This section will try to address you queries and concerns on various aspects of outsourcing your software development offshore. This list has been compiled based on our past experiences.
After going through the FAQs if you still feel any of your queries or concerns remains unanswered feel free to
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Please click on the following headings to view the contents or click on the '+' sign to expand and '-' sign to collapse a section.
FDSC has been in offshore software development business for over a decade.
What technical experience does FDSC have? Does FDSC have the needed experience for my project?
We believe that any kind of technical expertise can be hired provided you have good leadership, project management and human resource skills. FDSC has expertise in all these areas. Resources are hired (if not already on board) based on the technical requirements of each project. Take a look at the following to get a feel of what we can do for you
What does a typical project startup phase look like? A typical project startup phase will include a lot of Planning, Process Definition, Requirement Analysis and Team Development. The project start up phase can be anywhere from a week to months depending on the size of the project. This is a very essential phase of the project in which not just the technical requirements are understood but we try to find answers to the questions like
What are the businesses needs which will get met from the development effort?
What are the processes being used at customers end?
Are all those processes required offshore?
What sort of process customization is required?
Who are the end users of the product / application?
At what stage of development would they be involved?
What are the project success criteria?
Etc…
What does FDSC’s commitment to a long term partnership look like?
We believe in long term relationships / partnerships with our customers. There are customers whom we have worked for over 5 years.
What project sizes does the FDSC handle best?
FDSC has experience in handling medium to large projects. We have handled custom software development, product development from scratch as well as product enhancement and maintenance projects.
How well does the FDSC’s staff speak, read and write English?
India has a large English speaking population so that works to our advantage. In addition to that we have well defined communication processes to effectively handle project needs.
Can I visit my team any time I want?
Yes.
Can I interview and select the team members myself?
Yes. We encourage our customers to work closely with us during team development and choose the people they are going to work with. This creates a comfort feeling for our customers. They know the people working on their project.
What are the credentials and experience of FDSC’s management team?
How does FDSC learn about my business and integrate with my existing team?
During the project start up phase we spend the required time in understanding customer needs not just from the technical standpoint but from the business standpoint as well. Take a look at what we try and cover under the project startup phase .
What pricing structure does FDSC offer and how does it compare with the competition?
FDSC offers flexible pricing structure. For most of the software development projects it is either effort based pricing / time and material or Project based pricing / fixed bid.
FDSC offers you programmers at competitive rates. Price is important, but certainly not the only criteria that you should look at. Our programmers are skilled and can deliver quality.
How do I communicate with my team at your location?
FDSC believes clear and concise communication play a very vital role in success of outsourced projects. Due to the nature of the business model, its sometimes get very tricky to assimilate all project knowledge or communicate about issues, status etc die to disparate nature of the team and client. We have spent huge amounts to create systems or service, to minimize and eliminate such communicate gaps. Take a look at communication process.
How does FDSC handle any concerns I may have about the performance of a specific team member?
We take following steps to avoid such a situation
Encourage our customers to choose people on the team
Feedback is sought on a regular basis
Understand both customer and team/resource perspectives on a regular basis
In spite of the above if a situation arise in case where you are not happy with a particular resource we will replace the team member.
Can I contact my team anytime during my regular work day?
We can setup up the team's working hours to overlap with customer's time zone. We have a web based system in which issues can be logged. In case of emergency and if the team is working in a time zone greatly different than yours you could reach the team lead / project manager any time in your regular work day.
Can FDSC provide me with help defining and managing my engineering process?
Yes. We have certified and trained internal auditors who can help in setting up and customizing the engineering processes. As part of the project start up phase we try to figure out what processes are actually required on the project, what processes are being used at customer's end and align the processes for the project accordingly.
What does FDSC do to ensure the fastest time to market?
Try to follow a lifecycle which works best for the project like Agile.
Try and deliver end to end functionality at the earliest.
Get one workflow to work at the earliest.
Get end users to test at the earliest.
What physical security, data security and intellectual property protection methods does FDSC provide?
FDSC and its project team usually sign an NDA with the customer to help intellectual property rights protection and follows standard procedures for physical and data security. If the situation demands then a dedicated facility with diskless nodes can be provided for additional physical and data security.
What information do we need to arrive at an estimate?
Most of the estimation techniques detailed requirements to be in place. The more detailed the requirements the better the sizing estimates which in turn are going to effect the time and cost estimates. The kind of information which is required is
Number of input screens
Number of reports
Number of users using the system
External systems to which the application would be required to connect to
Unique entities in the system
Workflows
How are the users going to be using the system?
What information would they seek?
Formulae / calculations required
Technology
Performance, Usability, Availability, Reliability, Throughput etc… requirements from the system
Does FDSC meet the requirements of any process standards organizations?
FDSC follows ISO 9001:2000 and SEI CMM level 4 processes.
What software development lifecycles can FDSC support?
Most commonly used are Agile, Iterative and Incremental methods. Take a look and the software development lifecycles for more information.
