EVALUATION OF IT/IS OUTSOURCING PROJECTS USING THE DEA METHODOLOGY

The outsourcing of services related to Information Technology and Information Systems (IT/IS) is seen by many organizations as a tool for achieving strategic objectives. Reducing costs, focusing on core capabilities and improving business/process performance are held to be the main reasons for investing in IT/IS outsourcing. However, the process of outsourcing is complex and involves considering not only the benefits but also evaluating investments and the risks inherent in making decisions during this process. When planning to outsource these services, companies are faced with a choice of different projects, suppliers and contract settings. Reaching appropriate decisions is crucial to achieving the desired goals, and the consequent success of investments. This research in progress paper presents a model for assessing and prioritizing different IT/IS outsourcing projects. This model uses the methodology of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and allows consideration to be given not only to the intrinsic aspects of such projects (cost, schedule, benefits, customization, etc.), but also the characteristics of the proponent company. Therefore, the proposed model aims to assist companies in evaluating different projects for outsourcing operations related to IT/IS

Management of Information Systems Outsourcing: Challenges and Lessons Learned

To be successful in Information Systems (IS) outsourcing the necessity of better management practices has been pointed out.This research contributes to the knowledge base on management of IS outsourcing by addressing management of ISoutsourcing relationships. The research describes two cases of IS outsourcing relationships that differ in type of activityoutsourced, IS development versus IS maintenance and operation, and relationship composition. From the cases lessonslearnt are identified which with support from IS outsourcing literature are proposed as propositions for management of ISoutsourcing. It can be concluded that if the propositions, related to negotiation, communication and way of working, areadopted in an early stage they could contribute to successful IS outsourcing relationships. Another conclusion is that the ISoutsourcing management approach should not differ between type of IS activity outsourced, but rather reflect the nature ofthe IS activity; if it is a simple or complex activity

Examining the Antecedents of Creative Collaboration with an AI Teammate

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), individuals are increasingly teaming up with AI-based systems to enhance their creative collaborative performance. When working with AI-based systems, several aspects of team dynamics need to be considered, which raises the question how humans’ approach and perceive their new teammates. In an experimental setting, we investigate the influence of social presence in a group ideation process with an AI-based teammate and examine its effects on the motivation to contribute. Our results show a multi-mediation model in which social presence indirectly influences whether human team members are motivated to contribute to a team with AI-based teammates, which is mediated by willingness to depend and team-oriented commitment

Dynamics of the Amount of Control in Offshore Software Development Projects

This paper investigates changes in the variety and intensity of formal and informal control mechanisms in offshore software development (OSD) projects. Based on a comparative case study approach our results confirm existing findings such as that the amount of control varies across different projects stages, but also contribute with new findings. For example, we found that particularly the quality of project deliverables in early project phases will lead to an increase of the amount of formal control. However, these quality problems do not necessarily lead to an increase of informal control. In return, an increase in quality of deliverables will subsequently decrease the amount of control. An important finding is that in contrast to prior studies our results do not support that the amount of control is directly related to project success. Altogether, our study contributes to the further understanding of the dynamics of the amount of control, its influencing factors and its relationship to project success

Enhancement of software project performance by overcoming waste, volatility and constraints simultaneously

There have been many projects and researches conducted to identify software projects’ failure and success factors. The success factors were always remained as best practices as it favours desired results while the failure factors are always avoided as it yields undesired factors. However, it is least understood that focusing on avoiding a failure factor could actually influence other forms of failure risk(s). In this study, it has been understood through literature review that most of the findings on software projects failure factors have been repetitive for more than two decades. These failure factors commonality was then understood and categorized by bridging few studies and experts’ opinions based on three well-known theories; Lean, Requirement Volatility and Theory of Constraints. There are nine types of wastes, three types errors that leads to requirement volatility and eight types of constraints in relevance to software projects. Through literature and discussion with 15 experts it was apparent that there could be interdependency and interrelationship amongst these 20 variables. The relationship amongst the variables were studied by employing the DEMATEL methodology. DEMATEL was opted to show the Impact Relation Map which could serve as a good source of reference to help decision makers formulate their decisions pertaining these 20 variables. A Software Project Success Framework was then developed to assist the foundation for planning and prioritizing relevant mitigations and corrective measures about software projects failure factors. Requirement volatility has been emphasized as the main cause of software project failure. It does not only cause direct impact towards software projects failure but also influences other identified factors to affect the sotware project performance adversely

Improved Sprint Results with Offshore Indian Teams

Due to the cultural and linguistic differences, different time zones, and complexities of knowledge transfer involved in IT offshoring, offshore-outsourced projects are more prone to failure than in-house and domestically outsourced projects. These inherent risks exacerbate the communication, coordination and collaboration between vendors and clients and thus affect various stages of the offshore outsourced software development (OSD). Communication is a major factor of success or failure for any software project. In offshore software development OSD, communication is more critical than collocated software development. Frequent communication is not always possible due to challenges like time zone differences, holiday customs etc. where client and vendor working hours do not overlap. This communication problem affects the success of offshoring decision in terms of cost, schedule, time-to-market, client-vendor trust, and customer and business satisfaction. For successful software project offshoring, successful communication is necessary. This paper provides a preliminary exploration for communication mode/mediums and challenges involved in OSD and how to have effective sprint planning sessions with the offshore teams in India. A classification is presented for offshore software development activities and the communication modes/mediums used to perform those activities

Conflict and Development: A Headquarter Intervention View of IT Subsidiary Evolution

In this paper, we examine the impact that headquarter interventions have on how subsidiaries evolve in the Indian IT offshoring industry. We analyze how a subsidiary evolved in the presence of a rare phenomenon: a negative headquarter intervention. Such an evolution has nuances and theoretical implications that existing frameworks cannot fully explain. Although researchers have often studied the relationship between a subsidiary and its headquarters through a headquarter-intervention lens, they have not employed it to examine how subsidiaries evolve. In this paper, we present a generalized model of subsidiary evolution using three constructs: value potential, headquarter intervention, and headquarter control of the subsidiary. In line with our study’s exploratory nature, we conducted an in-depth case study of a multinational firm and its Indian subsidiary over several years. We found that, in the presence of high potential value in the subsidiary ecosystem, certain headquarter interventions can lead to a conflict between the headquarters and the subsidiary. If not aligned with the subsidiary’s interests and values, a headquarter intervention can negatively affect the subsidiary’s growth even if the headquarters has good intentions