InformationWeek

* Know who you're dealing with
Meeting a sales representative or seeing a PowerPoint presentation clearly isn't enough when it comes to choosing an offshore development partner. Optimally, the overseas facilities should be visited, and if that can't be managed, at the very least meet with a prospective overseas partner on your own turf.

"We met the chairman of Mascot Systems at our Ohio headquarters as well as interviewing and formally accepting about six of the key resources to work on our software," says J.M Smucker Co. CIO Dick Jirsa. "The team also came on site for a month of knowledge transfer."

* Start small
Due diligence is vital, but the test is an actual development task. Experts advise businesses considering outsourcing to start with a noncritical task. Based on the results, evaluate performance and viability before moving on. "We started small with some [Standard Generalized Markup Language] conversion tools in order to gauge performance," says Doug Alberg, a senior manager at Boeing Co.'s Commercial Aviation Services.

* Appoint a dedicated project manager
Ideally, the project manager should be located in the United States and should act as the coordination point between U.S. IT management and offshore programming resources. "We helped our offshore partner hire a bilingual project manager, which has improved our offshore relationship markedly," says Jim Allen, IT senior analyst at Principal Financial Group.

* Establish formal lines of communication
To avoid friction, establish precise communication lines. One person on each side should be responsible for relay and execution. Additionally, exact times should be set up for reports and conferences, and procedures should be put in place to handle bugs and emergencies. Depending on the nature and complexity of the project, dedicated communication links among plants may be necessary to ensure speed and security. Some companies have even gone as far as implementing Web-based management software to update project status in real time.