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VWorker Assignment
- 1. A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION B)REQUEST FOR BID C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY D)BIDS OVERVIEW CONTENT E) SELECTION CRITERIA B. CYRIL F) OUTSOURCING NISHIKANT K. VWORKER PROCESS CHU L. G) PROJECT DELIVERABLE H) PROJECT SUMMARY 11 GROUP GROUP ASSIGNMENT I) REFERENCESKATE S. VIRIYAPA T. LAYEBI T. TENG Z. Global Outsourcing and Offshoring of Services Dr. Julia Kotlarsky
- 2. A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION B)REQUEST FOR BID C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY D)BIDS OVERVIEW CONTENT E) SELECTION CRITERIA F) OUTSOURCING PROCESS G) PROJECT DELIVERABLE H) PROJECT SUMMARY I) REFERENCES
- 3. Project Selection Why GroupMessaging? Why Android? In the UK, 11 million text messages are sent in an hour. The number of SMS increased by 24% in 2010 with 129.1 billion texts. Nearly 80% of adults in the UK text everyday. A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION
- 4. Group Text MessagingApp ??? U U ??? U A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION
- 5. A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION B)REQUEST FOR BID C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY D)BIDS OVERVIEW CONTENT E) SELECTION CRITERIA F) OUTSOURCING PROCESS G) PROJECT DELIVERABLE H) PROJECT SUMMARY I) REFERENCES
- 6. SRS document forConversation and Screenshot. Product Features Start New Conversation. View Conversation. End Conversation Operating Environment Application Icon Design and Implementation Constraints System Features Data Flow Functional Requirements External Interface Requirements User Interfaces Communications Interfaces Start Screen Conversation Screen B)REQUEST FOR BID
- 7. Quotation posted fromVWorker “We are a small and innovative company based in the United Kingdom, developing mobile applications on Android, iPhone and Windows phones. Due to heavy workload, we are outsourcing some of the small applications. We are looking for quality developers/companies, who believe in long-term relationships. Treat this application as the first step towards a long lasting relationship. If we are happy with the deliverable, we would be glad to conduct business with you next time. The application needs to be developed for Android first and later on we will develop the same application for iPhone and Windows phones. So, clearly state on which platform you have expertise. All the requirements are mentioned in the SRS document attached (with sample screenshots). The project has a strict deadline. So, before bidding, make sure that the requirements are crystal clear and only bid if you can deliver the product by the deadline (source code + installer). At last, thank you for taking out time and bidding for the project.” B)REQUEST FOR BID
- 8. A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION B)REQUEST FOR BID C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY D)BIDS OVERVIEW CONTENT E) SELECTION CRITERIA F) OUTSOURCING PROCESS G) PROJECT DELIVERABLE H) PROJECT SUMMARY I) REFERENCES
- 9. Risks Risk Mitigation Strategies Create detailed specification and upload early 1. Challenging expectations to provide sufficient time to complete the project Read Julia Kotlarsky’s book ‘The Handbook of 2. Lack of experience with IT Global Outsourcing and Offshoring of outsourcing Services’ Ed 2!!! 3. No Bids or Not Enough Bids Have a back-up project idea 4. Overrun Budgets Negotiate with bidders to get a good price 5. Suppliers overselling their Look at vendors’ rating on vWorker, their CV, capabilities any past projects and any customer reviews. Continuously interact with the supplier to make sure the requirements are met and also to 6. Poor Quality in both make sure any queries they may have are Functional and Non-Functional answered efficiently. Requirements Provide a complete Software Requirements Specification as a guide and reference. Source: Kern et al. (2002) C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY
