What is the secret of successful software outsourcing? How can a company make sure that the software development project that they have outsourced produces a great result?
There are two overriding features of an outsourced project that will make its chances of success so much greater.
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Specification and communication.
We all agree that developers are not telepathic, and we therefore need to ensure that they are told what to develop. We also will agree that if the information that they are given is sparse and unclear, it will be impossible to produce a good result – how can the development team guess the requirement?
At the other end of the scale is the situation where the client produces a specification document that includes every single minute detail of the requirement. In this case, any competent development team should develop and deliver the precise requirement on time and on target.
Realistically speaking, however, such a document will never exist. This is for numerous reasons - the main one being that the task to produce such written detail is onerous and difficult to the point of being impossible. As soon as you write any specification in detail, by virtue of the very fact that someone else will read the document (even the specifier themselves), there will be at least a subtle change of mind about one or many points some important some less so. Guaranteed!
Consequently, the idea is to produce a document in as complete detail as possible that makes sense along the continuum of time and knowledge available versus the best amount of detail possible.
The inevitable missing bits will be passed on via the communications channels that must exist between the client and the development team to ensure the success of the project.
In addition, every project will come across issues, whether from the client side or from the development team. Success and speed of resolution are directly related to the quality of communication.
Find out more about how Point100 can help you to meet your software outsourcing needs by contacting us today.
