ASPE Technology Training Information: Managing Outsourced/Offshore Projects

Will my project paradigm work with outsourcing?

We might want to ask whether everything is working smoothly here? Projects fail in much the same fashion as a person’s health; bad diet, inattention to proper care, and late stage resolution attempts. These characterists manifest early and are major contributors to poor health in outsourced projects.

Savings is key!

Outsourcing is pursued by the lure for immediate reductions in costs. With this comes a new way of doing things and this introduces risk, which often reduces the savings that were anticipated. The pursuit requires an appreciation for the phasing in of savings, and how you as the project manager have a lot to do with seeing that this happens.

Skills, technologies, and tools

Outsourcing requires a continuous review of success and failure. You must be prepared to assess the situation throughout each step of the process. In this interactive workshop, you’ll develop the skills and receive the tools necessary to achieve results. Case studies facilitated by your instructor will give you the practice needed to prepare for the real thing.

Critical success factors for outsourced opportunities

The vast majority of outsourced projects are new development or full scope events. There are however opportunities for outsourcing to provide legacy application re-engineering, ongoing maintenance, prototyping and even limited element construction. Have we sent to much of the project offshore, when a smaller portion might have been okay? Should we initially use outsourcing as a way to learn about project dynamics and opportunity possiblities? Developing the right plan for your project while preparing for the challenges will make for project success on your outsource activities.

Live, In-Class Group Excercises
Bring a flash drive when you attend this class! The instructor will provide a set of useful tools you can immediately use back at the office.

1. Teams and Project Management
The exercise develops an understanding of project methods, deliverables and the work effort required in order to produce a suitable result. A consolidated solution set is produced as a bi-product and can be used as a starting point back in your organization.

2. Communications
Using a real scenario, groups will discuss how they will respond to a situation involving a missed deliverable deadline (on the part of the client) and how they will help the outsourcer to overcome the impact that it will have on the project schedule.

3. Managing Remotely
Groups will discuss and establish a structure around remote communications, balance leadership and methods that can be employed to carry out project management, in a global theater.

4. Cultural Differences
Using your colleagues the groups will discuss how their differences effect their attitudes, approach and expectations. This information will then be compared to how it influences professional roles and final interaction with people from other cultures.