Offshoring DP/IT

                     DRAFT                                    DRAFT                                    DRAFT

A team from the University of Tennese wrote Vested Outsourcing, Five Rules That Will Transform Outsourcing.  They trademarked the term Vested Outsourcing. They refer to www.outsourcing.com and also to www.outsourcingprofessionals.com        Amazon.com only lists half a dozen books on outsourcing, one of them, with good reviews, about software outsourcing: Steve Mezak, Software Without Borders, a Step-by-Step Guide to Outsourcing Your Software Development

If you are in the U.S. and want an intermediary, i.e. handholding, you could consider www.123Employee.com

Below is information about Internet outsourcing that
I have from a booklet by Mike Filsaime, "The 7 Figures Secrets".
He is a U.S. based Internet marketing expert.

www.smartdraw.com

MAKE QUOTES SPECIFIC

An American Internet expert, Mike Filsaime, is a pioneer
for "pyramid" marketing on the Internet, cf. www.ButterflyMarketing.com
One of his publications is a "The 7 Figures Secrets".  In that
book


I. Sources

1) Registering a domain name:  NameCheap.com or DirectNic.com
are o.k.  Mike Filsaime advises against using Godaddy.com to host
your domain name.  "They are  the only service I know that will take
ownership of your domain if you get a spam complaint. . . If this happens,
thery own the domain, lock out your account and will not allow you to
move it.  You are dead in the water and if your are lucky to get it back,
it could take 3-4 weeks. . . " 

The comments below are summarized, with many sentences quoted,
from what Mike Filsaime writes about each site. 

2)Design Oupost:  for graphics: post your project and five different
designers will work on your project.  You choose the one you want
and pay the  agreed-upon price, which you stated when you posted
the project.

3)Elance.com  and Guru.com  for quality writers, editors, proofreaders,
data entry and web and graphic design.  However the prices here can
be four to twenty (!) times as high as through Rent-a-Coder or Scriptlance.

4) Rent-a-Coder is a good place for getting bids for a web site.  The Rent-A-
Coder website does not navigate well.  However it has an excellent escrow
and dispute resolution system.  Common is to pay one third at the start, one
third when the beta version is released and one third when the project is complete. 
This is the place to go to if  you need software in a hurry. 

5) Scriptlance is at the lowest end of the quality tier, but you find some amazing
freelancers who offer affordable work uxing talented people.  They are especially
good if you want to develop services like Pay.com or InstantBuzz

II Guidelines for posting a project

1) Outline: Keep the entire project outlined in a mind map, cf. www.MindJet.com for help with this.

2) Timing: Post a  project for ten days or so.

3) Keep the initial posting simple: Post your project details in a simple form.  Tell the programmer that you will send  in depth information in a Word doc.  Do NOT post project details onto the website (to protect your ideas).

4) Details in the follow-up: The in depth information in the Word doc needs to include every detail you can think of, colors, navigation buttons, everything.  Be crystal clear so that there is no dispute.  Inform the freelancer.  Clearly define all aspects of the project up front before accepting any bids.    Consider sealed bids if your project has confidential information.

5) Budget: When you post projects, consider posting a budget as well.  This will ensure that the right people bid, giving you the value you want. 

6) Hint:  at the bottom of the project description, add: "This job is easy for the right
person."  The right person will find you!

7) Warning:  some freelancers reply to jobs without having read the project description!
Therefor put a code word, e.g. "butterfly" near the end of the project description.  Advise freelancers that you will not accept the bid, regardless of qualifications, unless the code word is included in the subject line of their reply.  This method screens out people who have not read the description carefully.

8) Check referrals:  Note that referrals may not be accurate, including those on Elance
or ScriptLance.  Therefor try to go the websites the freelancers have been involved with
and get the real story from the webmasters. 

9)Ratings: many people try to manipulate them, asking for a 10 even at the beginning of a project.  Make absolutely clear to the freelancer that you will not discuss scoring until the
project is complete, and that your score will be 100% honest, so a 10 should not be assumed. 

10) Top people:   insist that the top employees, not junior staffers, will work on your project, and that there be no outsourcing to a third party. 

11) Code:   always request template-based scripts using fully commented codes.  If the source code is on the freelancer´s server and he dies, the information, domain name, etc. could get tied up in probate court while the freelancer´s heirs had legal battles.  In general, a script is composed of the data and the layout.  The data includes the coding required to make things work.  If the script is template based, you can simply add header graphics, cut and paste text, and place it in the templates folder.  The code remains as a seperate PHP code.  This means that you can cut and paste text into the script without accidentally stripping out the code needed to make it work.  The data includes the coding required to make things work.


NEED A PARAGRAPH ON EACH OF THESE SITES

consider Getafreelancer.com & Eufreelance.com. These sites are pretty good too.