You're facing a complex IT outsourcing project. How can you avoid ambiguity and ensure success?

How does one translate complex to Simple, there is no one method; The method I have used is similar to regression, taking the known dependent variable( known scope) to discover the relationship to the yet to be known/independent variables(mandatory scope creep). This is what we called the CoX model Co(si)(MPLE)X - the actual cox model talks about the survival of patient and several outside variables that will influence the outcome. Start with the known and keep discovering the unknown and keep communicating the complexity and challenges, slowly but surely the complexity will be tamed and you will minimize ambiguity and maximize success. Crawl,Walk,Run before you fly !

In spite of good intentions on all sides to arrive at an exact scope and deliverables document, it can at best be a good reference baseline. Ensure that a robust and fair change management process is mutually agreed up front, that facilitates and drives the success measures for the project.

In a large outsourcing project or initiative, it is inevitable that certain amount of ambiguity/surprise is unavoidable due to various factors that might not be visible/anticipated or not in control when you define the scope. What is important is how you or the vendor is prepared to deal with such situations. Things change during the course but it's important to know if the vendor is adaptable to it, and with regular touch points or reviews, whether the expectations can be quickly corrected in all fairness.There must be room for course correction agreeable to all parties. It's important to also set this at the beginning whilst defining scope/timeline. You can't really plan things that are outside the control but can always be prepared.

In my experience, define clear a SOW is very important, but also it is important to define your “Criteria of Success”, how you are going to measure that you achieved what you wanted. It has to be something specific, not like “implement the system on time”, has to be for example : “after 6 months the system is implemented must have 20% reduction of customer complains”, to confirm if you and your stakeholders got what was expected. Also, changes and risks are going to happen, then, define a clear Change Management and Risk Management process and follow it always, to handle these situations when they happen.

When dealing with complex IT outsourcing projects, the scope of work can be vast and difficult to define. While some aspects of the project scope may be well-defined, others may be ambiguous or unknown at the outset. To address this complexity, the initial vendor selection process can be structured in agile working sessions to discover early and help firm up the scope. Remaining aspects of scope could be managed through framework agreement and contractual constructs. Customers can define broader objectives through KPIs, SLAs, and other framework principles. The same framework can be used to measure the vendor performance and quality. It is important to note that the statement of work must define a mechanism to handle changes in scope.

Choosing the right IT outsourcing vendor involves several key steps. First, clearly define your project's specific needs. For example, for a cloud-based project, prioritize vendors with cloud expertise. Research potential vendors, focusing on their specialization, client feedback, and case studies. Evaluate their communication effectiveness and responsiveness. Request detailed proposals, assessing them for overall value, including support and training, not just cost. Conduct interviews or practical workshops to test their technical and cultural compatibility. Finally, verify their reliability and quality by checking references from their past clients.

While a vendor's credentials are important, ultimately it is people who deliver on projects. Look for a sync and chemistry between the proposed program manager and yourself or key personnel in your team. Ability to amicably handle surprises or recover from setbacks will define the project execution experience.

Selecting the right IT outsourcing vendor is critical for project success. Prioritize vendors with relevant experience, a strong reputation (talk to previous or current clients!), and a commitment to innovation. Consider factors such as location, communication practices, and security measures. Review contracts and SLAs for clarity and transparency in expectations. Thorough due diligence ensures a strategic partnership that aligns with your project goals. #ITOutsourcing #VendorSelection

When negotiating with your vendor, ensure that key personnel are named within the agreement (on both sides) and that the formal contract change mechanism is required to be followed in order for them to be taken off the account

Estudar previamente os fornecedores escolhidos e agendar uma conversa inicial para uma ver uma apresenta??o comercial e posteriormente mais detalhada com o time técnico. Verificar no mercado e com o seu networking, feedbacks sobre estes fornecedores. Disponibilidade de pe?as, insumos e capacidade técnica do fornecedor. Giro de caixa, capacidade financeira para atender a sua opera??o.

Communication should be at multiple levels. 1. Day to day operations between engineering, QA and product management teams 2. Quarterly planning for bigger goals to accomplish 3. Quarterly meetings between project sponsors of the in-house and outsourced teams to ensure alignment of goals and understanding of what is going well and what is not. Periodic review of performance KPIs (defined at the time of project charter creation)

The long term success of an outsourcing project lives and dies by the success of stakeholder management. If you can be consistent in messaging and clear about progress and achievement of their requirements then it will land safely and have the best chance of success

IT Outsourcing bedeutet, z.T. elementare IT als Service zukünftig von au?en zu beziehen. Dies erfordert den Aufbau von Kommunikations-Konzepten, die über die Laufzeit der Projekts hinaus wirken. Das Outsourcing-Vorhaben ist mit Abschluss des Projektes nicht abgeschlossen, sondern erst umgesetzt. Damit das outgesourcte Asset als Mehrwert stiftender Service dem Unternehmenszielen dient, müssen bereits w?hrend der Projektphase entsprechende Kommunikationswege und Prozesse etabliert werden.

Like in other IT projects, establish a communication plan that defines the frequency, channels, and stakeholders involved in project communications. Regularly update all parties on project progress, challenges, and changes to ensure everyone is on the same page. Make use of technology, but be formal.

Agree with all the points made & would link back to my Motivation Extension Model point earlier in this scenario. If you have a clearly defined, iterated, agreed ‘purpose’ through the Motivation Extension, your comms plan can aim to report status of progress as key milestones (e.g. a target outcome) are achieved.

