The document discusses the challenges of outsourcing, including communication barriers due to lack of nonverbal cues and time zone differences. It offers solutions such as clear communication, well-documented requirements, and the use of various project management tools to enhance collaboration and efficiency. It concludes by highlighting the benefits of outsourcing, such as cost savings, increased organization, and access to a skilled workforce.

1. Challenges of Outsourcing
Shaer Hassan
CEO, Nascenia IT
www.nascenia.com

2. Differences
• They are not in your
payroll
• You can’t see them often
• You can’t communicate
them as easily

3. Challenge 1: Not in Payroll
• Development Team not in payroll. There
remains a psychological barrier in
communicating to them

4. Challenge 2: absence of nonverbal
• Non-verbal communication consists of two-
thirds of the communication between two
persons
• Nonverbal communication: body language,
facial expression (smile, frown, surprise etc.),
even touch and smell are completely absent.

5. Challenge 3: time lapse
• Time lapse in communication. It’s not like go
to the next desk and give some instruction.
• Difference in time zone
• You might not feel comfortable to dial a
number any time of the day and discuss an
issue right away.

6. Address Challenge 1: not in Payroll
• Communicate the expectation and
requirement clearly – responsibility of both
the parties.
• Understand and make understand the
business domain
• Understand that delivering working software
is paramount important
• Act like members of a single team

7. Address Challenge 2: Nonverbal
• Use humor carefully. Humor can be regarded
as sarcasm. Understand cultural difference.
• Be clear. Make the requirement well-
articulated. Be rather over-communicative.
• Save the warmth of communication for video
call.

8. Address Challenge 3: Delay in
communication
• Be organized
• A well documented requirement saves
hundreds of hours and millions of dollars
down the line

9. Tools to use
• Mails: Communicate the requirement at first
• Skype: Making understand the business domain,
clarify understanding
• Yugma / Skype screen share: Clarify
understanding, showing demo (if reqd.)
• Google Doc and spreadsheet: communicate
requirement at first, for managing a very small
project
• Project Management tools: During development
phase – managing a small to large sized project

10. Project Management Tools
• Basecamp: very basic, easy to setup and use
• Pivotal Tracker: Provides little more flexibility
• Version one, Target Process, Mingle etc.

11. An Outsourcing Story
1. Client Mark sends email: “I need this work …, can you do
this?”
2. OSD Fuad replies: “Yes we can, sends some work example or
references to prove expertise”
3. Mark sends spec often in a doc or spreadsheet.
4. Fuad sends back Questions on spec and domain
5. Mark sends reply or set up a meeting
6. Fuad estimates time, milestones and cost
7. Mark and Fuad negotiate and agree on price and estimate
8. Mark sets up project management tool (OSD helps on that)
9. Mark provides access to existing codebase (if any), to version
control e.g. Git, SVN.
10. Fuad and his team starts work

16. Outsourcing Story (cont.)
• After finishing milestone sends invoice
• Client make wire transfer
• Repeat…

17. Success Rate
• 98% for us
• We have been doing it for
more than 5 years.
Nobody complained
about communication
issue in last two years.
• People all around the
world are have been
doing it for tens of years!

18. Brighter Side
• You are automatically
becoming organized. All your
requirement and bugs are
documented and threaded in
a project management tool.
• You are in good hand of professionals who have
experience of developing myriad of software

19. Brighter Side
• Projects are completed often
faster. Hey! They aren’t in your
payroll! They want to finish the
work, get paid and move on!

20. Brighter Side
• You become efficient, flexible, competitive
and agile. Focus on your core business.

21. Brighter Side
• You save money:
– Save by paying at the rate of a low cost living
standard.
– Save by not keeping developers on your payroll
round the year.
– Save by not paying for the training and overhead
cost.
– Save by avoiding hassle of hiring and retaining
programmers.

22. Brighter Side
• Supply meets your flexible
demand.
• You achieve workforce
productivity

23. Bottom-line
• With the expense of organizing and
streamlining your communication, you save
your cost, time, effort and hire an experienced
and large team offshore!

24. Thank you
shaer@nascenia.com