The Old Joel on Software Forum: Part 3 (of 5) - Offshoring and illusions of savings

Offshoring and illusions of savings

This disturbing article demonstrates the extent to which some executives will screw their own companies just to make offshore projects appear successful.

http://weblog.infoworld.com/lewis/2003/10/31.html#a77

T. Norman
Sunday, November 2, 2003

Doesn't surprise me. Yet another reason to shun corporate america.

Sunday, November 2, 2003

Yet another of the Lessons They Don't Teach in CS But Should.

(Synopsis: the URL describes a story where IT guys have to spend half their time translating for incompetent offshorers. However management doesn't want this to show up as an extra cost so the guys have to budget all their against their technical project.)

These idiots should have:

a) recognised they were being given different and additional work

b) insisted on proper accounting of that work, and not accepted no from the morons running the show.

Sunday, November 2, 2003

Read the story, and the first thing tha came to mind was *bullshit*.

I am sorry, but
"Because multiple service providers are involved with different native languages, my co-workers and I have been pressed into service as translators. "

OK. Lets assume that you have developers in India, Russia, China, Argentina, Poland plus any other country that's picked on on this forum.

What are the chances of having staff in one IT department, that speak all these languages competently enough to translate them into English??

Just sounds like a lot of FUD to me.

Tapiwa
Monday, November 3, 2003

The writer of the letter is probably something like a technical writer who was hired to write manuals in multiple languages.

T. Norman
Monday, November 3, 2003

Sounds like BS to me as well. Still, if it's not all he has to do is buy a share in his company and go along to their AGM...

Monday, November 3, 2003

By translating, they probably mean they have to convert executive instructions into detailed technical instructions for people who don't understand English well, and then, on the other side, they have to take the poor English in technical reports from the outsourcers and translate it so it makes sense.

Monday, November 3, 2003

Classic. The practice of making one high-profile project come within budget by logging the expense and hours to a less famous project. That concept has been around for ages, we're just going to see more of it with offshoring because of the high priority of showing cost savings.

NoName
Monday, November 3, 2003

Sorry for being pedantic, but it really does stink of FUD

"translating for incompetent offshorers"
Nowhere does the original writer suggest that there is a problem with the quality of work delivered by the offshore contracts. All he says is that they have been roped in to translate something.

Which again is why I say that the article is BS. NoName is right, the billing of expenses to different projects to make Famous Project(tm) look more successful is a concept as old as project management. That is the point that the article is supposed to be making. What is flavour of the month is blaming everything on offshoring.

The article still does not not add up though.

1. Why have high profile project, and not ensure that it is delivered in English?
2. Disciplinary probation? The person to do this would be the line manager. The person to assign work would again be the line manager.

If either of the above is not happening, then the problem is with the company. Give us the name, and I can go a-stock-shorting!

Tapiwa
Monday, November 3, 2003