Agree with what others have written. In addition: Risks of people attrition are often overlooked. Have a well defined mitigation plan for managing attrition. 1. Have a certain percentage of lower cost shadow resources who are groomed to take over in case someone leaves the team. 2. People from the shadow team will also be useful for managing quick spurts of additional work that come in or when you need to accelerate completion of a project. 3. People from shadow team can also cover for unanticipated leaves and other absences

The RAID tracker must have contributions from bottoms up and not only from top down - your developers, product owners and scrum masters in an agile setup are some of the folks who can highlight an issue much early which could convert itself into a risk if not dealt with. Loved the idea of having a shadow team, the best way to fight attrition is to have couple of fresh young graduates who are eager to learn and contribute. I have seen this working wonderfully and have also seen sometimes they have this “hat ke” gen-z thinking that helps the whole team in a crunch situation.

Risikomanagement ist ein Teamsport. Hierzu m?chte ich noch erg?nzen, dass neben den inh?renten Projektrisiken auch die Risiken auf die Zielerreichung der Organisation berücksichtigt werden müssen. Erfinden Sie hierbei das Rad nicht neu sondern mein Tipp ist, bereits auf bestehende Analysen zuzugreifen. Beachten Sie welche Prozesse, Produkte oder sonstige Funktionen von dem IT-Outsourcing-Projekt betroffen sind und welche Bedeutung diese für den Zweck und die Strategie ihrer Organisation haben. Falls diese Einsch?tzung noch nicht vorliegt, entwickeln Sie zuerst ein Verst?ndnis dafür wie kritisch oder wichtig die betroffenen Unternehmensfunktionen sind und wie sehr die Funktionen vom IT-Outsourcing-Project abh?ngen.

One important aspect of managing risks and changes is encouraging cross-collaboration between on-site and outsourced teams for effective team building and trust.

Developing a solid risk management plan for an IT outsourcing project involves identifying potential risks, assessing their impact, and implementing mitigation strategies. Prioritize high-risk areas, establish contingency plans, and regularly monitor project dynamics. Communicate the plan clearly to all stakeholders and address legal considerations within the outsourcing agreement. If your team doesn't have the skills or experience, find an external vendor who has. Keep the plan documented and up-to-date throughout the project lifecycle. #RiskManagement #ITOutsourcing #ProjectManagement ??

There are multiple factors and many of them were already mentioned by fellow colleagues. My two cents and step wise advice- 1. Clearly define the scope( as detailed as possible with assumptions and unclear scope) 2. Breaking down complex to simple( i.e. epic to feature to story)- identify MVP 3. keep open communications at all level from top down as well as bottoms up ( In my experience, this one is most crucial and key of successful delivery) 4- Support RACI( provide support as needed) 5. People focus - focus on people who will be delivering on ground and form a winning team by ensuring to provide all operational/personal support team needs to deliver successfully. 6 Early review and feedback cycle 7. Keep it simple

Complex IT outsourcing projects can be challenging due to the multiple stakeholders, vendors, and requirements involved. Recommended strategies to follow: 1. Clearly Define Scope and Objectives 2. Thorough Vendor Evaluation and Selection 3. Detailed Service Level Agreement (SLA) 4. Effective Communication and Collaboration 5. Risk Assessment and Management 6. Regular Progress Monitoring and Reporting: 7. Adaptability and Flexibility 8. Continuous Communication and Stakeholder Management 9. Knowledge Sharing and Transfer 10. Post-Project Evaluation and Improvement By following the above strategies, the IT leadership can effectively manage ambiguity, reduce risks, and increase the likelihood of success in complex IT outsourcing projects.

Practica la contratación **abierta** que asegura que el Observatorio vigila el cumplimiento de los objetivos y estándares necesarios y habilita los puntos de revisión formales en los que periódicamente se valida la relación cliente-proveedor y se decide la continuidad o no del proyecto.

Compétitive absolut impact. Votre restriction n'est pas acceptable. Les mots que vous utilisez ne sont pas compréhensible.... "pratique d'impartitition ...." Je cherche dans 3 ou 4 glossaire !!!!

Proper knowledge transfer is a critical success factor to achieve success in any outsourcing project. It is important to ensure that the outsourcing partner has clear documentation for outsourced processes and systems. It is also paramount to ensure that there is a strong governance process related to SMEs (subject matter experts) who moved to an outsourcing partner as part of the outsourcing agreement. This is due to the fact that the outsourcing company may consider moving the SMEs to other projects and replace them with more junior people who will have a steep learning curve to climb, so the internal knowledge can be quickly lost, in particular as it relates to legacy systems. This could lead to IT incidents, inefficiencies and errors.

Include an Exit plan which is pre priced so that there is no ambiguity and no surprises regarding the cost to exit. Make sure your exit plan includes the hand over of the existing service documentation. Also don't go with proprietary tooling otherwise your new service will not be truly portable. You always need the ability to lift and shift your service to a new managed service provider at any point. Finally, insist the sales team stays involved during the transition and transformation programs.

All the above steps are significant and to be followed. However establish Governance that is the starting pointing for all and outcome will be nothing more than success!

Governance with clear objectives is important to succeed in major large scale outsourcing initiatives. Define stakeholder matrix, communication plans and stakeholders engagement plan is key to create guardrails which serves as the foundation of adapting an execution plan. Validate outcomes at every phase of sourcing journey from due diligence to RFI till RFP ,so on till contract is signed. Post contract signing , it is the critical to have vendor deliver at contracted terms . Hence the 3-6 months of post contract delivery is important reviewing deliverables , obligations & Sla’s. Contract interpretation is key to be educated Prevention is better than cure . Prevent sourcing failure by creating the right governance structure in place.

Outsourcing geh?rt nicht zu den Kernkompetenzen vieler Unternehmen. Wer schafft sich schon gerne selbst ab? Insofern bietet sich hier an, externe Unterstützung zu suchen, die den Outsourcing-Prozess von Anfang an begleiten und sowohl die eigene Organisation als auch die Anbieter "hart am Wind" segeln k?nnen.