Tag Archives: projects

How can offshore software development services help you out?

With a huge pool of software professionals in eastern countries who are willing to work for a small percentage of money compared to their western counterparts, it is a win-win game for companies to outsource their non-core IT tasks to eastern countries. What’s more, the expertise is in different technologies which are helpful for different types of companies and their needs. Offshore software development providers help create the right impression for their clients in relevant technologies and in recent years proved to be indispensable for many of them.

The biggest question which is troubling companies in the western world is whether they should actually opt for full time employees or opt for custom software development outsourcing which is seen as a lucrative means to get their non-core tasks done, including software application development. Offshore software development has helped out several companies across the world to achieve a profitability status. Some of the other benefits include:

* One can concentrate on core business activities.
* Employ in-house staff to build business applications.
* Obtain custom solutions tailored to requirements.
* Obtain independent analysis of each of the services.
* Better ROI factor with adequate attention to what is immediately important.

Most of the vendors offer different engagement models depending on what the client needs. One can opt for an offshore-onsite approach or even a BOT model which facilitates handling of client’s departments for a specific period after which the client company will take over. Alternatively, virtual workers can be hired on an hourly basis, so that the client has the flexibility to defer from giving tasks once his or her requirements are met. Here is a framework of how the tasks are to be implemented:

* Initiation of the Project including requirement gathering and proposals.
* Definition which includes test plans and development framework.
* Elaboration which would include the selection of the architecture and Design components.
* Construction which includes Unit Testing, component construction and Integration with third party elements.
* Transition which includes overall Deployment process, Acceptance Testing, maintenance and support.
* Testing which would include complete Load Testing and Automated Testing.

Many offshore-onsite projects have proved to be beneficial for both the client and the vendor related to various technologies. Different projects entail diverse business logic and technical complexity and hence the success of the project implementation depends on the expertise and experience of the chosen software development vendor.

How can offshore software development services help you out?

With a huge pool of software professionals in eastern countries who are willing to work for a small percentage of money compared to their western counterparts, it is a win-win game for companies to outsource their non-core IT tasks to eastern countries. What’s more, the expertise is in different technologies which are helpful for different types of companies and their needs. Offshore software development providers help create the right impression for their clients in relevant technologies and in recent years proved to be indispensable for many of them.

The biggest question which is troubling companies in the western world is whether they should actually opt for full time employees or opt for custom software development outsourcing which is seen as a lucrative means to get their non-core tasks done, including software application development. Offshore software development has helped out several companies across the world to achieve a profitability status. Some of the other benefits include:

* One can concentrate on core business activities.
* Employ in-house staff to build business applications.
* Obtain custom solutions tailored to requirements.
* Obtain independent analysis of each of the services.
* Better ROI factor with adequate attention to what is immediately important.

Most of the vendors offer different engagement models depending on what the client needs. One can opt for an offshore-onsite approach or even a BOT model which facilitates handling of client’s departments for a specific period after which the client company will take over. Alternatively, virtual workers can be hired on an hourly basis, so that the client has the flexibility to defer from giving tasks once his or her requirements are met. Here is a framework of how the tasks are to be implemented:

* Initiation of the Project including requirement gathering and proposals.
* Definition which includes test plans and development framework.
* Elaboration which would include the selection of the architecture and Design components.
* Construction which includes Unit Testing, component construction and Integration with third party elements.
* Transition which includes overall Deployment process, Acceptance Testing, maintenance and support.
* Testing which would include complete Load Testing and Automated Testing.

Many offshore-onsite projects have proved to be beneficial for both the client and the vendor related to various technologies. Different projects entail diverse business logic and technical complexity and hence the success of the project implementation depends on the expertise and experience of the chosen software development vendor.

Life with & without a Construction Project Management Solution

Without a Project Management Solution:
As Frank the project manager arrives at the office, he is ready to begin the day. Before sitting down, Frank is notified that one of their job sites is short staffed and it appears that there weren’t enough workers scheduled for this particular location. Frank grabs his Excel spreadsheet with his project schedule loaded and discovers he forgot that a few of his scheduled workers were sent to another job. It is too late to make any adjustments and Frank is forced to leave the situation as is, reducing productivity on that job site for the day. Frank finally sits down and begins to look into the multiple projects he has going on currently to understand the profitability and cash flow of each project. With all of the schedules, project phases, costs, and equipment of each project loaded into different Excel spreadsheets, Frank struggles to gain visibility into the status of his projects. He can’t remember if he inputted new equipment costs in one project. Did he update the progress schedule of another project going on? Has all of the paperwork on his desk been entered into Excel and reflected in each of the projects? Frank has barely started his day and already feels overwhelmed. Unfortunately, this type of day is far too common for Frank. Instead of being able to manage his projects effectively, most of his day is spent putting out fires and resolving issues.

With a Project Management Solution:
Frank wakes up and before heading to the office, checks his tablet to make sure each of the projects he has going on are properly scheduled with workers and equipment. He uses a tool such as the Project Scheduler from Jonas, which displays the phases and schedule of activities for each project on a Gantt chart timeline. Frank arrives at the office with no serious issues pending and is able to get straight to work. The first thing Frank does is load up his Project Management module in Jonas. This view gives Frank real-time insight into each of his ongoing projects allowing him to see profitability, cash flow, time, equipment, costs, tasks, and assigned workers for all aspects of each project. No more struggling to navigate through multiple Excel spreadsheets for Frank. From this Project Management view, Frank is also able to drill down to all documents relating to a job such as RFIs, submittals, transmittals, invoices, and purchase orders. This is done using a document management solution such as Digio from Jonas, which centralizes and integrates all documents in one location to help streamline workflow and approval processes. The process of integrating data becomes easier when technicians are able to enter their hours from the field with Jonas eTimesheets for example, which directly syncs with the Digio document management system. With information already integrated within one solution, Frank is able to easily create reports in real-time using a solution like Jonas DataMart, which also allows him to gain greater visibility into each of his projects. Frank’s day runs smoothly and he goes home satisfied.

Which one of these scenarios sounds like the better option? Life with a project management solution will not only allow you to generate reports on up-to-date, accurate information but will also provide you with greater visibility into your projects.