The Formation and Management of a Software Outsourcing Partnership Process

The focus of this research is on outsourcing partnerships -- what is the process involved in the formation and management of a software research and development (R&D) outsourcing partnership. A complete picture of a software outsourcing partnership life cycle cannot be found in the literature. Because of that a synthesis outsourcing partnership life cycle model has been created based on the models found in other studies. Empirical data from a software R&D outsourcing partnership case is analysed based on the synthesis model, and a new, improved model is created. The new model gives a more in-depth insight into the formation and management process of an outsourcing partnership. Even though the model is created and presented mainly from the customer company viewpoint, it has been affected by the partner company viewpoint as well, as the case data was collected from both companies.