Application Maintenance case study v3

Application Maintenance Outsourcing : 

Application Maintenance Outsourcing

Slide 2: 

1 Introduction Application Maintenance Outsourcing Aspects to consider Outsourcing models Onsite-Offshore Model Offshore centric Model Offshore centric model case study Customer background Customer scenario/problem Solution Outline Transition to Offshore Results Lessons learnt Agenda

Slide 3: 

2 Covansys Overview Established India Operations in 1991 U.S. based Corporation Founded in 1985 6,000 Employees (4,000+ in India) 30 Offices and 6 Delivery Centers Globally Over 500 Highly Satisfied Clients Certified for BS7799 compliance SEI CMM® and PCMM® Level 5 Assessed Over 90% Recurring Business

E-Val Overview : 

3 E-Val Overview Workflow automation Offshore outsourcing consulting Orchestra

What is Orchestra? : 

4 What is Orchestra? A management tool to support IT processes Generates Dashboards to manage/optimize IT processes Workflow driven task management Time capturing E-mail integration Offered in an ASP mode

Application Maintenance Outsourcing - Background : 

Application Maintenance Outsourcing - Background

Slide 7: 

6 Maintenance Outsourcing Project Aspects EXECUTING INITIATING & PLANNING Determine which applications to outsource Determine Outsourcing Model Project planning Scope of work Service level definitions Project Execution Model Project Setup Staffing Infrastructure set-up Environment set-up Training and orientation Knowledge Transfer Technical Knowledge Application Knowledge Business Knowledge & Process Knowledge Building repositories Documentation Executing tasks Determining requirements Communicating Issue Resolution Impact Analysis Work estimation Task Execution Workflow & Delivery Resource Management CONTROLLING Workflow Management Work assignment & authorization Status tracking & reporting Approvals & sign-offs Monitoring performance Compliance to SLA’s Adherence to procedures Process Adherence Quality control Productivity Metrics Issue Management Logging of Issues Issue tracking

Slide 8: 

7 How to manage remote teams? Team must be intricate part of customer organization Establishing Management control framework Process & procedures for remote support Resource Management It’s all about communication! Transferring knowledge to remote team Language & cultural barriers Communicating Requirements Recognizing, escalating & resolving issues Maintenance – main factors to consider

Outsourcing Model Options : 

8 Outsourcing Model Options Onsite Centric Difficult to offshore services Analysis/design oriented functions Onsite – Offshore Model Analysis, Implementation onsite – design, development, testing offshore Flow of work to offshore from onsite coordinator Production support coordinators also stationed onsite Offshore Centric Establish communication framework Needs mature processes Customer organization changes

Slide 10: 

9 Onsite-Offshore model Typical onsite ratio varies from 20-30%. Project Manager can be based onsite/offshore based Customer interaction with offshore directly is minimized. Management control of offshore teams is usually exercised thru PM & Onsite teams Role of Onsite teams Insulate customer organization from offshore Act as communication bridge to offshore team PM/Onsite team take ownership for deliveries Package work to be delivered by offshore & review offshore deliverables Interact with customer to ensure control Function as part of customer organization Ensure that offshore team integrates with customer

Slide 11: 

10 Offshore-centric model Typical onsite ratio varies from 0 to 7-8% Project Manager would be offshore based Customer interacts with offshore directly Management control of offshore teams is usually exercised thru workflow tools, metrics & dashboards Role of Onsite teams Act as backup in case of production emergencies Act as facilitators for offshore team to interact with other customer groups upon need. Function as part of customer organization Role of Customer Undertake to be involved in working directly with offshore team. Work authorization, prioritization & Issue resolution Changes in Customer organization are usually needed.

A Case Study : 

A Case Study

Customer Background : 

12 Customer Background Large US-based toy manufacturer HQ in California International group HQ in Europe Features Large home-grown ERP AS/400 application base Business covered is International (non-US) Geographically distributed IT organization IT Goals Outsource Application maintenance Use offshore in lieu of contractors Lower costs of IT support

Slide 14: 

13 Distributed IT Support 4 regions, 17 sites, 116 people Unique features Multitude of Systems Multiple applications/modules Distributed, Matrix IT organization with multiple application owners

Challenges in Outsourcing : 

14 Challenges in Outsourcing Geographically distributed technical teams Communication is complex Multiple time zones Different expectations Lack of Uniform process Lack of visibility - Difficult to track Difficult to standardize process for outsourcing No metrics/dashboards to monitor performance Traditional Onsite-Offshore Model (1:4) would not work!

