To ensure that we would get what we needed, we extended the project time line, agreed to a cost increase of $7,000 to allow for additional analysis and better interface design, and dedicated internal Life Time analysis and UI people to guide the final version of the documentation.
After the vendor's business analyst wrapped up the documentation, he returned to India and, in an effort to exploit his knowledge of the project requirements, was assigned as the offshore project manager. By this point, the offshore technical manager had lined up the offshore project team, so the coding design began in earnest.
Once offshore, however, the project started down the slippery slope. Upon receiving the offshore company's database design, Life Time's lead data architect declared it to be the worst he'd ever seen. There were so many critical database flaws--more than 100--that our architects were unable to log all of the defects within the scheduled one-week review period.
The database was not the only problem area. Determined to dazzle us with their software prowess, the offshore developers insisted on completing the entire code design before allowing us to review it (we had requested an early design sample to head off any problems). Naively confident in their original code design, the offshore team had launched immediately into writing Java code before checking the code design into CVS for our review. Tragically, our review determined that the offshore team's design patterns weren't in accordance with the standards Life Time follows, invalidating all the offshore team's Java code.
In two short weeks, the offshore team had gone from proud and eager to embarrassed and dejected. Once the stark reality of our logged defects sank in, the team knew there was no way they could straighten out the code design and then code and test the applications within the set time frame. Frustration levels were high on the offshore team, and the on-site liaison became increasingly defensive. The internal Life Time team was disappointed and annoyed as well, but we accepted the fact that mistakes were bound to happen on our first end-to-end offshore project. We valued a quality final product much more than time-line precision. Nevertheless, as we learned only later, the offshore team began working extra-long hours to avoid asking for a time extension.
To the Rescue?
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
