Off-Site Software Development Seminar

Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 7:00 a.m.

Off-site Software Development: a Boon to IT Firms

by Luba Cehelska

The Northern Virginia Technology Council [NVTC] plans a Symposium

NVTC, a membership organization of over 1600 firms, serving as the voice of technology in Northern Virginia, will hold a symposium entitled “Off-Site Software Development: Near-shore and Off-shore” on April 25, 2001. Two NVTC committees, Workforce Development and International, have joined forces to create a symposium familiarizing IT firms with key components of the off-site software development process. The event will present examples of successes and challenges of off-site software development, provide an opportunity to ask questions of experts in relevant fields, and offer information about sources of help for companies who decide to do this.

Ukraine is involved

Luba Cehelska, International Consultant, initiated the idea of the symposium with NVTC, whose members and Management have generously contributed time, ideas, information and meeting venues. Cehelska conducted three focus groups in December to gather topics and recommendations for the symposium format. Taras Kytsmej, President of the Ukrainian software development firm SoftServe, flew in from Lviv and attended one of the focus groups where he discussed with participants Softserve’s offerings and capabilities. Softserve is moving into the Greater Washington Information Technology [IT] market to expand its US presence. Not only will SoftServe attend the Symposium in April, but it has agreed to serve as a Gold Sponsor.

What exactly is off-site software development?

Off-site development refers to development that takes place at sites which are not co-located, i.e. not in the same facility, but are distributed, perhaps in other buildings, or in another town, in another state, or overseas. Software teams may collaborate across many locations, borders and time zones to program the software needed in the IT environment. Today’s technology makes it possible for software teams to be dispersed throughout the world and still succeed in developing a high quality product.

Off-site software development, also referred to as remote software development, has been around for many years. Undertaking remote development requires research, planning, a strategic decision on a company’s part and a strong commitment. IT companies considering remote development are keen to understand the type of environment where this can succeed, how a company decides to take the step to work remotely, which model of remote development to select, and how to organize and manage such an operation.

A variety of off-site development models exist, but two are the most clear-cut: (1) outsourcing to a vendor who accepts such contracts; and (2) establishing a work force which is in effect an off-site division, department, section, or partner in another part of the US, or overseas.

What are the benefits of off-site development?

Benefits of off-site development can be significant:

substantially reduced costs: programming costs can be cut dramatically since programmers and developers in some regions of the US or overseas are less expensive than those in the Greater DC area, in some instances priced at 25% of the US cost (i.e. a 75% cost savings). With the belt-tightening that is now taking place in all sectors, such cost savings will become increasingly important for a company to stay competitive;
increase in staff more affordable: because of lower labor costs, a company can afford to hire a larger programming staff to bring product to market faster or produce more products;
higher quality product: when software development costs are lower, companies can afford to take more time with testing and fixes, creating a higher quality product and enhancing the company’s position in the marketplace;
staff availability: highly experienced and well-trained staff are more readily available overseas or in certain areas of the US other than Greater Washington where the labor market is still tight and experienced staff can be difficult to find;
expediting product to market: if software development is done both in the US and overseas, the process can sometimes continue around the clock, with one team working while teams in other time zones are asleep. Product can be brought to market more quickly.

Off-site development has risks that need to be clearly understood before a company decides to take this route. Vendor selection, contracts, and relations are especially important for software development success. Intellectual property issues must be addressed. Management of the remote operation, quality control, communications, cultural issues (especially if the vendor is overseas), and risks of an overseas operation must be understood.

ITRecruitermag.com took the lead in offering to sponsor the Symposium. Articles promoting the event will appear on their web site and a panel, led by Cehelska, will discuss off-site software development on the ITRecruitermag.com radio show.

The Symposium will be a half-day event and will feature as Keynote speaker Dr. Wendell Jones, co-author of Outsourcing Information Technology Systems & Services and a leading practitioner of software development outsourcing. Jones will discuss important issues and provide numerous examples of how such an operation is managed. His experience includes a position as General Manager of McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Information Services where he led the evaluation, negotiation, implementation, and management of a 10-year $3 billion outsourcing contract with IBM.

Once again, Ukraine

Ukraine is rich in intellectual capital and offers large numbers of highly trained scientists, software engineers, software developers, network administrators, etc. These professionals range in age from recent grads to seasoned veterans, are largely unemployed or underemployed, and are available immediately, for salaries that are a small fraction of American salaries. We know that they compare favorably with developers anywhere in the world, whether India, the Philippines, China, Scotland or the US. It is imperative that these Ukrainians become an integral part of the global IT intellectual community and demonstrate that they too are vital to the global economy. It is critical that they be included in the global community so that they too can participate in the wealth generated by the Information Technology industry.

Luba Cehelska is an international consultant specializing in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. You may contact her at phone/fax: 703-750-3927 or email: luba@webpdq.com

http://www.nvtc.org/calendar/apr25form.htm