- 10. Risks Risk Mitigation Strategies We chose something that we believe is not 7. Re-Selling of Apps currently available on the market VWorker site guarantee and arbitration 8. Late Delivery facility Use the selection criteria to choose a 9. Slow Response Time reliable vendor 10. Virtual Relationship Daily status phonecalls 11. Lack Of Flexibility and Continuous communication and specific Control requirements 12. Having A Single Supplier Back-up bidder Source: Kern et al. (2002) ‘Seeking a risk-free project is illogical...It is impossible. All projects have some residual risk no matter how much you do to avoid it’ (Kendrick, 2009, p.198) C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY
- 11. A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION B)REQUEST FOR BID C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY D)BIDS OVERVIEW CONTENT E) SELECTION CRITERIA F) OUTSOURCING PROCESS G) PROJECT DELIVERABLE H) PROJECT SUMMARY I) REFERENCES
- 12. United Kingdom: 2vendors Bids: £353, £2,824 Pakistan: 1 vendor; Bids: £118 India: 5 vendors Bids: £101, £118, £153, £500, No Bids Time from posting until award of bid to provider: 03 days Time from award to provider until payment authorization: 05 days Country of provider: India Number of countries that bid: 3 Contract amount: £101 (India, Pakistan, UK) Highest Bid: £2,824 Lowest Bid: £101 Number of Bids: 8 D)BIDS OVERVIEW
- 13. A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION B)REQUEST FOR BID C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY D)BIDS OVERVIEW CONTENT E) SELECTION CRITERIA F) OUTSOURCING PROCESS G) PROJECT DELIVERABLE H) PROJECT SUMMARY I) REFERENCES
- 14. Evaluation Framework Relationship Competency Planning and Contracting Organisational Design Delivery Time Country Customer Governance Development Cost Timely Language Skills Technical Responses Skills Leadership Delivery Program Reliability Process Transformation Business Competency Mngt Mngt Improvement Competency Rating on VWorker Domain Technology Expertise Exploitation Twelve Suppliers Capabilities Supplier Selection Criteria Adapt from: Oshri I., Kotlarsky J., and Willcocks P. (2011) Source: E) SELECTION CRITERIA
- 15. Evaluation Matrix Scoring Table OriginalTable Weighting Table Relationship Relationship Delivery Competency Delivery Competency Delivery and Relationship Competency Delivery and Relationship Competency Competency Competency Total Vendor Vendor Technical Delivery Rating on on Technical Delivery Rating VWorker Language Language Timely Score Cost Cost Country Timely Country Reliability Reliability Skills Skills Time Time (out of 10) Vworker SkillsSkills Responses Responses A A - 00 High 1014 No 0 0 10(1) 14 10 0 Low 0 India India - Rajkot 7 - Rajkot High 0 10 Low 35/70 0 B B £500 0 Low 00 Yes 1014 9(1) 10 Low 0 India - Noida Medium Low B 0 14 0 India India - Noida 7 - Noida 10 0 0 35/70 C C £153 5 High 10 No 0 0 6.66 (3) Medium India - Bangalore Medium 10 5.25 Medium C 3.5 14 75 1.75 5 India - Bangalore 7 India - Bangalore 5 38.5/70 D D £118 10 High 10 No 0 0 1010(1) Medium India - Bangalore High 10 5.25 Medium49/70 D 7 14 14 1.75 5 India India - Bangalore 7 - Bangalore 5 Pakistan - Pakistan - E E £118 10 Low 00 No 0 0 7.15(26) Low Pakistan - High Low E 7 75 0 0 Rawalpindi Rawalpindi 7 10 0 0 21/70 Rawalpindi F F £353 5 High 10 No 0 10(1) 10 High 10 UK - London UK - London High 10 Medium 5 F 3.5 £2,82 14 0 14 3.5 UK - London 7 5.25 47.25 G 5 High 10 Yes 10 - 0 High 10 UK - London Medium 5 High 10 G 3.5 4 14 14 0 3.5 UK - London 3.5 10.5 49/70 H H 10 £101 10 High 10 Yes 0 5 India - Pune 10 10 H 7 14 14 0- 1.75 Medium India India - Pune - Pune 7 High 10.5 High 54.25/70 Weighting Criteria: Cost(10%): Technical Skills (20% ): Delivery Time (20% ): Rating on VWorker (20% ): £0-£150 = 10 Points High = 10 Points Yes = 10 Points 8-10 = 10 Points £150-£300 = 5 Points Low = 0 Points No = 0 Points 5-7 = 5 Points Above £300 = 0 Points 0-4 and N/A = 0 Points Language Skills (5%): Timely Response = (10%): Reliability (15%): High = 10 Points High = 10 Points High = 10 Points Medium = 5 Points Medium = 5 Points Medium = 5 Points Low = 0 Points Low = 0 Points Low = 0 Points E) SELECTION CRITERIA
- 16. A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION B)REQUEST FOR BID C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY D)BIDS OVERVIEW CONTENT E) SELECTION CRITERIA F) OUTSOURCING PROCESS G) PROJECT DELIVERABLE H) PROJECT SUMMARY I) REFERENCES
