This is the fifth article in the agile outsourcing project series. (Column directory)
Analysis of problems and bottlenecks in the outsourcing industry all R & D problems in the outsourcing industry can almost all be attributed to the quotation management problem, or the problems in the sales process have caused subsequent R & D problems. As a whole, outsourcing enterprises generally have several quote methods, almost all of which have the same problem. In the following situations, the problem is analyzed from the four dimensions of the Balanced Scorecard (income, customer, internal process, learning and growth. The reason why you do not need agile development for analysis is that the agile development perspective is not high enough to solve the problem, but not to analyze the problem.
Analysis of Several outsourcing transaction methods
1. Bag Head
It is to directly send the quotation by person-day to Party A for phased use. Party A has saved personnel reserves and personnel management issues, while Party B can "Safely" the price difference. What are the problems?
FinanceThere is almost no possibility of "overnight riches. We have seen countless micro-teams earning money every day (for example, there is a mobile game team with only dozens of people, and the current revenue is about $1 million per day ), however, because the price is transparent and the value-added ratio of the price difference is limited, it is difficult to achieve high profits, not to mention overnight riches. In addition, outsourcing companies are generally large in size because of their low profitability, resulting in a large number of people. This has led to the increase of management personnel, that is, the increase of "unable to outsource" personnel, and eventually led to a decline in revenue.
CustomerThe customer may be "loyal" to the people sent, rather than Party B. If a number of technical backbones can be left behind, Party B can be fully removed; If Party B can find a better bag-headed Party B, it can also get rid of the previous Party B. For example, if Party B wants to add the previously mentioned management personnel fee to the quotation, it is likely that Party A will switch to a small outsourcing company with a small scale and a lower price.
Internal Process"To benefit from management" is a method for many enterprises, but it is not feasible for companies with the largest customers. In fact, Party A is more like "Taking benefits from management". They seek for temporary workers at low prices and create excess profits through superior management, but only need to pay limited wages.
Learning and growthThis process basically does not exist in the bag-headed company. It is recommended that you do not invest in training costs, but find ready-made personnel.
2. After receiving the work hour quotation from the project, analyze the demand, export the approximate work hour, and then use the work hour quotation. Although it looks very different from the bag head, the problem is almost the same.
FinanceIf the man-hours quotation is true, there is no difference with the package head. However, if you do some "tricks", you can increase your income by several more ways than the package's head. For example, you can use a cheaper labor force than the quote, and use less work hours than the quote; if the price is low at 1.0, a high price will be returned at 2.0 (also known as the "phishing project ")...... Because the actual sales work is still the result of the workload, the technology is advanced, reusable technical framework, and lower quality costs ...... Can not increase revenue,
The saved time reduces the project price.. In fact, many outsourcing enterprises are also improving their technical advancement and reducing their costs. However, after the quotation, they can only benefit from the "use less work hours than the quotation price" method.
CustomerIt is much better than Bao's head. After all, people are in their own hands, technology is easy to control, and customers are not easy to lose. However, although it is easy to "retain customers", it is still difficult to "get users.
Internal ProcessCompared with the package head, the internal process has greatly improved. Because the saved time can be benefited by "using less work hours than the quoted price", although it is difficult to do it openly, it is at least one way.
Learning and growthImprovement, but not big. Learning and growth can steadily increase productivity (quality as a part of productivity), but the time saved cannot be directly converted into income. For example, through one year's effort, everyone's productivity has doubled. What if a project of the same size came into being in the next year? Of course, it won't be claimed to be completed in just half the time, because the workload is low and the price is low.
New risksThe risk in the work hour quotation is: if the work time is low, it is difficult for the customer to make up for it later. In the early stage, the possibility of accurately estimating work hours is very small, and in the industries with small profits, this is a fatal problem. The following discussion focuses on outsourcing development of the "Labor quotation" type. The package head type is more like human resource management rather than software development management.
Impact of transaction methods on delivery methods
Here we will explain what is transaction and delivery.
Broadly speakingTransactionThis includes the steps for Party A to find suitable suppliers, gain access to and trust, quote, negotiate and sign contracts, and accept and pay for deliverables (which may be in stages. This article focuses on the quotation process and payment process.
Broadly speakingDeliveryThe method is very close to the "software development process" we mentioned at ordinary times, including requirement analysis and management, planning and tracking, design and development, testing, and acceptance (which can be considered as cmmi2 ~ Level 3 of all process domains), but the process of connecting acceptance and payment should be added, which is ignored by traditional development.The transaction process determines the delivery process to a large extent, including the impact on requirements, progress, and quality, as well as the selection of development models. If working hours are the basis of the quotation, Party A always hopes
Compressed working hours(Rather than the cost itself, the difference will be mentioned later ).
Lead to progress(Even If Party A does not require the extension, Party B cannot afford the additional work hours .)
Leading to Quality Reduction(It is difficult for both Party A and Party B to be aware of quality issues in the early stages). During this process
Spread demand(This is not just a technical issue. If the cost is determined by the agreed working hours rather than the actual delivery requirements, why are there not many requirements? Fixed costs and increasing demands are like the rules of the buffet .) The above problems, whether waterfall development or agile development, are difficult to thoroughly and effectively improve the delivery process if you cannot make a real change to the transaction process such as "Labor quotation.
