I’m sure you’ve probably heard the expression “you get what you pay for”. When I think about this two things come to mind. If you buy cheap you get cheap. And if you’re willing to pay more for a certain brand you’re probably paying too much. Like everything else, there’s a happy medium. When it comes to quality software development it’s no different.
I just had to write this blog after getting what many of you have seen pop into your email inbox or LinkedIn messaging…
This type of message should stir up another true expression – “if it looks too good to be true it probably is”.
TIMIT serves our clients through tried and proven relationships with talent sources around the globe. We work to find the happy medium so that our
customers don’t pay any more than they have to and yet can be assured of the great quality of products and services.
With so many more people working from home today due to the pandemic it has become clear that talent can come from anywhere. The challenge we see businesses face is how to manage a geographically dispersed team so that you get quality outcomes. In short, it takes more than simply good project management. Let me suggest a few proven steps that can help increase your odds of success.
- Solicit expert help from a company or consultant who has a depth of experience working with people located in multiple times zones, of varying cultural norms, and who understands the variety of delivery models and software development methodologies.
- Insist that whomever you work with is 100% transparent about everyone involved in your IT project. Do not put up with the rampant “sub-relationships” where you have no idea who is really doing the work. This leaves you with no control of things “going south”.
- Understand where your outsourced talent comes into the lifecycle of the project. Make sure everyone is “in the know” from the start. Relying on information “hand-offs” throughout the project makes your project ripe with opportunities for issues or absolute failure.
- Make sure you can dedicate the time needed of yourself and your team to keep in lock-step with the project progress, even if it is an entirely outsourced project with clear deliverables. Staying “in the loop” helps avoid unpleasant surprises that may be seen too late to fix.
- Understand the financial model you are engaging in. Whether you agree on a Fixed Price or a Time and Materials (T&M) billing arrangement, you need to know how changes along the way will be handled. Make it clear you will pre-approve any “extra” work on a Fixed Price project. And have regular reviews of not only what was billed but how the estimate to complete everything may be changing on a T&M project.
- Oh and don’t fall for the $7 steal wage, or a fixed price that looks too good to be true. They seldom end well.
If you have an IT project in mind you’d like to discuss with us, we are happy to talk. And if you decide to work with us you will find that we deliver what we promise and work hard to get you the best quality at the best price.