- 17. Original Plan VS.Actual Progress 1. INVESTIGATE 2. STRATEGIZE 3. DESIGN: 2. STRATEGIZE: 1.INVESTIGATE: 5. MANAGE 4. SELECT Original Plan 5. MANAGE: Original Plan Brainstormingrequirements ideastrategies and decide on Plan Document the Identify riskssession for in detail and mitigation generation Negotiate with bidders Original communication strategy and team ideas roles. Check the market to determine ifmember currently Continuous communication Actual Progress Select team member with technical experience to deal Progress exist with the We didn’t have time to Actual negotiate and the price was within our budget Decide on an idea that could be useful to vendor. The vendor was very cooperative and responded quickly to Actual Progress everyone any concerns Some Progress Actual of the risks we identified had to be accepted because due Original Plan After scale of the our idea and found out that Receive could to the deciding on project we the limited resources we Application 3. DESIGN not implement the mitigation strategies another group had a very similar idea and we Actual Progress therefore had to change our idea which delayed us Received screenshots Received application Gave Feedback and received updated application if applicable Gave final feedback on vWorker 4. SELECT Adapted from: The Outsourcing Life Cycle Model: Phases and Building Blocks Source: Cullen et al (2005) F) OUTSOURCING PROCESS
- 18. A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION B)REQUEST FOR BID C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY D)BIDS OVERVIEW CONTENT E) SELECTION CRITERIA F) OUTSOURCING PROCESS G) PROJECT DELIVERABLE H) PROJECT SUMMARY I) REFERENCES
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- 21. A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION B)REQUEST FOR BID C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY D)BIDS OVERVIEW CONTENT E) SELECTION CRITERIA F) OUTSOURCING PROCESS G) PROJECT DELIVERABLE H) PROJECT SUMMARY I) REFERENCES
- 22. LESSONS LEARNED ARCHITECTPHASE ENGAGE PHASE Investigate the market first. Difficulties of choosing vendor. Some vendors oversell their capabilities and it can be difficult to Have a back-up plan. identify who is genuine especially in net sourcing. Difficult to find a partner that we can trust. Not all of the risks could be mitigated and there must There is not a vendor that could provide all required expertise. be some acceptable risks Therefore, the evaluation framework could help us to select the vendor. OPERATE PHASE Since few suppliers wish to show mistakes, they only focus on success Different projects have different stories. The Outsourcing requirements for skills and expertise. Therefore, it NegotiationsCycleimportant to have a time. relationship and is better toIt are important and take good Life is Model understand what skills we need from theSource:continuous communication with the vendor especially when vendor to Cullen et al (2005) accomplish the project. net sourcing. Need to be very specific when documenting the Communication skills / Clear relationships are essential. requirements to make sure the vendor understands exactly what is expected Virtual communications lead to barriers in building Doing the outsourcing project requires clearrelationship. objectives and approach to achieving the goals. Evaluate the project after completion to assess the success of the project and to learn from mistakes. H) PROJECT SUMMARY
- 23. GENERAL LEARNING The finished product may not always be exactly how you wanted. A lot of work in the outsourcing lifecycle happens before you actually outsource. Difficult to reduce the gap between our expectations and LESSONS the actual product. Facing unexpected events. You must learn how your partner works. The expectations are sometimes too high. Agile approach seems more effective for smaller projects. LEARNED Sometimes suppliers can suggest solutions and generate ideas that we have not though about. TEAM LEARINING The importance of teamwork. Working in the different groups helps us learn to adapt ourselves to the new working environment. The diversity of the group contributed to innovative idea generation and problem solving. H) PROJECT SUMMARY
- 24. A)PROJECT DESCRIPTION B)REQUEST FOR BID C) RISK AND MITIGATION STRATEGY D)BIDS OVERVIEW CONTENT E) SELECTION CRITERIA F) OUTSOURCING PROCESS G) PROJECT DELIVERABLE H) PROJECT SUMMARY I) REFERENCES
