An Industrial Survey of Software Outsourcing in China

Most studies of software outsourcing focus on how to manage the outsourcing from the perspective of the outsourcer, i.e., a company issuing a subcontract. There are few studies of outsourcing presented from the viewpoint of the supplier, i.e., a company receiving a subcontract. Since more and more Chinese software companies are getting software outsourcing subcontracts from all over the world, it is important to investigate how software outsourcing projects are actually performed in China, and to identify possible enhancements. Our study has collected data by a questionnaire-based survey from 53 finished projects in 41 Chinese software suppliers. The results show that: 1) Differences in natural languages may not be the barrier of Chinese software suppliers. 2) Email is most used to discuss development related issues, while face-to-face meetings are mainly used to discuss management and requirements issues. 3) The main reasons for overtime work at the Chinese suppliers are design or requirements changes initiated by the outsourcers and the suppliers’ initial underestimation of the effort.