ESI International, which provides project management and contract negotiation and management training, just released results from a survey on outsourcing and discovered — surprise! — that those involved in outsourcing work need more training.
OK, cheap shot. The fact is that respondents cited the top reasons for failures in project-based service contract as:
- Unclear requirements (53%)
- Unclear scope of work (53%)
- Inadequate planning (41%)
- Poor vendor selection (34%)
The same reasons popped up in non-project-based service contracts, but with slightly different percentages:
- Unclear scope of work (44%)
- Unclear requirements (43%)
- Poor vendor selection (43%)
- Inadequate planning (39%)
What I found especially useful in the survey results was a listing of ways respondents thought outsourcing results could be improved in their organizations. I believe these were written in rather than suggested by the survey authors.
- Project management and training
- Standard vendor processes
- Vendor selection
- Performance monitoring/governance
- Requirements definition/management
- Human resource management
- Upfront business analysis & planning
- Specific statement of work
- Contract terms (pricing, schedule, etc.)
- Internal training & skills
You can learn more about ESI’s training courses here. I couldn’t find survey results online at the time of this writing.