- 25. Arvind Panagariya (2008)India : The emerging giant Oxford University Press (Pages 266-267) Brian Rothery and Ian Robertson (1995) The truth about outsourcing Gower Publishing Limited (Pages 17, 57-58, 196-197, 209) Charles L. Gays & James Essinger (2000). Inside Outsourcing, the insider’s guide to managing strategic sourcing Nicholas Brealey Publishing (Pages 107,118, 120, 121). Cullen, S., Seddon, P., and Willcocks, L. P. (2005) ‘Managing outsourcing: the life cycle imperative’ MIS Quarterly Executive, 4(1), pp. 229-256 Kendrick T., (2009), Identifying And Managing Project Risk: Essential Tools For Failure-proofing Your Project, 2nd ed., United States of America: AMACOM Kelegama S., (2007), South Asia in the WTO, 1st ed., New Delhi:Sage Publications. Kern, T., Willcocks, L.P., Lacity, M.C., 2002. Application Service Provision: Risk Assessment and Mitigation. MIS Quarterly Executive, 1(2), p.113-126. I) REFERENCES
- 26. Koulopoulos, T.M., Roloff,T., (2006). Smartsourcing: Driving Innovation and growth Through Outsourcing, 1st ed., Avon: Platinum Press. Lacity, M.C., Willcocks, L.P., (2001). Global Information Technology Outsourcing: In Search of Business Advantage. New York : John Wiley & Sons LT. Oshri I., Kotlarsky J., and Willcocks P. (2011), The Handbook of Global Outsourcing and Offshoring, 2nd ed., Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Shankar Acharya & Rakesh Mohan (2010) India’s Economy, Performance and Challenges, Oxford University Press. Sparrow, E. A., 2005. A guide to global outsourcing, offshore outsourcing and other global delivery models, 1st ed.,The British Computer Society. Uma, Kapila (2008,2009), Indian Economy Performances and Policies, 3rd Ed., Academic Foundation. I) REFERENCES
Editor's Notes
- #4 Why group text messaging application?The facts speak for themselves, like 11 million texts are sent every hour just in the UK. A lot of people prefer text messages over phone call. ‘Texting’ is an easy and cost effective way to communicate with people/friends, especially, for short conversation. There are lot of group messaging applications in the market, but, every application uses Internet connection to work. Even with the default messaging application you can send a group message, but when someone in the group replies, the reply is only sent to the person who initiated the conversation and other people are not aware of what others are replying. With the Conversation application, we tried to remove this constraint. Conversation application helps a group of people communicate with each other (using the inbuilt short messaging service) with the features of the group messaging applications that use Internet. The main advantage being, it does not require Internet connection to work, no sign up is required to use the application (as compared to the Internet-based group messaging application) and your friends can be anywhere, you just need their mobile number (as compared to Internet based group applications, all your friends need to use the same service, like Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, Facebook etc).Why android platform?According to the market statistics, Android will rule around 50% of the smartphone market (worldwide) by the end of 2012. In the UK, Android already has 50% market share in the smartphone segment. Android is growing at a rapid pace and the competitors have started feeling the heat. The only thing that could have stop Android was the number of applications in the Android market, but with the start of 2012, Android market had 400,000 applications as compared to the Apple App Store which had 500,000 applications. Moreover, Android, being an open source operating system, allows you to do whatever you want (your imagination is the limit !), as compared to iOS (Apple iPhone operating system) which is a closed source operating system, limiting the way you can interact with the system. In addition, Android phone applications can be developed on Windows, Linux and Mac whereas for developing iPhone applications you need anApple computer, limiting the number of developers available for iPhone application development (mainly free lancers, who work on contract basis). This is the reasonwe chose to go ahead with the Android platform (the same application can then be further extended to other platforms as well).
