CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS OF OFFSHORE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Lehrstuhl für BWL, insb. Wirtschaftsinformatik III, Prof. Dr. Michael Amberg

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Phase Specificity

Within this section, we analyze the phase specificity of the 29 CSF. In this context, we asked the participants of the online survey to assign each CSF to one of the following project phases: Planning and analysis (I), decision and negotiation (II), or implementation (III). Alternatively to the mentioned project phases, the participants were able to categorize a CSF as cross-phase (I-III).

The following Table illustrates in percent how often a CSF was assigned to one of the four assignment classes. With regard to each CSF, the table highlights the field with the highest percentage value in gray. Here, it becomes apparent that the great majority of the 29 CSF were classified as cross-phase by the participants (20 factors, of which 16 factors exhibit a percentage value of more than 50 percent). Five of the remaining nine CSF were predominantly assigned to the planning and analysis phase of an OSD project (three of these factors receiving a percentage value of more than 50 percent). In contrast, only three and one CSF respectively were categorized as rather specific for the implementation as well as the decision and negotiation phase.

Table: CSF phase specificity

ID	CSF	Planning and analysis (I)	Decision and negotiation (II)	Implementation (III)	Cross- phase (I-III)
20	Selection of a suitable software component	.773	.113	.093	.021
1	Definition of clear project goals	.505	.248	.059	.188
14	Early internal change management	.505	.238	.188	.069
25	Development of a comprehensive business case	.489	.284	.080	.148
12	Definition of project standards	.370	.200	.150	.280
17	Definition of an accurate contract	.134	.732	.010	.124
2	Continuous controlling of project results	.050	.010	.485	.455
10	Establishment of an efficient IT infrastructure	.170	.110	.480	.240
7	Preparation of a detailed project specification	.212	.222	.384	.182
3	Ensuring of a continuous communication flow	.040	.010	.121	.828
8	Creation of a partnership-like relationship	.072	.124	.062	.742
5	Good language abilities of the offshore employees in German and English	.092	.051	.133	.724
9	Sustained management support	.040	.120	.140	.700
19	Legal and political stability in the offshore country	.129	.140	.032	.699
13	Financial stability of the offshore provider	.072	.155	.082	.691
4	High quality of offshore employees	.060	.060	.190	.690
18	Face-to-face meetings with the offshore provider on a regular basis	.106	.064	.202	.628
16	Standardized and documented processes on provider side	.051	.051	.273	.626
28	International corporate culture	.038	.205	.167	.590
22	Creation of a cultural sensibility among employees	.163	.130	.130	.576
26	Comprehensive experience with IT outsourcing projects	.182	.117	.130	.571
27	Suitable company size of the offshore provider	.139	.177	.114	.570
15	Standardized and documented processes	.122	.010	.316	.551
24	Comprehensive industry knowledge of the offshore provider	.205	.102	.148	.545
21	Efficient internal organizational structure	.111	.051	.313	.525
11	Ensuring of a bilateral know-how transfer	.062	.041	.381	.515
29	Geographical closeness of the offshore provider	.243	.071	.200	.486
23	Appropriate internal technical knowledge	.330	.138	.170	.362
6	Composition of an appropriate project team	.270	.200	.170	.360

Within the online survey, the participants were allowed to skip the assessment of a CSF in regard to its phase specificity, if they rated this CSF as not relevant for the success of an OSD project. For this reason, the percentage values presented in the table above do not necessarily refer to the entirety of the participants.

References