Outsourcing SoftwareTop things to look for in a Service Provider

By Frances CohenPresident Promenade Software Inc.

My BackgroundThe highlights:

• B.S. Geophysics – UCLA. Worked in the Dept. on an Apple IIe and 1st PC. (dinosaurs still roamed the earth but punch cards were going extinct)

• Hated oil research – loved software. Got a BS Computer Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

• Chief Architect and core team manager at Phoenix BIOS back in the PC heyday of 286/386/486/Pentium, Windows 3.1 – XP.

• Implemented and Managed development a GE Medical Hospital Defibrillator at Cardiac Science – first introduction to medical devices.

• Directed software development at Source Scientific LLC, a medical device contract developer and manufacture for 9 years.

• Current- President of Promenade Software Inc. – a medical device software service co. - 3 years.

Promenade Software Inc.

• A service provider of Medical Device Software– Full stack of software for devices and their

associated eco-system• Embedded and User software.• Test and Researcher support• Manufacturing and Field Support• Remote Data Collection• Interconnectivity with Mobile Apps and Cloud

– Handle software regulatory submission– 15 software engineers and growing.

Outsourcing – What we will cover

• Tips to help you find the right provider.• How to help your provider succeed on your

project.• Common Pitfalls to avoid• Fixed price or Time & Materials

Finding a Provider

• You can hire day laborers.• You can have your really good handyman

do it.• You can hire multiple reputable

professionals and manage them.• You can outsource the whole project to a

company that builds the houses like yours daily and can show their work.

Its like building a house:Ri

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Finding a Provider

• Find cheap offshore programmers.• Find a good all-around software guy that

can help you.• Go to a “talent provider” and get qualified

engineers.• Find the appropriate full service

outsourcing partner company that can show they are really good at what what you need.

The equivalent for software:Ri

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What to look for In a Provider• Do they have engineers experienced in the technologies you need?

• Do they have a proven infrastructure in place? Does it support

your future needs (data collection, remote diagnostics…)• What is their test strategy? Is it comprehensive?• What tools will they provide you to tune your technologies

(algorithms, chemistries, mechanical…)?• What tools do they provide manufacturing or field service (device

software).• Are they fluent in cyber-security, regulatory, HIPAA…?• How do they keep you in the loop? (Agile?) Do you get source

code? Documentation? Test Reports?

How you can help the project succeed

• Be involved. Weekly meetings and demos. If Agile, be the product owner.

• Be quick to answer questions or resolve issues.• Don’t try to get everything in the first release.

You will think of things along the way. V2• Keep track of the money. This helps avoid

feature creep and prevents surprises if the project fall over-budget.

Pitfalls to avoid

• Expecting an accurate quote based on arm waving. Think through and write up your requirements, and if necessary, make a phase 0 with a provider to help you.

• Blindly take the lowest bid. Most bits are T&M estimates so a low bid assumes that nothing will go wrong – which never happens.

• Engage your provider for production development before your technology is vetted.

Fixed Price vs T&M

• Are Requirements fully known or expected to change?– Lots of tension with fixed price for each little change.

• Are there are integration dependencies ( electro-mechanical function or chemistries) ?– Fixed price causes finger pointing instead of

cooperation.• How unique is the project? Will difficulties arise?– make a robust solution with fixed price is harder.

Questions?

Contact: Frances Cohen Frances@promenadesoftware.com