Introduction

To build software product‚ project managers need to select the most suitable development approach. For this‚ they need to compare alternative development approaches‚ such as building the product in-house or outsourcing it.

Outsourcing refers to the use of products and services from third parties for building a part or whole of the software product. There are several options for outsourcing‚ each of which has a different impact on project planning and management.

Outsourcing Project Work course includes:

• Outsourcing Options in Software Projects
• Comparing the Costs of Alternative Development Approaches

This course has been co-authored by the internationally recognized consultant and authority on software engineering—Dr. Roger S. Pressman.

Course Benefits

This course will enable you to:

• Explain the various outsourcing options and the aspects that help project managers select the most suitable option for a project.
• Explain how alternative development approaches can be compared using the decision tree and the expected value techniques.

You receive a certificate of completion after successfully completing this course.

Content Brief

To decide between the alternative software development approaches such as building the product in-house and outsourcing‚ there is a need to compare their expected costs. The decision tree and expected value technique are useful for this comparison because they enable you to combine the probability of an outcome with its cost to arrive at the expected value.

It is important to note that while evaluating the various approaches‚ the decision tree cannot be used in isolation to arrive at a decision. Other criteria such as the availability of resources‚ the experience of the developer‚ the vendor‚ and/or the contractor‚ conformance to requirements‚ and the likelihood of change in the product should also be considered to select the most suitable path for development.