Deliverable #12

Deliverable #12 project manager: Mike Cornell

Based on our Deliverable Structure Chart and Deliverable Definition Table, our company decided to outsource the physical design of our system. Based on our other work, we decided that it would be beneficial to let an out of house organization complete this part of our system. This freed up resources that we were able to distribute to other areas of our system. Below is our selection criteria, risks associated with outsourcing this, and our recommendation on two candidate companies, Blue Fountain Media and Forix Web Design.

Selection Criteria

Criteria	Description
Return on Investment	This equates to the benefits-the cost divided by the cost. This gives us a clear picture of the efficiency of the system. This is a good measure to use because we can see several years into the use of the system.
Likelihood of Achieving MOV	The outsourced company must be able to achieve what is needed in the MOV. This is the most important criteria because if the MOV is not met, the project will not be successful.
Time to Develop System	We are looking to have the physical design of the system completed in a timely manner. It also needs to be done correctly. The faster this is completed, the sooner the system can be implemented.
Availability of Skilled Team Members	Our company is small with few members skilled in this area. We looked for a company with enough skilled team members for this to be completed without any over allocation of worker hours.
Country Recognition	We chose two experienced companies that have a good reputation. This helps ensure that this area of the system is completed fully and on time. This puts pressure on the outside company to keep their good reputation and standards. This will also help them get more business with the same kinds of systems.

Risks of Outsourcing

Risk	Response
Scope does not meet MOV	Make sure to meet with outsourced organization to assemble an agreement. Specify what is included as well as what is not included.
Prolonged Schedule	This is a huge outsourcing risk. We have less control making sure this stays on schedule because it is not in-house. We will request frequent progress reports and include any specifics in the contract.
Security Threats	Sending any of our information out of house is a big security risk, especially in the handling of private information/documents. This could involve a loss of data and increasing the budget suddenly.

Based on the above selection criteria and the risks involved, our team has made a decision on which company to outsource the physical design of our system to. We chose to outsource this deliverable to Blue Fountain Media due to several reasons based on our criteria. First, they are very well known, working with several big organizations around the world including the NFL, NASA, Walt Disney, as well as many others. It is good to work with a company with a good reputation because they want to maintain that reputation. Another criteria that was important was the availability of skilled workers. They are a big company with many employees, making it easy for them to not get over allocated in their resources.