How to Outsource

There are three defined stages in the game development outsourcing process. The first stage involves the request for proposal and the proposal, with schedule, work planning, and budget. The second stage is concerned with preparing and signing the contract. The third stage involves the development of the game, and the tracking of milestones and bugs.

The Proposal

The outsourcing process starts when the customer sends the Request For Proposal (RFP), which usually includes the Game Design Document, to the provider for evaluation. This design document should be as complete and accurate as possible, as it will dictate both the estimated schedule and budget. The customer should also indicate if there are strict deadlines, so the provider can assign more people (if possible) to the project. The RFP should also specify the tasks that the provider will assume, whom they will report to, and how the approval process will be structured.

The provider then prepares a proposal for the customer. This proposal must include all the functional requisites of the game, as well as a detailed time schedule for project management. Although this is not compulsory, the provider should also inform the client of how many people will be involved in the game's development, and each individual's specific skills.

The proposal must also include logical divisions of the project in order to specify the milestones. A good rule of thumb is to include a milestone per month. This implies constant supervision and satisfaction from the customer, as well as monthly payments for the provider.

Milestone definitions contain lists of features and content required for approval. Specifying a process by which items can be exchanged between milestones during development can also help deal with unforeseen events. This interchangeability will allow the development process to grow more naturally than with imposed artificial schedules.

Finally, the proposal should include a description of how the work will be done: a context diagram of the most important parts of the program, any tools that also need to be developed, and so forth, and a payment structure for the milestones. The final milestone usually has a bigger payment associated with it.

The Contract

Contracts can be signed for a single project or for a set of related projects. [Paul01] recommends not to become entangled in a long-term contract to maintain the flexibility necessary to deal with changing market conditions. This also allows for more dynamic process allocation to different outsourcing groups.

Contracts must clearly depict each party's responsibility. If you are working with separate groups for programming and artwork, you should clearly specify whose responsibility it is, for example, to convert artwork to final game data files; who is accountable for each component; and how performance will be evaluated. Although programming and artwork might depend on each other, separate milestone threads should be used for each, especially if they are subcontracted to different companies.

One important issue is code ownership. The customer will demand ownership of the final product, as he is the one who is paying for the work, but the framework and generic game libraries should be of shared ownership.

Finally, the contract should include the proposal as an appendix, to describe the job to be done.

The Development Process

Once the contract is signed, the hard work begins. The developer and the customer now enter into a close working relationship that will last until the project is delivered. Thus, contracting an outsourcing studio that shares your corporate culture and vision is crucial to successfully develop the product [Jenkins01].

Communications between the provider and the customer are extremely important to the project's success. E-mails, instant messengers, bug trackers, periodical releases, and reviews form the communications spectrum the game designer must implement when hiring an offshore outsourcing development studio. Constant feedback is a must, especially when artwork is being outsourced.

The bug tracker is an important communications channel. The best solution is to use a Web-based system where you and your testers can post details about every issue requiring attention. The bugs should be closed (i.e., officially declared and accepted as fixed) definitively by the customer, once fixed by the developer.

The instant messenger is effective, but only when both parties are located in countries with similar time zones. A South American team working for a U.S. company will have little trouble coordinating; not so for a team in Russia or Taiwan.

Case Study 4.4.1: The Provider's Side

We asked Sergei Herashenko, from Frogwares (www.frogwares.com), a Ukrainian company specializing in game development outsourcing services, to describe their experience in offshore outsourcing.

Q:	Can you tell us what makes your company successful?
Q:	How do you manage to make it work despite distance and language issues?

Answers

A:

"We have many clients who are very satisfied with our quality and terms of work, and they are much more than happy when they realize that they pay half of the market price for the work we are doing for them! Key factors of success include quality of work, being serious in every detail (terms, deadlines, etc.), and a personal approach to every client."

A:

"Most of our clients come to Ukraine to see our development branch, to meet project managers and other people they are working with distantly. The company was set up to be able to work for clients who speak different languages and with considerable time differences. "All of our developers and designers speak at least English, and some speak other foreign languages. It is very easy to work with European clients because the time difference is only a few hours. With America, it is more difficult, but we can always find a solution, such as adjusting our work schedule to the client's needs."