The nature of your relationship with your outsourcing company has the potential to change drastically from the beginning of the project life cycle towards the end. This Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine is best modeled by what I like to call the Landlord Effect.

When you first meet with a prospective landlord they are usually as sweet as pumpkin pie. If they like you as a tenant (a.k.a. they think you have money, and are not likely to total the place) then they will do everything in their power to charm you, and to assure you they are reasonable and easygoing people.

By the time that the brutal, no-holds-barred battle for the security deposit takes place however, there is a decent chance that the image that your landlord initially painted of himself is now burned in effigy.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that an overseas project manager with a Masters in Computer Science, or a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, is pleased as punch to be working for you, for 35 cents on the dollar.

So in the beginning when you are negotiating the price and terms, and your outsourcing firm is trying to charm you, be civil by all means. However, do not be fooled into believing everything you hear. Your success, more likely than not, will require your constant vigilance from the beginning to the end of your project.

This concludes our four-part series entitled “The Dangers of Outsourcing” if you have any further questions on the subject of outsourcing feel free to email us. Our email address is available in the left-hand sidebar of this page.