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Success of offshore work is based on the execution model and commitment from management coupled with long years of experience of offshore delivery.

Our stage wise delivery development model gives the client complete visibility of the project even if it is executed at a remote Centre. Testing after each stage enhances the quality of the deliverable.

Project Organization

The organisation structure is shown here. It may be noted that the senior positions have a part time involvement in this relationship, whereas the other positions have full time involvement.

Note: The roles of the Axis-IT&T Onsite Coordinator and Onsite team will be evaluated based on the scope of the initial project.

Communication Process

Communication is one of the most crucial aspects for the success of an ODC. At Axis-IT&T there is effective and continuous communication between onsite team and offshore teams.

In an ODC, there can be different modes of communication, through which various subjects can be discussed between the teams. The table below explains a few relationships:

The frequency of these meetings is relative and depends on the current scenario

"Written communication" takes place through post / courier service, facsimile, or e-mail.

Committee meetings and review meetings and teleconferences are usually held on a regular basis, at a pre-determined frequency. Occasionally, an extraordinary meeting or a teleconference can be called for by the customer or by Axis-IT&T.

Success Factors for an ODC

The key success factors for an ODC are:

• Long term CUSTOMER commitment (minimum 3 years)
  
• Initial investment in infrastructure
  
• Buy-in and continuous participation to evolve the ODC
  
• Continuous adaptation of processes at the ODC
  
• Skilled, trained and competent manpower
  

Project Execution Methodology

Over the years, Axis-IT&T has developed a strong project management methodology, which has been summarized here. This methodology has been proven to be successful in almost all the offshore projects undertaken by Axis-IT&T for its partners, and is being offered to its customers in order to minimize their risks. Broadly the following aspects are covered:

• Service level agreements
  
• Process management
  
• Quality management
  
• Project monitoring
  
• Skills management and soft issues

Project Execution

The following activities are performed prior to and during the project execution. These are in addition to the activities defined in the methodology:

a. Creation of various plans - project plan, quality plan, configuration management plan, risk management plan
b. Creating the development environment
c. Complete briefing at the start of a project. The entire team is apprised of the project definitions, customer's objectives and policies, project goals, process to be followed, standards, risks, delivery, quality commitments and project plan
d. Task allocation - weekly basis
e. Status reporting of assigned tasks - weekly basis
f. Weekly team meetings - to address status of the project, task execution, issues found/resolved, resources (hardware, software) problems, project changes, team recommendations, managing slippages, motivational aspects, etc.

Progress Reporting

Axis-IT&T religiously follows the practice of reporting the progress on every project to the customer on a weekly basis. Every Monday, Project managers prepare a weekly status report for their projects. This records the status of activities vis-à-vis the project plan and reports deviations, if any, in a transparent manner. The weekly report consists of the activities during the week; activities planned for the next week; feedback awaited; milestones achieved; problems identified, resolved and to be resolved.

In addition to the above, the teams communicate regularly with the customer using a variety of media such as video conferencing, net meeting, etc.

Every month, a tele-conference is held where senior representatives of both Axis-IT&T and the customer participate and exchange information on the status of the project, project direction, future needs, changes in direction, etc. This enables management at both ends to keep track of the project.

a) Activities during the week

b) Activities planned for the next week

c) Milestone Table

Change Control

During the course of the project, all changes are carried out through the change control procedure. Changes are defined as those activities not included in the scope of work or which alters the scope of work. The change control procedure is initiated by the client and is recorded by the Project manager and analysed for implications on functionality, design, schedule, resources, etc. Once the impact on the project has been evaluated, the change request and the impact analysis are presented to the customer for approval.

Project Management

Axis-IT&T uses Microsoft Project for project planning, scheduling and tracking.

Risk Management

Risks are identified at various stages: contract review, project planning and project execution. Both internal and external risks and probable time and impact are identified and tracked on a regular basis. This enables the project team to ensure that all risks affecting the course of the project are known and managed. Mitigation strategies are identified for each risk and a contingency plan is defined to handle them.

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