Nick Krym - Outsource It!: A No-Holds-Barred Look at the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Offshoring Tech Projects

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First, many thanks to those who reviewed Outsource It! prior to publication:Abbas Raza, Antonio Gomes Rodrigues,David Buck,Elaine Simkin,Geoff Drake,Kirill Abgarian, Manoj Andhappilly, Michael Hunter,Paul Barry,Raquel Maldonado,Stefan Turalski,and Stephen Wolff. Their comments, corrections, and suggestions made this a much stronger book.

Second, great thanks to Jill Steinberg, Kay Keppler, Susannah Pfalzer, and, of course, everyone at the Pragmatic Bookshelf for helping me to convert tons of unorganized content into what I believe is a manageable and easy-to-read book.

And third, my thanks to my wife, Nadiawithout her love, support, and encouragement, I doubt this book would ever have seen the light of day.

Yes, sir, Mr. Nick, we can fix it! Rajesh smiled broadly as he wobbled his head from side to side. I stood transfixed, trying to interpret this unusual body language and asked myself, Where did I go wrong? And as if answering my question, Rajesh added, Each and every step...

That little chat prompted me to consider writing about outsourcing. With more than twenty years of offshore outsourcing experience and having had my fair share of success and failureand the battle scars to prove itwriting a book seemed like a sensible thing to do.I hope that by sharing my experiences; reviewing a common-sense approach to offshore outsourcing; and covering proven techniques, tips, and traps of working with offshore vendors, I can help you improve your chances for outsourcing success.

Offshore outsourcing has been around for long time, and it appears easy enough to master. Consequently, companies move into it all too often without due research. That strategy is likely to backfire. Outsourcing is a powerful weapon, but its also a complex one: if you dont know what youre doing, you may shoot yourself in the foot.

With most outsourcing providers located thousands of miles away in countries that you might have seen only on the Discovery Channel, embarking on an outsourcing journey may bring challenges you havent seen before. Once you enter the world of outsourcing, youll most likely find yourself working with people youve never met who have names you cant pronounce and whose behavior you cant interpret.

While outsourcing can be an exhilarating experienceintroducing you to new cultures, exotic lands in faraway places, and new career opportunitiesthe challenges it brings are tough. Your favorite tools and techniques may not work anymore. Proven processes and procedures may fail. Your estimates will be significantly off. Your communication approach will require major adjustment.

To be successful under these conditions you need knowledge.

And thats exactly what youll find as we move through the bookknowledge. Knowledge that I gained through years of outsourcing to locations all over the world. Knowledge that will empower you to make informed decisions about outsourcing initiatives for your organization, your colleagues, your family, and, of course, your career.

While most of the topics covered here apply to almost any outsourcing situation, this book is written primarily for technology professionals; it specifically caters to those working in small- to medium-size companies or in the technology trenches of large organizations.

If startups or small- to medium-size companies are your world, you most likely need outside help either to grow your firm quickly or to get a product off the ground fast, or just to add the short-term or specialist expertise you need at a critical juncture. You know your core business and how to make your product, and you cannot afford to experiment with offshore production or to make the costly mistakes that far too often come with outsourcing. This book is for you.

If you are working for a large company, offshore outsourcing is probably already in place and plays a significant role in your organization, but it may not be effective or efficient. The inefficiencies of going offshore are clear and painful to those working side by side with remote resources. If you want to fix whats broken and help your organization improve its outsourcing techniques, this book is for you.

Whether you make most of the technology decisions for your company, are climbing the proverbial corporate ladder, or are an individual contributor involved in the daily operations of your companys technology team, you will find plenty of useful information here.

While this book is written from a clients or buyers standpoint, it can help those working for outsourcing vendors of all sizes, as well as for freelancers and contractors. If your company or if you yourself are offering services to companies that outsource some of their functions, reading this book will help you sell, provide better services, and retain us as clients.