Offshore Outsourcing: A Mixed Method Case Study of the Quality of Software Developmen

Outsourcing software development offshore enables companies to benefit from the large pool of skilled workers in other countries for a fraction of the local labor rates. The major reason for outsourcing was to save companies money, concentrate on their core competencies, and sustain long-term strategic goals to remain competitive. The outcome of outsourcing may vary among companies, but one out of five outsourcing projects was satisfied the user requirements. The purpose of the study was to examine the factors that affected the quality of software outsourced from Nigeria. The mixed methods case study instruments were sent to IT professionals in Lagos, and Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics was employed to analyze the quantitative data. The statistical tool included Cronbach's alpha which determined the reliability of the instrument, and revealed the perspective of the participants on factors that affected the software quality. The themes that emerged from the qualitative date revealed factors that affected the quality of outsourced software, and supported the quantitative findings. The study demonstrated that a relationship existed between outsourced software quality, communication and culture, business requirement, project management, developers' experience and education, and vendor selection. Consensus emerged that outsource vendors may have used trained or experienced resources, the software made the company operation easier, but the project duration was longer than expected, the software required a lot of re-work, and the quality was below expectation.