According to Esteves (2004), Arce and Flynn
(1997), as well as Ward (1990), a classification of the CSF can be carried out
in regard to the four dimensions introduced in section 2.2.3: “Internal vs. external”, “static vs. dynamic”, “tactical
vs. strategic”, and “organizational vs. technical” factors. The classification
of the CSF along these dimensions is displayed in the table below. Here, a bullet indicates that a CSF
represents a corresponding factor. Within this table, the CSF are again sorted in accordance with the total number of mentions
by the interviewees (in brackets).
Table: Classification of developed
CSF list
|
CSF
|
Internal
|
External
|
Static
|
Dynamic
|
Tactical
|
Strategic
|
Organizational
|
Technical
|
|
Creation of a partnership-like relationship (40)
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Ensuring of a continuous communication flow (21)
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
Face-to-face meetings with the offshore provider on
a regular basis (16)
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
Preparation of a detailed project specification (16)
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
|
Creation of a cultural sensibility among employees
(15)
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Good language abilities of the offshore employees in
German and English (12)
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
Continuous controlling of project results (9)
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
Definition of an accurate contract (9)
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Development of a comprehensive business case (9)
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
Geographical closeness of the offshore provider (9)
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Selection of a suitable software component (9)
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
|
Definition of clear project goals (8)
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Definition of project standards (7)
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
|
Efficient internal organizational structure (6)
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
High quality of offshore employees (6)
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
|
Ensuring of a bilateral know-how transfer (5)
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Standardized and documented processes on provider side
(4)
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
|
Comprehensive experience with IT outsourcing
projects (3)
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
Comprehensive industry knowledge of the offshore
provider (3)
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
International corporate culture (3)
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Legal and political stability in the offshore
country (3)
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Standardized and documented processes (3)
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
|
Establishment of an efficient IT infrastructure (2)
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
|
Financial stability of the offshore provider (2)
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Suitable company size of the offshore provider (2)
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Appropriate internal technical knowledge (1)
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
|
Early internal change management (1)
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
|
Sustained management support (1)
|
l
|
|
l
|
|
|
l
|
l
|
|
The most frequently used dimensions when
classifying CSF are “tactical vs. strategic” as well as “organizational vs.
technical” factors (compare, for instance, Esteves, 2004, and Remus, 2006).
However, in connection with our developed CSF list, a classification of the CSF
into “internal vs. external” and “static vs. dynamic” factors is more suitable as
these dimensions enable the classification of the identified CSF into four groups:
1.
Internal suitability
factors: CSF related to the offshore readiness on
the part of the client.
2.
Internal management factors: CSF related to the planning of an OSD project.
3.
External suitability
factors: CSF related to the selection of an offshore
provider.
4.
External management factors: CSF related to the implementation of an OSD project.
Based on the comparison of the initially compiled
list of CSF with similar lists within the context of IT or OSD, the CSF
“Composition of an appropriate project team” was added to our original list.
Although this CSF indirectly influences several of the factors already included
in the list, it was not directly mentioned in any of the conducted interviews.
Composition of an appropriate project
team: Studies in the field of IT in general
(e. g., Esteves, 2004) and OSD in particular (e. g., Mani and
Rajkumar, 2001) confirm that the composition of the project team can have a significant
influence on the success of an OSD project. In this context, a suitable project
manager, an adequate deployment of consultants, as well as a reasonable
combination of offshore and onshore resources need to be determined.
In addition, the efficiency of the project
team can be increased by providing project members with the authority to make
specifically designated decisions or assigning dedicated resources to the OSD
project.
Table: CSF model
|
|
Static
|
Dynamic
|
|
Internal
|
Internal suitability factors
|
Internal management factors
|
|
Efficient internal organizational structure (6)
|
Preparation of a detailed project specification (16)
|
|
Comprehensive experience with IT outsourcing
projects (3)
|
Creation of a cultural sensibility among
employees (15)
|
|
International corporate culture (3)
|
Development of a comprehensive business case (9)
|
|
Standardized and documented processes (3)
|
Selection of a suitable software component (9)
|
|
Appropriate internal technical knowledge (1)
|
Definition of clear project goals (8)
|
|
Sustained management support (1)
|
Definition of project standards (7)
|
|
|
Early internal change management (1)
|
|
External
|
External suitability factors
|
External management factors
|
|
Good language abilities of the offshore
employees in German and English (12)
|
Creation of a partnership-like relationship (40)
|
|
Geographical closeness of the offshore provider (9)
|
Ensuring of a continuous communication flow (21)
|
|
High quality of offshore employees (6)
|
Face-to-face meetings with the offshore provider on
a regular basis (16)
|
|
Standardized and documented processes on
provider side (4)
|
Continuous controlling of project results (9)
|
|
Comprehensive industry knowledge of the
offshore provider (3)
|
Definition of an accurate contract (9)
|
|
Legal and political stability in the offshore
country (3)
|
Ensuring of a bilateral know-how transfer (5)
|
|
Financial stability of the offshore provider (2)
|
Establishment of an efficient IT infrastructure (2)
|
|
Suitable company size of the offshore provider (2)
|
Composition of an appropriate project team (0)
|
The newly added CSF is classified in the matrix as
an external, dynamic factor, due to the fact that it represents a management activity
and reflects an interorganizational aspect. The table above shows the CSF model for OSD projects (added CSF
“Composition of an appropriate project team” in bold), consisting of 29 factors
in the end.
 References
|