- #5 The application we outsourced is a group text messaging application, called ‘Conversation’, that runs on Android. The purpose of this application is to enable group chat without the use of an Internet connection. It works much the same as other group chat applications but instead of using an Internet connection is uses the Short Messaging System (SMS).Before this application was developed, it was not possible to engage in a real group conversation without using an Internet connection. For example Person A could send a message to Person B and Person C but when Person B replies to Person A, Person C will not know what Person B has said which then requires Person A to send another message to Person C explaining Person B‘s reply. This is very inefficient especially for academic work where we must work in groups regularly. The ‘Conversation’ application provides another useful alternative when an Internet connection is not available.The application works by allowing you to initiate a conversation and add members and then any message that is sent within that conversation is received by all members.
- #7 We developed a complete Software Requirements Specification (SRS) document for the application. This document contained details of the requirements, the features, the design and implementation constraints, the system features, and the interfaces for the Conversation Application.Product Features included the ability to start a conversation, view a conversation, and end a conversation.The application would only support Android phonesinitially.The design and implementation constraints included details of language requirements, maximum number of members in a conversation and colour constraints.The system features included data flows and functional requirements.In terms of interface design, screenshots were provided to illustrate how the application should look and function.This document was posted on vWorker as a guide for the developer. A copy of the SRS document has been provided with the slides handout.
- #8 This is the exact request that was posted on the vWorker site. We implied we were a small company looking for a good relationship with a reliable developer or company who would help us develop mobile applications. We highlighted that we had a strict deadline and that this was not negotiable. We also mentioned that all of our requirements were available in a detailed SRS document.
- #10 We identified a number of risks associated with outsourcing our project on vWorker and the Mitigation strategies which are adapted from theRisk Assessment and Mitigation Framework for Traditional IT (Kernet al., 2002). We have identified twelve risks for the project which are listed below..Challenging expectationsThe risk here is that we have a very strict deadline and very little time to document the requirements and post them on the vWorker site and therefore it leaves little time for the developer to complete the projectRisk Mitigation Strategies : Create detailed specification and upload early to provide sufficient time to complete the project2. Lack of experience with IT outsourcingWe have no experience in outsourcing prior to this projectRisk Mitigation Strategies : Read Julia Kotlarsky’s book ‘The Handbook of Global Outsourcing and Offshoring of Services’ Ed 2!!!3. No Bids or Not Enough BidsThis would mean we would not have many options when it comes to choosing a supplier and could mean spending moreRisk Mitigation Strategies : Have a back-up project idea4.Overrun BudgetsIf no suppliers agreed to develop the application at our price then it may mean increasing the budgetRisk Mitigation Strategies : To mitigate the risk of overspending on the budget we would negotiate with bidders to get a good price5.Suppliers overselling their capabilitiesSuppliers may not be completely truthful about their expertise and may not have the technical skills to complete the applicationRisk Mitigation Strategies : To mitigate the risk of suppliers overselling their expertise we would look at their rating on vWorker, their CV, any past projects and any customer reviews
