Outsourcing development to India?

I've been involved in corporate outsourcing to India that went very, very badly. There are many issues that are quite challenging to resolve. These include:

time zone difference
language difference - yes, it might be English on both sides but very different kinds of English
cultural difference - especially if the vendor says "yes, we understand, we can do that" to make the sale rather than sincerely pushing back when needed
social & cultural difference to understand what users expect of the software - "of course this is what Cancel An Order means"
social & cultural difference to understand legal & regulatory environment of the business - "of course this is included when you order"
level of skill at system specification
level of skill at system architecture
level of skill at coding
level of skill at documentation
level of skill at quality control
consistency of developers staying with the project vs. the revolving door developer of the day
security of proprietary code and business knowledge when it is in another continent
skill at project management on BOTH sides, client and coding company

It may be cheap to go offshore, but you might only get what you pay for. And if your project management skills aren't superb, you won't even get that.

If you go this route, do it with your eyes open and alert. It's no panacea.

Chris

Read this:

http://www.warriorforum.com/off-topi...ovie-what.html

I'd say outsourcing to India is a good idea if you are yourself a technical person who knows the developer's job and can communicate to them in clear language exactly what is needed. For the layperson, it is usually better to go with a domestic company or person.

A web development company who outsources their surplus workload would have better potential of making a good business decision in this regards than a mechanic that needs a new site for his shop.

Of course, timezones are always a factor regardless of your expertise.

I learned to program because of BAD experiences with outsourcing. If you REALLY want to outsource it, I'd be glad to look over your proposal to see what might give you problems. You have to be VERY specific, and if you can make some graphics of what you want the project to look like, and make a flow chart of each phase of the process. Make sure you disclose you own the copyright since they are being paid. Here's an example of what

I've used before:

Must include all source code (non-obfuscated) unless otherwise agreed to.
Must include documented code.
If code is not documented, pay will be decreased for failure to complete project.

Complete and fully-functional working program(s) in executable form as well as complete source code of all work done.

Deliverables must be in ready-to-run condition, as follows (depending on the nature of the deliverables):

For web sites or other server-side deliverables intended to only ever exist in one place in the Buyer's environment--Deliverables must be installed by the Seller in ready-to-run condition in the Buyer's environment.

For all others including desktop software or software the buyer intends to distribute: A software installation package that will install the software in ready-to-run condition on the platform(s) specified in this bid request.

All deliverables will be considered "work made for hire" under U.S. Copyright law. Buyer will receive exclusive and complete copyrights to all work purchased. (No GPL, GNU, 3rd party components, etc. unless all copyright ramifications are explained AND AGREED TO by the buyer on the site per the coder's Seller Legal Agreement).

I've been burned before many times. I do have two people who I might consider recommending depending on the project though. One is in the Ukraine (Desktop Applications) and the other is in India (PHP). PM me if you want to discuss this further.

-Brad

You get what you pay for (unless you're an idiot)

If it actually worked, don't you think I'd just outsource all of my web projects to India and avoid all of the work I have to do? Nope because a lot of my work comes from clients that went with the low priced provider from India first, and now they are coming back to me to pay what the project is actually worth.

One more thing I forgot to add, make sure you ask for "weekly or daily" updates. You want to see progress.

-Brad

I hear good things about using the Philippines rather than India. The English is usually better, they have a great work ethic, etc. I've been thinking about hiring someone from the Philippines but haven't done it yet. Check out odesk.com.

I'm actually in the Philippines, and I know a couple of great outsourcing guys here - they tend to be American guys who have a group of Filipinos working for them. Maybe not as cheap as India, but normally much better quality at a pretty fair price.

If you want details of people to speak to, drop me a PM or skype me on james_pitt
I tend to do more on the writing / wordpress / design side of things.

I guess outsourcing in India is quite cheap as compared to other countries and people there are usually quick learners (from my experience). So i guess its a good bet. I have worked with different kinds of people from many different countries. But i haven't had any problems with them

One of the software packages I've purchased in the past, there technical support is in the Philippines, and I was quite impressed with the guy doing the support. I've never used anyone from the Philippines before, but this experience was quite nice compared to most experiences.