Leveraging Offshore Software Talent

1. Leveraging Offshore Software Talent December 2016 Webinar

2. Presenter Intros Kelly Stephen • Independent consultant focused on helping software companies improve delivery, quality, execution • 20+ years in leadership roles for software companies • Multiple industries (auto & health insurance, financial services, hospitality, online search) • 10+ years experience working with diverse teams and offshore teams in multiple countries Hemant Elhence • 14 yrs leading India based teams delivering to US clients • 2 yrs as US client of an India based software services vendor • 18 yrs in management of software prod/svcs • 6 yrs as management consultant • 3 yrs as software developer • BSEE, MSEE, MBA

3. Why Bother Anyways? • Not enough software talent available locally • Best talent may not be available within your four walls, or even within your zip code • While talent is distributed world-wide, opportunities are not • Distributed teams are more of a norm than exception and supporting tooling/infrastructure is mature Effectively leveraging global talent is a “secret weapon” for tech companies

4. Discussion Topics • When to Consider Outsourcing/Offshoring • Options to Consider • Getting Started – Preconditions • Do it Yourself (Captive) or Find a Partner • Doing it Right – Good Practices • Q&A

5. When to Consider Outsourcing • Not all projects, platforms, or organizations are right for outsourcing • Some situations are more suited than others • Some examples…

6. Outsourcing Candidates

7. Discussion Topics • When to Consider Outsourcing/Offshoring • Options to Consider • Getting Started – Preconditions • Do it Yourself (Captive) or Find a Partner • Doing it Right – Good Practices • Q&A

8. The Flat World The world is flat, there is great software talent available around the world. But, tradeoffs are different.

9. Political Risk Map www.riskmaps.aon.co.uk

10. Discussion Topics • When to Consider Outsourcing/Offshoring • Options to Consider • Getting Started – Preconditions • Do it Yourself (Captive) or Find a Partner • Doing it Right – Good Practices • Q&A

11. Doing It Right - PreConditions • In the long-term, i.e. >6 months – you can do any kind of work offshore • But, when just starting out, start with ”project” where, • The “what” (requirements, roadmap) is reasonably well defined • Distributed software development infrastructure is in place • State side “owner”/champion is willing and enthusiastic about working with India based team • There is significant and clear business value to you

12. Cake – Cup, Birthday, Wedding? Be clear on big picture vision & general direction, as a longer term goal http://cakedesigns.d4y.us/martha-stewart-white-wedding-cake/ http://fullhdwall.com/cupcake.html http://cornandco.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/birthday-cake-popcorn.jpg

13. Define Initial Steps Well Incrementing Mona Lisa Iterating Mona Lisa Credit: Jeff Patton, http://itsadeliverything.com/revisiting-the-iterative-incremental-mona-lisa

14. Distributed Software Development • Local Dev Environment • One common source control, typically in cloud • All other infrastructure components in cloud • If needed, point-to-point VPN connection between remote sites

15. Software Dev Discipline Explicitly agree on required software development discipline • Sizable installed based of customers • Main priority is quality and predictability of software releases • Use Jira/Rally for managing process • Use Confluence/Wiki for collaborating on backlog • 100% unit test coverage • >80% functional tests automated • Disciplined CI/CD • Etc • MVP focus • Main priority is to get product x market fit right • Use spreadsheets for managing requirements • Only happy path testing

16. Enthusiastic Owner/Champion • Someone who is truly enthusiastic about working with a India/remote team • Willing to deal with time-zone difference • Not frustrated by accent differences • Willing to travel to India, if and when needed • Has clear mandate to make it successful • Is effective in working with internal stakeholders to remove any roadblocks • Not insecure about their own job or their team’s future • Doesn’t need to be of Indian origin!

17. Discussion Topics • When to Consider Outsourcing/Offshoring • Options to Consider • Getting Started – Preconditions • Do it Yourself (Captive) or Find a Partner • Doing it Right – Good Practices • Q&A

18. Partner vs. Build Your Own • Critical mass—know the economics • Building your own team gives you total control • However, it also requires building another unique company in a foreign country • All functional areas are needed (Facilities, HR, Legal, Accounting); not just your development team • Using a partner allows you to focus on your team while your partner handles the rest • Model your investment to cover all true costs • And you may need to consider transfer pricing and tax issues

19. Partner vs. Build Your Own • Time to Value • How fast can you be up and running? • At least 6 months to build your own teamfrom the ground up • A partner should be able to get your team started within weeks

