outsource their project to a 3d party (either offshore or nearshore) and then "wash the hands off" and wait for the vendor to do the whole job and then skim the cream are doomed to fail and stay dissatisfied with their decision to outsource. But those who're ready to take extra efforts, hire a competent consultant and/or manager to lead the outsourcing process and monitor their project on a 24/7 basis will be able to save significantly from their outsourced development due to reduced/eliminated delivery delays, vendor's staff turnover and hidden agenda. The client should be able to control and manage every single penny spent on the project and create, enhance and grow its own outsourced team and outsourced culture. I believe this is going to be the philosophy of outsourcing of the future. In short, people do matter on the outsourced team, but it is the outsourced services buyer who should manage them rather than the provider. To be able to get as much value from the outsourced development/operations as possible, the client company should tend to engage with its IT services supplier so as to have as much control of its project teams as possible, including own PM’s relocation to the supplier’s office, 100% involvement / decision making in the hiring process and ability to manage costs (as incurred actual costs of outsourcing unfortunately often exceed the contracted ones, as the practice shows). The supplier should be regarded as a space and resource provider and administrative issues solver rather than the “project conductor”. Companies who think they’ll outsource their project to a 3d party (either offshore or nearshore) and then “wash the hands off” and wait for the vendor to do the whole job and then skim the cream are doomed to fail and stay dissatisfied with their decision to outsource. But those who’re ready to take extra efforts, hire a competent consultant and/or manager to lead the outsourcing process and monitor their project on a 24/7 basis will be able to save significantly from their outsourced development due to reduced/eliminated delivery delays, vendor’s staff turnover and hidden agenda. The client should be able to control and manage every single penny spent on the project and create, enhance and grow its own outsourced team and outsourced culture. I believe this is going to be the philosophy of outsourcing of the future. In short, people do matter on the outsourced team, but it is the outsourced services buyer who should manage them rather than the provider.

]]> Comment on The role of people in the success of offshoring by Erik Joustra http://bridge-outsourcing.com/outsourcing/offshoring-role-of-people/comment-page-1#comment-2855 Erik Joustra Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:49:49 +0000 http://bridge-outsourcing.com/?p=1691#comment-2855 Hugo, I fully agree with you and would take the impotance of people even a step further. I believe that people are in the centre of offshoring. Treating offshoring as a spreadsheet activity, or just an agreement between two companies is guarenteed to fail. It is the people that make the difference. I therefore fully believe in the approach that the key people of both parties (supplier and client) should be selected to be able to work together. and key people include management roles but not only management roles. Although people are from different backgrounds, different companies, different cultures it is stil "working apart together" that makes the difference. Hugo, I fully agree with you and would take the impotance of people even a step further. I believe that people are in the centre of offshoring. Treating offshoring as a spreadsheet activity, or just an agreement between two companies is guarenteed to fail.
It is the people that make the difference. I therefore fully believe in the approach that the key people of both parties (supplier and client) should be selected to be able to work together. and key people include management roles but not only management roles. Although people are from different backgrounds, different companies, different cultures it is stil “working apart together” that makes the difference.

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