Case study: from briefing to the delivery of a website, or an application

Specifications must be established from the start

What exactly happens when a company outsources an IT project, whether in France or offshore? First of all, the IT company providing software engineering services cannot launch the project without receiving site models and a precise specifications booklet. “If we do not receive these items, we put customers in touch with a design agency to prepare them,” said Romain Juillet, co-founder of Bocasay. Then, we divide the project into different tasks to get an estimate of the overall timeframe required.  

The client will then communicate with a contact person who manages the entire mission: that person is the operational project manager. He leads a team consisting of 5 to 8 engineers per project, each one of them is a specialist in his/her own field (technical project managers, front-end developers, back-end developers).The operational project manager is the person who will organize the kick-off meeting with the client. “He ensures and verifies that the customer’s and developers’ interlocutors have the same level of information, particularly by drafting all detailed operational specifications, related to the project” says Romain Juillet.

The right process must be implemented.

The project manager will establish a backward-planning schedule, so that the client is aware of the delivery dates of the project. Additionally, this also enables the client to anticipate when he/she will be asked to test and validate the completed work. This backward-planning schedule is all the more necessary, as technical teams operate in Madagascar.

When the project is very large, we split it into several sub-projects that we refer to as SPRINTS. “This method of operation allows the customer to receive deliverables regularly and to develop his/her specifications booklet, according to the results achieved,” says the co-founder of Bocasay.

As for people who remain suspicious of the distance separating operational project managers from their technical counterparts, they may rest assured, because the time difference between both countries remains very little. Moreover, all Malagasy experts speak French. “From the moment we set up a good process carrying out an IT development project in Madagascar, or France, has no impact on the customer, whether in terms of technical quality or timeliness. The only difference is the price”, says Romain Juillet.

An IT project never stops evolving

Once the IT project is delivered and the client is trained, Bocasay continues to follow-up with its client, on a long term-basis, even if he/she is autonomous in managing the website content. “We continue to carry out corrective and scalable maintenance services when necessary,” says Romain Juillet. This happens quite often because a website, or a web application never stops evolving.