How will the FDSC handle architecture, UI and other design issues?
We always work towards catching issues as early in the development cycle as possible.The earlier the issues are found they would save time and cost during the later phases of development. This is done with having effective
Communication Process
Review Process
Intermittent Deliveries
Quality Assurance and Control
Product verification and validation
Can FDSC provide maintenance and support for completed projects?
80% of the software projects in the IT industry and maintenance projects. FDSC has experience in building as well as enhancing and maintain software products.
The PMO (Project Management Office) is the fastest growing concept in project management world today. PMO is the key to institutionalize the best practices which will help you in knowing where you stand on the map (baseline) and develop a navigation path for you for your project/program goal (plan and compare the progress against baseline). Equipping adequately to PMO in your organization can turn your projects into a success and provide peace of mind to all the stakeholders.
Does my Organization Require a PMO?
If any or few of these statements are valid in your organization then it is high time for you to look for PMO
Projects are bleeding in cost
Project are not delivered as per agreed timelines
Customer dissatisfaction is high
Employee dissatisfaction is high
Project manager is reporting to too many bosses and he is spending most time in reporting than coordinating.
Adhoc project management processes, not having documented project management processes
Tomorrow is review meeting with customer & I do not know the true status
Not sure which project has consumed how much resources
Nobody is telling me how much time and resources are required to complete it
People in project are highly reactive, no proper risk plan in place
Too many adhoc activities
Coordination of project team with recruitment, procurement, IT-security, IT-Systems, IT-Infrastructure, Training, Finance department is adhoc and people are torn because of last minute request
Audit non-compliance are not being addressed on time
Senior management progress & status reports does not have latest information
Too much fight between Auditors & Delivery team
Project Managers are highly technical or domain expert but they do not have requisite project management skills
Every time promised that next project will comply all the required process and then same mistakes are repeated
Lessons learned from delivered/cancelled/ other running projects are not known or not being used.
I have new project in hand, how can I know that this time there will not be any goof up.
What are Pros of PMO Outsourcing?
Consultants look at Planning, Controlling, Scheduling & Control with fresh eyes.
Consultants brings best practices and make sure those are implemented for the success.
Can improve the productivity by bringing new technical or domain knowledge from industry.
Client can focus on core competencies.
Better prepared for dealing with similar projects in future.
What are the risks in PMO outsourcing?
Even if external consultants are brought in project, you must commit internal resources
If trust is not built for sharing information or for competency then internal PM competencies cannot be built
Money burns quickly when there is misunderstanding of scope & power of PMO
Risk of compromising sensitive company information can be high. Depending upon IT infrastructure and policies available in organization.
What are typical issues involved in setting up a PMO?
Value of PM practices in organization.
How organization want to manage the change.
Primary Objective of PMO (increase productivity, reduce waste, reduce cost, reduce time, increase quality, faster responsive system).
Engaging in project plan prior to defining the charter.
Importance of review/approval gates in organization.
Focusing on improvement without baselining what need to be improved and today's status.
Training to project managers on project management practices for various size of project.
Difference between skills of seasonal PM & occasional PM not recognized.
Unique set of problem of organization like multitasking, resource shortage, work definition detailing, skill level of resources.
One standard project lifecycle for all size, type of project and all type of customers. Not giving enough time in understanding existing lifecycles & processes and tailoring them as per the project and customer need.
No lesson learned are document or they are not documented in such a way or kept at such a place from where it can not be easily available to right people.
Detailed exhaustive process, assets library but not usable because processes may not be scalable, fit for big or small projects only, cannot be managed throughout the life cycle.
Processes focus on what need to be done not on who, when, where & how.
Why PMO fails?
PMO services not used: PM do not know what they do not know, even if PM know they do not accept. I am doing my best nobody can do more than this attitude. I do not want anybody except more project staff.
Lack of executive support: There may be many reason for this except to make this function dysfunctional. Not addressing issues and keeping a dysfunctional function
PMO is working purely as policeman / auditor: They are there to share their experience to that project can take smooth ride.
Focus on Metrics: PMO is burdened with work like data collection, process defining, compiling metrics etc. And does not have eye on project risk and issues or does not use their experience to address the risks.
Ineffective Resource Management: Static resource allocation. No skill upgradation. Not able to estimate resources required. Not able to verify the status of work accomplished against actual work done.
Unable to establish their ROI: Management can see the expenses incurred on PMO staff, but they are not shown the value added by PMO
Usually given at the initial stages to arrive at a Project Go / No Go
Project Sizing techniques used at this stage to arrive at this stage are usually PERT, Direct Estimation, Three point estimation and Derived estimation techniques.
Detailed Estimates Fall into Two Categories Based on Accuracy
Budgetary (Confidence Level of -10% to +25%)
Defined (Confidence Level of -5% to +10%)
These estimates are usually given when the requirements have been clearly defined. The estimation techniques used at this stage are FP , use cases etc..
When the scope is fluid or flexibility is required we recommend our customers to go in for Time and Material based pricing
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