Solution Framework : 

15 Solution Framework Customer internal organizational changes Centralized Helpdesk Define, document and implement best practice processes (Logging & Tracking Support and Change requests) Define SLAs, Metrics & Dashboard for controlling Improve communications

Customer internal organizational changes : 

16 Customer internal organizational changes Product technical specialists become “Application” Owners Need for training of product owners Multiple to one communication with offshore Reduction of onsite staff Offshore team is a common & shared resource pool across applications Requires macro & micro planning of all work Constant load balancing & prioritization of work Requires training of offshore team across applications Create IT centralized helpdesk - plan & prioritize work Common Helpdesk for all production support Logging of all support requests Defining & Tracking SLA’s

Project Team Organization : 

17 Project Team Organization

Implement best practices : 

18 Implement best practices Define the software engineering aspects Documented requirements/test plans/results Issue logs & resolutions Checkpoints & controls using signoffs & approvals Macro & Micro Project/resource planning Institutionalize and enforce the processes Define the workflows & process Production Support Flow SCR (Software Change Request) Flow Optimized the process for offshore-centric model SOX-404 Compliant Defined roles & responsibilities Module Owner Offshore Project Manager Offshore Analyst Offshore Developer

Slide 20: 

19 Production problem occurs User Issues a request for support Request Clarification Implement SCR, unit / Integration Test Problem and Impact analyses Problem resolved Module Owner CVNS Onsite CVNS Offshore / Client tech experts CVNS Offshore Project Manager Assign to Offshore Team member During these process steps the task can be reassigned to any of the team members Re-class As change Non critical Prog. Change Solve Problem Testing No Prog. Change Issue SCR Helpdesk Treats problem Helpdesk Prioritises problem Helpdesk clarifies problem Need for Change Critical Prog. Change Notify CM Issue SCR Prep. detailed Analysis, Test plan, Implementation plan Module owner Approves, analyses, Test, implementation plans User Accept. Test, Request Prod. Promotion, Prod prom. approval Move to production 2 Close Magic Ticket

Slide 21: 

20 SCR process During these process steps the task can be reassigned to any of the team members

Orchestra : 

21 Orchestra Orchestra provides Process transparency Process enforcement Process measurement Process dashboards Improved communication Reduced need for onsite staff

SLA’s Metrics and Dashboards : 

22 SLA’s Metrics and Dashboards

SLA’s Metrics and Dashboards (cont’d) : 

23 SLA’s Metrics and Dashboards (cont’d)

SLA’s Metrics and Dashboards (cont’d) : 

24 SLA’s Metrics and Dashboards (cont’d)

Improve communications : 

25 Improve communications Orchestra Is accessible via the web to all process participants Shares all necessary info with all participants world wide Keeps a history log of all activities Provides real time status of all activities Acts as a knowledge base Integrates e-mail flow Provides real time reports that help in communication

Results : 

26 Results Clear Communication Framework established Documented requirements Enforced sign-offs & approvals Automated Issue tracking Common Repository for all information Automated emails & workflow Weekly Status calls Complete Transparency of process All tasks tracked using common tool Resource utilization tracked thru Orchestra Online status tracking Online Dashboard for monitoring performance Higher Efficiency Lesser communication overheads Clearly established ownership & accountability Minimal Onsite presence needed!

Lessons Learnt : 

27 Lessons Learnt Advantage of tool-based workflows Communication focus is now on “what should be” versus “what is” Constant, objective & transparent performance review Great tool for all outsourcing models Centralized Helpdesk First step for remote support Enables Tracking of all requests & SLA monitoring First step for controlling diverse operations Process must be well-defined, visible & enforced Metrics-based reviews for continuous improvement

Contact details : 

28 Contact details Geert Swinnen E_val Office number: 02 333 26 52 Mobile number: 0475 36 43 71 E-mail: gswinnen@e-val.be www.e-val.be Sridhar Venkat Covansys Office number: +91 (44) 22623880 ext 6406 E-mail: VSridhar@Covansys.com www.covansys.com

Thank you! : 

Thank you!