Vitaliy escribi=F3:
> Haven't had much success with outsourcing, although we may try it again in
> the future. Also, especially for a small company, I believe it's vital to
> keep the expertise in-house. I know many companies have become very
> dependent on consultants, and I believe it is hurting them. It seems to me
> that the consultant's primary responsibility should be transferring relev=
ant
> knowledge to in-house engineers, rather than doing projects on an on-going
> basis.
>   =

I didn't meant to be off-topic but Its just that in the past 3 years =

many huge companies came to my country
and my city (yes, I live in Cordoba) due to the low costs of well =

trained engineers.  They say that we are
a 'best shore' than Mexico or India for example.

I think some keys for outsourcing are

- The lower costs on our countries (and our living costs are also lower)
- The world's lack of engineers.
- The new organizations trend to be smaller, they form alliances or =

network relationships with many providers.
The old concept of the big company with all the divisions inside has =

changed... The companies try to do what
they do best and they outsource (I don't know if outsource is the right =

term when talking about a production task)
the rest.

I agree that depending on consultants is hurting some companies but 'it =

depends' on how the outsourcing is
being done.  The outsourcing allows a small company to take others jobs =

without having a big structure. =

They have the structure, the customers, the knowledge but they are not =

sure if such amount of jobs will last
for months, days, or years.  Its expensive to hire and then fire an =

employee... at least in my country. =

I think that outsourcing a job that is technical and in the same field =

in which the company is good for is not a bad idea,
if its well done with the necessary trust in the other part.  For =

example, if you deal with pics all day long and you
need to do a new job , you don't have time and you want it to be done =

with pics, you could outsource the code,
with some information of how the work should be done (var names, code =

indentation, etc), with full documentation
on the code and in the 'working philosophy' of it.  An experienced =

programmer can understand other's code in such
conditions.  You get what you want (a new job that you couldn't have =

done due to lack of time) and you can understand
the project because its well documented in the way you understand and =

like it.

Let's give a real example.  I have an application made with a PC-104 , =

its done with Borland's delphi for W2K.  Its
a windows service.  The app is running since a long time.  The hardware =

is somehow 'not cheap' and its a little bit
"too much" for the application.  I don't need a Vga interface, Usb, or =

IDE.  There's a chance to sell dozens of this
devices.  The app can be done with an ARM7 microprocessor with an =

embedded linux (debian) which is free and
with gcc as the c compiler.

I've done things in linux but not with an ARM processor.  It will take =

me some time to do the job, my time worth
money and the fact is that I have some other projects to work on.  Then, =

the idea of outsource that part is interesting.
I know a person that can do the job for me, if we get to an agreement on =

how the job has to be done, documented
and so on, its a nice change to get a new job done, save some money and =

to add a new platform. =


> Concerning the original subject, based on the replies to this survey and
> personal experience (and salary), the numbers are indeed significantly
> higher than one would expect (there are exceptions of course, but I'm
> talking about the median).
>
> IMO, the data is skewed. It comes from "The Ganssle Group" which claims to
> be able to "double your team's productivity", "reduce bugs", and "meet
> deadlines" -- all you have to do is "take Jack's one day *Better Firmware
> Faster* seminar", at a cost of $695/person. I'm guessing that to quadruple
> your team's productivity, you just need to have your team attend the semi=
nar
> twice.
>
> Anyway, my point is that Ganssle has a direct financial interest in
> convincing their target audience that they're not making as much as their
> peers. :)
>   =

Yes, seems to be that way.  I agree. I've read many articles of Jack's =

at embedded.com
> PS Mauricio, can you please turn off "quoted-printable"? You're forcing m=
e =

> to top-post.
>   =

I think I did...  If I didn't please just let me know.

-- =

Mauricio Giovagnini (Maunix)
Sitio Web: www.maunix.com.ar

-- =

http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist