Step 5: Work Environment

Most of the workflow details and the accompanying infrastructure requirements will have been identified during the requirements analysis phase. The working environment will typically consist of office space, workspaces, and computing and networking hardware and software. However, there are often many things that need to be addressed before an offshore team can start working for a client that is operating thousands of miles away in a different time zone.

During the manpower acquisition phase, you will be coordinating with an officer from our operations group about the exact workflow processes of your project. This involves a process for sending work files to the team in the Philippines, a process for creating the project deliverables, and a process for sending those deliverables back to you. These processes would typically require hardware, software and networking connectivity. This could either just be as simple as our standard package of a Windows XP PC, 19" LCD screen and high-speed Internet access, or this could be as complicated as access to specific servers within your organizations and highly specialized software and hardware. Our IT department is there to work with your people to come to the best possible solution for your project. For larger projects we even offer the possibilities of separate office spaces and dedicated office areas such as training and meeting rooms.

Our operations group will also need to work out the specifics on how to properly manage your team. Our involvement in the daily operations of your project could vary greatly depending on your requirements and preferences. For small teams, our clients often prefer to have daily contact with their offshore staff themselves and distribute the workload. For bigger teams, we typically recommend that we appoint a team leader or project manager who will take on the daily operations management. Our operations group is there to make sure that the client is well-represented in the Philippines. We have people on the ground making sure that expectations are met and exceeded consistently.