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Finding the Right Offshore Software Developer

The phrase the world is getting smaller is a popular one these days. Of course, its not
literal !ecause the physical planet is the same si"e it has always !een. #ut the speed of
communications particularly with the influence of the internet have opened the world up
so you can literally communicate around the world at any time ma$ing us one !ig glo!al
community rather than do"ens or of separate countries who never spo$e.
This phenomenon is certainly true when it comes to software development. %t is now
entirely possi!le and not at all uncommon to pull together a pro&ect team that consists of
people from all around the country and around the world in fact. 'ou can e(ecute an
entire software development pro&ect with a team of people who never are in the same
time "one and never see each other e(cept perhaps !y pictures or on we!cam. This is not
&ust a pipe dream. %ts a reality for many software development teams in this decade and
in the current !usiness world.
)s a result the distinction !etween in house developers and outsourced developers can
also !lur. *odern wor$ers are used to dong !usiness with vendors and contractors with
the same sense of professionalism that used to !e only possi!le with in house
development teams. )nd as we see younger people &oin the wor$ force, that openness to
a glo!al mar$etplace and glo!al teamwor$ will only !ecome more commonplace.
The process for finding an international developer to outsource some of your software
development wor$load is no different than finding any other outside vendor to do wor$
for your company. Dont confuse using an outsourcing arrangement with an international
partner with hiring. 'ou are using the services of a vendor so prepare an RF+ and go the
review and approval process the same way you would do with any other important
!usiness alliance. The RF+ should !e detailed and technical and place a high re,uirement
of proof of competency on the vendor so that you $now that anyone who gets through
this process is ,ualified to enter into the discussions phase.
Sometimes there is tal$ of the difference in cultures when you utili"e a software
development contractor from %ndia or some other *iddle -ast or Far -ast country. .hile
!eing culturally sensitive in some respects is called for, you are the customer and the
responsi!ility for learning how to do !usiness your way is on the consultant. So !e
respectful !ut if the overseas company that wants to capture your !usiness is not prepared
to fulfill your e(pectations, you dont have to use them.
This level of e(pectation mi(ed with cultural respect is a good mi( in dealing with any
overseas developer. /eep in mind that if the pro&ect is going to e(tend over a num!er of
months, you will also need to accommodate for different holiday time frames. There will
!e many days off in )merica, such as the fourth of 0uly and perhaps 1hristmas that your
overseas partners will !e wor$ing. So $eep them informed when that occurs. #y the
same to$en, your overseas developer may have various religious or national holidays that
can surprise you if you dont write them into your pro&ect schedule. Those anticipated
times away from the wor$place and not !eing productive should !e documented in their
proposal as a response to your RF+.
+ut the potential developer through an e(pected level of scrutiny. %f you are negotiating
with the management, insist you have the right of review and refusal for any developer
assigned to your case and that the same developers get assigned and stay on your pro&ect
throughout the pro&ect. 'ou need to !e a!le to validate that they are a!le to handle the
technical challenges that will come up.
%nclude in the RF+ the re,uirements you will have for o!servance of your intellectual
property which may include documents to hold your foreign partners accounta!le to
protect your trade secrets. They should !e prepared to sign any 2ondisclosure or Do 2ot
1ompete agreements necessary to get your !usiness.
%f you do your due diligence well, you can identify foreign software developers who will
do well at participating in your pro&ect development process even though wor$ing on the
other side of the glo!e. )nd once you get the hang of wor$ing with a distri!uted
development team, you will find the process to !e efficient, effective and even at times
fun.
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