Return to Archive Runtime - The Software Outsourcing Newsletter for Executives and Investors from Accelerance and Steve Mezak In this issue: Do you need just one short programming job completed by an offshore engineer? Or do you need a long term relationship with an offshore programming team? The difference is Outtasking vs. Outsourcing. Outtasking vs. Outsourcing “I’ll try anything twice!” is the old joke line. That’s about how many times people try outsourcing before giving up in frustration and disgust. But are they outsourcing or outtasking by mistake? You need a different kind of programmer and software development process for each. And you can get into trouble doing one when you really need the other. A few months ago I got a call from an entrepreneur. He was looking for a software guru to help start his company. He wanted a local technical person to develop the prototype of his software product. He didn’t find one. Instead he hired an offshore vendor referred to him by a friend. Sound familiar? That is the way most people find an offshore vendor. The problem is this method only gives you a choice of one. Or two, if you have two friends with offshore outsourcing experience. That’s still not much of a choice for such an important relationship. But this entrepreneur lucked out. The offshore vendor did okay. Not great, but good enough to get the project started. Then he hired a freelancer to polish up a few things up and the prototype was finished. Voila! A prototype software product at an extremely low cost. But what is really going on here? He was really outtasking rather than outsourcing. You want to use outtasking when you have a small project and need quick, short-term help. You provide a description of what you want, the programmer does the work and you’re done. Everybody is happy. And outtasking to the lowest bidder is fine. Pay only after you see some progress, or use an escrow system. If your selected programmer doesn’t get the work done, then you can choose another one and lose only time. Go ahead and use outtasking to one or two individual freelancers if you have a small, well-defined and short term project you feel comfortable managing yourself. But beware! Outtasking does not scale well. It is very difficult to manage a larger group of freelancers scattered around the globe. Outtasking doesn’t work well in a larger project where you need multiple engineers programming over an extended period of time. Instead you want to develop a relationship with an offshore vendor that will manage the programming over the months needed for one or more bigger projects. This is outsourcing. Instead of trying to find the cheapest programmers, you should look for the ones that are the most reliable and do the best job. This way they become part of your team of resources and an asset to your business. When you need programming work in the future, you then have someone you can rely on. If you use outtasking when you really need outsourcing then you lose out on some things. Like the entrepreneur mentioned above, you can get a prototype at a low-cost. But the knowledge and understanding of how your software works is left in the heads of the programmer(s) that worked on it. After you project is finished, then off they go to work on other projects. They are unavailable for future updates to your software. Are you frustrated by a lack of progress using a handful of offshore programmers to work on your software? Are you really outtasking when you should be outsourcing? This is something you can fix. But can you quickly switch from outtasking to outsourcing with the right resources? You bet! Accelerance Outsourcing Jumpstart services are the best way to get started with offshore outsourcing quickly and safely. You can find the best offshore vendor from a well-qualified short list in just a few days. You can quickly find a true “outsourcing” partner that you can rely on for years to come.   *** The Runtime Bottom Line: Outtasking is fine for one or two short term programming projects. But if developing software is an important on-going part of your business then outsourcing with an offshore vendor you can rely on is a much more efficient and productive strategy. Until next time, Steve Mezak Accelerance, Inc. Risk-Free Outsourcing http://www.Accelerance.com 213 Garcia Avenue Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 1-650-712-8990 Contact me by email (c) 2006 Accelerance, Inc. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the "Runtime" eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: "By Steve Mezak, CEO of Accelerance, Inc. Please visit the Accelerance web site at http://www.Accelerance.com for more information and resources on outsourcing and creating great software."