With the increasing trend to have software developed and built offshore, the burden of managing and overseeing outsourcing projects is becoming increasingly critical. If product creation initiatives end up failing, any money saved goes right out the window. But there are some good best practices that IT leaders can bring into play to ensure that offshore software work pays off in terms of both savings and quality. The first step is mapping out a strong process integration approach, which includes a project plan, monitoring strategy and software development plan. That's just the beginning, as communication and understanding cultural issues are also integral to project success.

For more on making offshore efforts work well:
- check out the top four factors that come into play at Optimize

PLUS: Debating the pros and cons of outsourcing overall. Article
PLUS: How to avoid outsourcing pitfalls. Article