Web Development Outsourcing – getting it right!

Author Information

Martin Metz has 86 Published Articles

United States of America,
Germany,
Germany,
Germany,
Germany

Web Development Outsourcing – getting it right!

Posted On : Feb-09-2011 | seen (370) times | Article Word Count : 559 |

Have you ever thought about outsourcing some of your web developments? I did and it caused me a lot of headaches! Outsourcing services like Elance or RentACoder sound intriguing in the first place, and it seems that you get a lot of bang for your buck – in theory!

But the real experience looks quite different! As everybody knows in the web world, there is a lot of room for misunderstanding when it comes to getting the idea of a project across. Even if you design the most important screens in Photoshop so that the coder roughly knows how the style guide looks, there will always be stuff in a static screenshot that can be interpreted one way or the other.

And just telling the outsourcing provider to “get back to me when something is unclear” does not help. To the developer it is absolutely clear what to do and how – but he thinks like a coder thinks and probably not like the marketing person who was posting the web site job on the outsourcing platform.

In other words, a good project description (aka specification) and continuous communication is king in such an outsourcing project. Fine, but here another problem occurs: Ever tried to get your message across in plain English (e.g. via Skype), when your service provider just speaks Hindi or Russian and broken English? This can end in a real disaster (and in my case it did with some of the projects I outsourced through Elance).

Here are some personal tips for everybody trying the web development outsourcing experience:

1. Design screenshots of the most important web pages so that your provider knows about the style guide. Even better: write additional information (like widths and heights) in the screenshot (as an extra layer). That way your outsourcing partner knows that you are fussy about the design (otherwise he will create something just “similar” to your screenshot).

2. In addition to the Photoshop screenshots, provide a clickable wireframe (e.g. created with a web service found on pidoco.com) which shows all click paths, workflows and dynamics of your site to be. Through the clickable wireframe, you get all the processes of your website visually across and the coder can already experience your idea like an existing website. This is much more specific (and faster) than trying to describe distinct processes with words only.

3. Add technical annotations in a text document where you reference the screenshots and pages in the wireframe and explain everything that cannot be seen (such as validations for form fields, technical requirements etc.).

With this “Specs Trias”, you are pretty much on the safe side, as your outsourcing provider has a little style guide for the visual design, knows about the processes, workflows and dynamics from your clickable wireframe and has all the technical information needed to get the backend and technical requirements right.

And finally: Make sure, your outsourcing partner constantly stays in touch during all phases of the project through phone, instant messaging or at least email. Another option is to install additional controlling mechanisms such as daily or weekly reports with the current status of the project and even shared workspaces (e.g. a shared server) where both parties have access to and where you can see the your website developing.

Re-Publish this Article

<h1>Web Development Outsourcing – getting it right!</h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Martin Metz.aspx'>Martin Metz</a> Have you ever thought about outsourcing some of your web developments? I did and it caused me a lot of headaches! Outsourcing services like Elance or RentACoder sound intriguing in the first place, and it seems that you get a lot of bang for your buck – in theory!

But the real experience looks quite different! As everybody knows in the web world, there is a lot of room for misunderstanding when it comes to getting the idea of a project across. Even if you design the most important screens in Photoshop so that the coder roughly knows how the style guide looks, there will always be stuff in a static screenshot that can be interpreted one way or the other.

And just telling the outsourcing provider to “get back to me when something is unclear” does not help. To the developer it is absolutely clear what to do and how – but he thinks like a coder thinks and probably not like the marketing person who was posting the web site job on the outsourcing platform.

In other words, a good project description (aka specification) and continuous communication is king in such an outsourcing project. Fine, but here another problem occurs: Ever tried to get your message across in plain English (e.g. via Skype), when your service provider just speaks Hindi or Russian and broken English? This can end in a real disaster (and in my case it did with some of the projects I outsourced through Elance).

Here are some personal tips for everybody trying the web development outsourcing experience:

1.	Design screenshots of the most important web pages so that your provider knows about the style guide. Even better: write additional information (like widths and heights) in the screenshot (as an extra layer). That way your outsourcing partner knows that you are fussy about the design (otherwise he will create something just “similar” to your screenshot).

2.	In addition to the Photoshop screenshots, provide a clickable wireframe (e.g. created with a web service found on www.pidoco.com) which shows all click paths, workflows and dynamics of your site to be. Through the clickable wireframe, you get all the processes of your website visually across and the coder can already experience your idea like an existing website. This is much more specific (and faster) than trying to describe distinct processes with words only.

3.	Add technical annotations in a text document where you reference the screenshots and pages in the wireframe and explain everything that cannot be seen (such as validations for form fields, technical requirements etc.).

With this “Specs Trias”, you are pretty much on the safe side, as your outsourcing provider has a little style guide for the visual design, knows about the processes, workflows and dynamics from your clickable wireframe and has all the technical information needed to get the backend and technical requirements right.

And finally: Make sure, your outsourcing partner constantly stays in touch during all phases of the project through phone, instant messaging or at least email. Another option is to install additional controlling mechanisms such as daily or weekly reports with the current status of the project and even shared workspaces (e.g. a shared server) where both parties have access to and where you can see the your website developing.
About the Author: Pidoco.com – Interface Design, <a rel="nofollow" href="https://pidoco.com/en/" target="_blank" title="Wireframe Software, Interface Design">Wireframe Software</a>, Interface Design Software, Clickable Wireframe and GUI Prototyping Tool. A GUI Design Interface Software for <a rel="nofollow" href="https://pidoco.com/en/benefits/clickable_interactive_wireframes" target="_blank" title="Software Prototyping, Clickable Wireframes">Clickable Wireframes</a>! Wireframe creating and GUI prototyping tool. Fast wireframe creation. Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Web-Development-Outsourcing-–-getting-it-right!_51979.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Web Development Outsourcing – getting it right!_51979.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Web Development Outsourcing – getting it right!_51979.aspx

Author Resource :
Pidoco.com – Interface Design, Wireframe Software, Interface Design Software, Clickable Wireframe and GUI Prototyping Tool. A GUI Design Interface Software for Clickable Wireframes! Wireframe creating and GUI prototyping tool. Fast wireframe creation.

Keywords : interface design, clickable wireframe, wireframe, wireframes, interface design software, wireframe software, GUI Prototyping ,

Category : Computers : Software

Print this Article Send to Friend