After many years in and around Outsourcing your author highlights the key learnings and opportunities for all parties in an outsourced arrangement to achieve mutually beneficial business outcomes.

1. Presentation to ACS
2014 Technology and IT Conference
Sydney International Airport
24th March 2014
Working with your outsourcer –
What are the roles and responsibilities of
the various parties

2. 30 years experience between Outsourcing, In house IT
and Business Process ownership
Outsourcer
“IT”
In house IT
“IS”
Business Process
Owner

4. Value = Efficiency X Effectiveness
or more simply
Do the right things and do them well

5. Applying Ducker to outsourcing …
Credit : Dr Peter Robertson
Outsourcer
Do the selected
things well
In house IT
Select the right thing to be
done
Requirements
Service
Delivery

6. The size of IS is a key variable, before
generalising
0 many
• Heavy reliance on
outsourcer
• Trust is key
• Account Exec =
CIO
• Service Delivery
• Technology
• Help Desk
• Can become
insular
• Strategy
• Architecture
• Contract Management
• Business Project facilitation
few

7. Requirements need to be codified by IS
• Strategic Plan and project list
• Architecture
• Principles
• Services and Service Levels
• Key Performance indicators

8. Service Delivery need to be codified and
delivered by the outsourcer
• Status reports
• Service Level compliance
• Key performance indicators
• Service descriptions
• Commercial terms

9. There are proven ways to assess an
organisation's ability to deliver
Objectives
Commitment
Capability
Measurement and
Improvement

10. Both teams need to establish this model
Objectives
Commitment
Capability
Measurement
and
Improvement
Objectives
Commitment
Capability
Measurement
and
Improvement
IS = Strategic Plan, Architecture and services IT = Contract, Service Definitions, measures
Note : some IS functions can be successfully outsourced, e.g. Boeing

11. Measurement by the outsourcer
Matters
 The contract and
service level
definitions should
form the basis of
objective discussion
 All measures should
include a definition
 Use traffic lights to
highlight non-
conformance
 Record and follow up
on actions

12. Service Level Compliance on it’s own
can let you down
Outsourcer :
“100% SLA compliance this month for the 5th month in a
row, we should celebrate”
Customer :
“we hate you, you are not innovative, you do not
support Windows8 on my phone and our applications
are rubbish”
What is in the contract, what are the real objectives?

13. Use Customer Satisfaction Surveys,
driven by IS carefully
• Ask the end customer are they happy with their
computing ( the sum total of IS and IT )
• Ask why or why not
• Process the answers thoroughly
– “my computing experience is poor as I am not allowed
to have dual monitors”
– “my terminal freezes regularly” ( yet uptime is high )
– The application crashes if I enter >100 characters ( the
outsourcer may have no control over the app )

14. Service Improvement Plans – a joint
responsibility
• A Service Improvement Plan can be called for by any
party
• Improvement areas are agreed
• “Completion criteria” are agreed
• Funding is agreed
• Work is thoroughly governed

15. Meet regularly – a
joint responsibility
• “Online”
– You are both partners to a contract and have
obligations to meet and review performance
• “Offline”
– Have a cup of coffee away from the office, get to
know each other, talk through the culture and
history of the organisations

16. Other Useful tools
• RACI – Responsible, Accountable, Contributor,
Information
• Swim lanes
• Service Charter
• Service Definitions
• Team building
• Cross pollination

17. So, what are the roles again?
Credit : Dr Peter Robertson
Outsourcer
Do the selected
things well
In house IT
Select the right thing to be
done
Requirements
Service
Delivery

18. How do we put these roles in to
practice?
Objectives
Commitment
Capability
Measurement and
Improvement

19. There are also often many issues in the
interaction and role allocations between In
house It and the business
Outsourcer
“IT”
In house IT
“IS”
Business Process
Owner
This time Next time?

20. thanks ...