20. Partner vs. Build Your Own • Management distraction • Setting up your own team and companyrequires US-based effort across multiple functional areas • Not just time and effort, but also travel • Using a partner allows you to focus on your business needs and deliver value to your customers

21. Partner vs. Build Your Own • Attracting and retaining talent is hard • If your company is not well known in your foreign land, you have an uphill battle to bring in top talent • Without constant management and leadership turnover can rise dramatically • A partner will have a larger organization with multiple clients, technologies, and job types • Turnover is typically lower than at subsidiaries of US-based companies • Individuals have a career path and options for growth

22. Partner vs. Build Your Own • Leadership is critical • Strong, full time, in country leadership is crucial for success • Whether you partner with another company or build out your own team, ensure that you have a strong leader in place

23. Discussion Topics • When to Consider Outsourcing/Offshoring • Options to Consider • Getting Started – Preconditions • Do it Yourself (Captive) or Find a Partner • Doing it Right – Good Practices • Q&A

24. Agile, Collaborative Partnership • Tailor Agile for each situation – agree on what practices to follow • 2 weekly iterations work well – feedback is valuable • Don’t skip retrospectives • Encourage travel in both directions • In the beginning, then quarterly/ongoing • 4 week duration for visiting from India to US, 1 week in other direction • Encourage many-to-many communication – video, audio, IM • Invest in tooling • Backlog management, e.g. wiki, Confluence, etc • On-going tracking, Jira, Rally, etc. • Dev/Test/Staging/Prod infrastructure

25. Don’t Split Scrum Teams Avoid splitting team across geography boundaries

26. Match Skills w/ Work Content • Assemble India teams that are suitable for the kind of work you have on your roadmap • Cutting edge R&D work vs. routine maintenance/enhancement work • Just because your budget allows to hire a senior architect is not a good reason to hire one!

27. Software Requirements • US Client provides high-level business requirements/scenarios, vendor India team details out the software requirements/stories • US Client provides high-level business requirements/scenarios, vendor’s US-based Product Manager details out the software requirements/stories • US Client provides detailed user stories Alternative Approaches

28. Alternative 1 • Vendor’s India team details out the requirement with help of Client Product Owners

29. Alternative 2 • Vendor’s US Product Manager works closely with the client to develop requirements into user stories

30. English Language Expectations • Be realistic about India team members’ command of English language • While some India-based professionals speak and write as well, if not better, English as anybody in US/UK, for most others, English is a second language • They may make errors in grammar, writing style, tone, perhaps even spelling • Watch out for some unusual sounding usage patterns, e.g. “I have some doubts” • Some attributable to British English influence from colonial era • Some to just plain transliterations of their native language (Hindi, Marathi, etc. – India has dozens of native languages) constructs • Net/net: if attention to perfect English is important to you (e.g. in UI), plan for it in your local team

31. Submissive/Timid Professionals • Recognize that culturally people are less vocal in meetings and don’t often speak-up and push-back • Explicitly encourage them to speak up • Don’t rely upon communication only via a project manager/team leader • Routinely have smaller group and one-on-one discussions

32. Doing It Right – Good Practices • Rich 2-way communication is key • Frequent communication—daily/weekly • Written communication and follow-up helps conquer language differences • Foster an environment where your offshore resources ask questions • Foster an environment where alternative approaches are welcomed and encouraged • Find times to talk that are less-burdensome for all geographic regions—be consistent

33. Sensitive Data & Apps • HIPAA, PCI & other security guidelines are often misunderstood when dealing with offshore • Offshore resources are allowed to be used • All locations need to be compliant with the specific guideline • Have your compliance auditor review your partners • Data restrictions need to be considered and accounted for • i.e., scrubbing SSN • Need to ensure your customer contracts do not prohibit using offshore resources

34. Have Fun, Celebrate Diversity!

35. Have Fun, Celebrate Diversity!

36. Discussion Topics • When to Consider Outsourcing/Offshoring • Options to Consider • Getting Started – Preconditions • Do it Yourself (Captive) or Find a Partner • Doing it Right – Good Practices • Q&A

37. Synerzip in a Nutshell Your Trusted Agile Product Development Partner • Accelerate the delivery of your product roadmap • Address technology skill gaps • Save at least 50% with offshore software development • Augment your team with optional on-site professionals

38. Synerzip Clients

39. Next Webinar Microservices: Solving Real Business Problems Tuesday, January 17, 2017, noon CST Presented by Anil Allewar, Director of Engineering & AshishShanker, VP Software Services Synerzip

40. Connect with Synerzip facebook.com/Synerzip @Synerzip linkedin.com/company/synerzip

41. www.synerzip.com