- #11 6. Poor Quality in both Functional and Non-Functional RequirementsThe application may not meet our requirements or may not function as plannedRisk Mitigation Strategies : In order to mitigate the risk of poor quality we would continuously interact with the supplier to make sure the requirements are met and also to make sure any queries they may have are answered efficiently. We would also provide a complete Software Requirements Specification as a guide and reference7. Re-Selling of AppsSome suppliers create generic apps and re-sell them without making necessary changes which can lead to poor quality Risk Mitigation Strategies : To mitigate the risk of being sold a generic pre-made app we choose something that we believe it not currently available on the market8. Late DeliveryWe have a tight time schedule and if the project is not delivered on time it will cause problems Risk Mitigation Strategies : To mitigate the risk of late delivery or no delivery at all there is the vWorker site guarantee and arbitration facility where we can argue that we did not receive the app on time or as required and we will not pay for it9. Slow Response TimeWe have a tight deadline and if vendors do not respond in a timely matter it will delay our progressRisk Mitigation Strategies : Use our selection criteria to choose a reliable vendor10. Virtual RelationshipDifficult to build trust as there is no face-to-face communication Risk Mitigation Strategies :Daily status phonecalls11. Lack of flexibility and controlVirtual relationship and the distance make it difficult to manage and control the processRisk Mitigation Strategies : Continuous communication and specific requirements10. Having a single supplierHaving only one supplier means that we are dependent on that vendor’s performanceRisk Mitigation Strategies : Back-up bidderWe would also like to note that with every outsourcing project comes with certain risks and sometimes you cannot always mitigate these. Kendrick (2009) sums this up nicely by saying ‘Seeking a risk-free project is illogical...It is impossible. All projects have some residual risk no matter how much you do to avoid it’ (Kendrick, 2009, p.198)
- #13 We received a total of eight bids for our applicationFive bids from India, one from Pakistan and two from the UKWe awarded the bid to the provider three days after we posted the projectTime from awarding the bid to the provider until payment authorisation was five daysOur highest bid was $2,824 and our lowest bid was $101Our contract amount for the awarded bidder was $101
- #15 The evaluation framework that is applied in the vendor selection process is adapted from the twelve suppliers capabilities (Oshri I., Kotlarsky J., and Willcocks P.,2011)Regarding the framework, each capability is categorised into three competences; Delivery, Relationship, and Transformation. However, considering that this project is small and does not require continuous work, the transformation competency will not be included in the vendor evaluation framework. Therefore, the framework consists of two competencies. Delivery competency represents the supplier’s capabilities in responding to the requirements of the project. Relationship competency represents the ability of the vendors to maintain the relationship with client or the team.There are eight capabilities that are developed for the evaluation framework. Cost- The cost of the project should be less than $200.2. Technical Skills- The selected vendor should have a reasonably high level of technical skills in order to meet the requirements with high quality.3. Delivery Time- The project should be delivered within 7 days.4. Rating on VWorker- Since the 'past vendor performance is the 'key' to promoting trust and thus current vendor performance' (Swinarski & Kishore, 2009), the past performance of the vender will be one of the criteria for evaluating the vendor.5. Language Skills- The vendor should be able to communicate with the client in the details of the project. 6. Country7. Timely Responses- Given that the project has limited time. Timely response will be one of the criteria to evaluate the vendor. 8. ReliabilityCost, Technical Skills, Delivery Time, and Rating on VWorker are grouped in the delivery competency. Language Skills is grouped in the relationship competency. Country, Timely Responses , and Reliability are grouped in both delivery and relationship competency.
- #16 Evaluation MatrixThe vendor selection criteria will be applied according to the framework in the previous slide. Initially the evaluation was done qualitatively. However, it is not clearly demonstrated, therefore the range of the score was set based on the capabilities of the vendor. Then, after converting the qualitative measurement of the vendor to the quantitative measurement, the weight will be applied to each criteria.Each factor will be weighed differently based on the project necessity. Technical skills, delivery time, and rating of the vendors are the most dominant factors of the project as the project requires reasonably high technical skills, fast delivery time, and high past performance. Therefore, these factors will be set as the highest weight (20%). Language skills is regarded as the least important factor since the project does not require high language skills. Thus, it will be set as the lowest weight (5%). From the evaluation, the vendor that has the highest score is Vendor H from India - Pune. Therefore, the group selected the vendor H to outsource the project.
