The Asymmetric Benefits of Relational Flexibility: Evidence from Software Development Outsourcing

Until the global economic downturn of the new millennium, demand for information technology (IT) professionals exceeded supply mostly due to specific skill sets such as integrating legacy applications with Web development, project management, telecommunications, mobile commerce, and enterprise resource planning. More firms are turning externally not only to local vendors but also to services across the globe (Carmel, 1999). Staff supplementation from domestic contractors has evolved to a sophisticated model of partnering with offshore/nearshore software development firms. Many of these relationships evolved from a short-term project need for select skills to a long-term commitment of resources, cultural diversity efforts, and dependencies that integrate vendors as partners.

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An Evaluation Framework for Communication and Coordination Processes in Offshore Software Development Outsourcing Relationship: Using Fuzzy Methods

IEEE Access ◽

10.1109/access.2019.2924404 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 112879-112906 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Rafiq Ahmad Khan ◽

Mohd Yazid Idris ◽

Siffat Ullah Khan ◽

Muhammad Ilyas ◽

Sikandar Ali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Software Development ◽

Evaluation Framework ◽

Fuzzy Methods ◽

Communication And Coordination ◽

Software Development Outsourcing

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A Systematic Literature Review on Risk Factors in Software Development Outsourcing

International Journal of Engineering & Technology ◽

10.14419/ijet.v7i3.20.18984 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (3.20) ◽

pp. 76

Author(s):

Alawiyah Abd Wahab ◽

Teh Piak San

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Literature Review ◽

Software Development ◽

Systematic Literature Review ◽

Lower Cost ◽

Technical Skills ◽

Project Managers ◽

Public And Private ◽

Software Development Outsourcing ◽

Development Risk

Software development outsourcing has become a prevalent practice in the software industry. Organizations in both public and private sectors are adopting software development outsourcing in order to achieve lower cost and to access to skilled labour. However, it is widely recognized that outsourced software development projects involve risks and sometimes leads to undesirable consequences. Existing research in the software engineering and related areas have identified several risks in the software development outsourcing projects such as lack of communication and technical skills. The aim of this paper is to examine the literature on outsourced software development in order to identify some risks that could occur during the pre-contract, contract and post-contract phases of the outsourcing life cycle. It is anticipated that by understanding these risks, project managers could better manage them and subsequently increase the possibility of the success of outsourcing project. A systematic literature review of studies on software development outsourcing published in year 2005 to year 2015 was conducted. Of 41 studies consulted, 18 were concerned with outsourcing software development risk factors. The top three risk factors identified are lack of required technical skills and competencies (61%), lack of communication (44%) and poorly articulated requirements (44%).

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