Software Sweatshop

This is an excerpt from a white paper I wrote about mistakes companies make when they go offshore called "Offshore Outsourcing: 5 Lessons Your Peers Learned the Hard Way"

 Lesson #2: "What Did He Just Say?"

“I’ve been burned by offshore firms and have the scars to prove it.”
CEO of Government Software Vendor

Unfortunately many offshore engagements result in failure. This is a result of unrealistic expectations and mismanaged communication. One client hired an Indian vendor and later pulled the project in favor of a Chinese one. The result was a team of engineers who hardly spoke English; a real project killer.

The most important thing in an offshore relationship is to dedicate someone at yours and the vendors end to keep track of project progress. A native language speaking person who also speaks fluent English managing the operation from abroad is indispensable to distributed software development. You can't hire Chinese engineers who speak marginal English and expect the project to go well unless you have a fluent Chinese person on the ground or in the United States with tight relationships with the engineers.

It all depends on the scope of the project; if you're just doing a simple web site, sure, hire someone in China with no supervision. If you're outsourcing an entire engineering team for a software product that will be built over the course of a year, you need to be much more careful. Make the decision to dedicate someone on your side to keep the offshore team on track and demand the same from them. Like any relationship, a little investment and communication from both sides will lead to long-term success.