- #18 Outsourcing process Original plan Adapt from Cullen et al (2005), Original Project PlanPhase1: Architect PhaseInvestigate- Original PlanBrainstorming session for idea generationCheck the market to determine if ideas currently existDecide on an idea that could be useful to everyone- Actual ProgressAfter deciding on our idea we found out that another group had a very similar idea and we therefore had to change our idea which delayed usStrategy- Original PlanIdentify risks and mitigation strategies and decide on communication strategy and team member rolesSelect team member with technical experience to deal with the vendor- Actual ProgressSome of the risk we identified had to be accepted because due to the scale of the project and the limited resources we could not implement the mitigation strategies DesignDocument the requirements in detailPhase2: EngageSelection- Original PlanUpload the request and the requirements document early to allow sufficient time to get bidsDecide on the selection criteria for evaluating bidders Evaluate the bidders based on selection criteria Select a bidder - Actual ProgressWe did not upload the request as early as planned which left us very little time to wait for bidsSome suppliers said they were able to do everything but when we asked them some basic questions it was clear they were not as experienced as they had previously implied. This made the selection process difficult and time consuming.We identified another risk at this stage: we had to choose a worker that didn’t have any past reviews on vWorkerUnderestimated the cost of the projectBidders from the UK value the same product at much higher pricesSome time was wasted negotiating with bidders that were not genuine - Original PlanNegotiationNegotiate with bidders- Actual ProgressWe didn’t have time to negotiate and the price was within our budgetPhase3: Operate PhaseManagement- Original PlanContinuous communication - Actual ProgressThe vendor was very cooperative and responded quickly to any concerns - Original PlanReceive Application- Actual ProgressReceived screenshotsReceive application Give Feedback and receive updated application if applicableGive final feedback on vWorkerReferences:Cullen, S., Seddon, P., and Willcocks, L. P. (2005) ‘Managing outsourcing: the life cycle imperative’ MIS Quarterly Executive, 4(1), pp. 229-256
- #23 Architect Phase- Investigate the market first.- Have a back-up plan.- Not all of the risks could be mitigated and there must be some acceptable risks.- Different projects have different requirements for skills and expertise. Therefore, it is better to understand what skills we need from the vendor to accomplish the project.- Need to be very specific when documenting the requirements down to the very small details to make sure the vendor understands exactly what is expected.- Doing the outsourcing project requires clear objectives and a clear approach to achieving the goals.Engage Phase- Difficult to choose a vendor. - Some vendors oversell their capabilities and it can be difficult to identify who is genuine especially in net sourcing.- Difficult to find a partner that we can trust.- There is not a vendor that could provide cheap, high technical skills, fast delivery time, and have be highly experienced. Therefore, the evaluation framework could help us to decide which vendor is the most appropriate one that we should select based on the given project.- Few suppliers wish to show mistakes, they only focus on success stories.- Negotiations are important and take time.- Selecting vendors is difficult when lacking experience.Operate Phase- It is important to have a good relationship and continuous communication with the vendor especially when netsourcing.- Communication skills / Clear relationships are essential.- Virtual communications leads to the barriers of building relationship. - Evaluate the project after completion to assess the success of the project and to learn from mistakes.
- #24 GENERAL LEARNING The finished product may not always be exactly how you wanted. A lot of work in the outsourcing lifecycle happens before you actually outsource. Difficult to reduce the gap between our expectations and the actual product. Facing unexpected events. You must learn how your partner works.The expectations are sometimes too high. Agile approach seems more effective for smaller projects.Sometimes suppliers can suggest solutions and generate ideas that we have not though about.TEAM LEARINING The importance of teamwork. Working in the different groups helps us learn to adapt ourselves to the new working environment. The diversity of the group contributed to innovative idea generation and problem solving