Philippines Outsourcing Review

See you at the International Outsourcing Summit

2010-10-20T20:51:00.001+08:00

Search Profile Index by 4th Media is all set for the upcoming International Outsourcing Summit that will happen this October 26 and 27, 2010 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

Over 250 attendees from 15 countries have been confirmed to date, and more are expected to attend, especially from emerging outsourcing locations such as Africa and South America, as well as from established hubs such as India, and outsourcers such as North America and Europe.

The summit also features participation from allied BPO partner associations from around the world, such as the European Outsourcing Association (EOA) and the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals. More complex outsourcing services are also heavily represented at the summit, with delegates and speakers from the animation, transcription, game development, software, HR, and marketing verticals attending.

Top outsourcing and shared services firms to present

Among the leading outsourcing and shared services firms that will be represented at IOS are Accenture, Aegis PeopleSupport, Chevron Holdings Inc., Convergys, Dell International Service Philippines, Inc., Deutsche Knowledge Services Pte. Ltd., HSBC Global Resourcing, IBM, Infosys BPO, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Manulife Business Processing Services, Procter & Gamble Business Services, SPi Technologies, Sykes Asia Inc., Teletech, TELUS International Philippines, Inc., Thomson Reuters, and StarTek, Inc.

Top outsourcing executives, allied industry leaders, and prominent analysts will be sharing their insights on key issues and opportunities for the industry. Key speakers include Armand Angeli, Cofounder & President, European Outsourcing Association (EOA); Alfredo Ayala, Chair, BPAP; Maulik Parekh, CEO, SPi Global; Jack Jones, Global Solutions Head, JP Morgan Chase & Co.; Aparup Sengupta, MD & Global CEO, Aegis Limited; Nikhil Rajpal, Principal, Everest Group; Oscar Sanez, President & CEO, BPAP; Raju Bhatnagar, VP for BPO Initiatives, NASSCOM; and Swaminathan Dandapani, CEO & MD, Infosys BPO Ltd.

With the theme, “Global Leaders Addressing Global Issues,” the second annual IOS will feature in-depth discussions on the next phase of growth for the BPO industry, outsourcing locations, challenges for growth, education, telecommunication service provision, and new technologies. Key emerging verticals such as retail, health, business development, banking and finance, marketing, and human resources (HR) outsourcing will be the subject of break-out sessions.

Aside from top BPO and shared services players, companies, associations, and government agencies that serve as industry enablers and otherwise provide support for service delivery will be represented at the two-day summit. They include SGV & Company, Ayala Land Inc., SM Land, Globe Telecom, PLDT, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, and the American Chamber of Commerce.

The agenda for the summit highlights the decade-long success of the BPO industry, and the changing environment for success given the past two years’ economic uncertainty and increased risk. