The Tier 1 Indian vendor we invited to implement the project was successfully supporting our Siebel 7 sales-force-automation implementation, so both sides thought this project would be a slam dunk. The vendor agreed to take on the project for a fixed fee of $20,000, with a nine-week time line.
To avoid finger-pointing, everyone agreed that the vendor should perform all phases of the project, from gathering business requirements through QA (quality assurance). Life Time's internal staff would monitor and participate in every way necessary for the project to succeed. If the project proved successful (defined as anything shy of disaster), we promised a small fortune in project work.
Here's how the project team was organized:
An on-site liaison, supplied by the vendor, acted as a bridge between the Life Time team and the offshore project manager. This person was on a senior level technically and had strong communication skills.
An on-site business analyst, supplied by the vendor, completed the application's functional requirements, then returned to India to act as offshore project manager.
An offshore project manager tracked tasks and schedules for three offshore team members: a Java developer, a JSP developer and a tester.