Gary Neilson
"Overseas programmers could be a big problem if not properly managed..."

Software Development Relationship Management

Recent reports show that Customers' satisfaction with Software Development relationship is continuously dropping down. It is the fault of both sides of Software Development relationships.

There are a number of reasons for it. Customers put too much hopes because of over promising at the pre-sales and sales phases, and feel upset when their Custom Software Project comes short. Cultural gap and misunderstanding of business needs often cause problems as well. Tremendous rate of personnel turnover within a Custom Software Project, which is usual for Software Development Teams, is another important reason for dissatisfaction.

Professional management is the key to successful Software Development relationship. In Software Projects, management must begin with the earliest phases, from the first words of communication between Customer and provider. And it must continue during all phases including requirements specification, Software Developing, Software Testing and delivery.

If you outsource a Custom Software Project, there is an aspect which is worth the greatest attention. Its name is communication. The best thing you can do is communicating with all participants of the process. Do not limit your attention to sales manager and project manager. You should communicate with requirements specifier in order to be sure that all your business needs are covered in the system requirements; you should communicate with programming team leader and testing team leader to discuss technical details of the system.

A representative of Software Development company, either sales manager or a top-management person, has to provide a Customer with contacts of all key people in the Custom Software Project. Show your commission to the Custom Software Project and reply each time they ask your feedback, especially in agile-based Software Projects assuming that each iteration must be accepted by Customer. Otherwise, lack of communication may lead to the terms extension in the best case and to the whole Custom Software Project failure in the worst case.

Software Development Software Projects are more risky than onshore Software Projects. So, risk management is one of the core disciplines in managing such activity. Ask your| service<> provider to send you a risk list for your Custom Software Project and a plan of activities aimed to deal with each of the risks. Any risk, even the risk of lack of Software Developing personal because of high rate of turnover, can be eliminated if managed in time.

The success of outsourcing Custom Software Project depends not only on management skills of top managers and project managers of Software Development provider, but also on customer's management skills which include communicative, business and negotiation talent.

Published on 7/13/2007