A risk can be defined as a problem that could cause some loss or threaten the success of of project. The potential risk factors may have an adverse impact on the cost, schedule, or technical success of the project. Thus, risk management is the process of identifying, determine and solve the potential problems before they can damage the project.

Offshore program and project management involves four critical activities:

1. Transition Management 2. Governance 3. Performance Management 4. Quality Management

Transition Management The process of managing assets during a period of restructuring is defined as transition management. The role of the Transition Manager is to minimize the costs and risks thus ensuring that the process runs smoothly.

The real process starts when the contract is signed. Smooth transition management is the next issue to manage. Transition management is considered to be a critical success factor of offshore activities. Transition management is defined as the detailed knowledge of transfer and documentation of all relevant tasks, technologies and workflows The transition period is perhaps the most difficult stage of an offshore endeavor, taking anywhere from three months to a year to complete.

Transition management involves the following:

' Develop an initial transition plan (involving activities such as milestones, assets and benchmarks) ' Initiation of projects ' Internal procedures and processes ' Manage employees ' Document lessons learned to improve vendor management

Governance after managing the issue of transition put the skills into practice by governing the offshore relationship ' client management, third party contract. The approach focuses on the evolution of services provided, ongoing communication processes, and overall project management. Governance activities pertaining to areas of off shoring can make or break a project.

The Ongoing governance involves the following: ' Project management ' Relationship building and management ' ' Risk management - describes the processes concerned with identifying, managing, and correction of outsourcing partnership risks.

Performance Management As offshore outsourcing has become an important aspect for multiple business processes, the types and complexity of contracts and sourcing alliances are bound to explode. With organizations outsourcing almost every aspect of their operations, multiple vendors participating in sourcing deals, and activities occurring 24x7, it's a nonstop challenge to coordinate interactions, manage performance, monitor contract terms, track financial metrics, and maintain alignment.

Ongoing governance involves the following: ' Measures outsourcing effectiveness using appropriate metrics ' Implementing improvements and adjustments ' Evaluating feasibility of additional outsourcing

Quality Management Quality is a huge concern with offshore outsourcing. Errors are more costly to fix and debugging becomes essential. A strict quality assurance and control program forms an integral part of every offshore delivery project.

Performance management aims at reviewing and continuous improvement of software development and business processes, validation and verification of work products and customized status reports.

About the author: The author of this article is John Parker, A-1 Technology, Inc, an offshore outsourcing company.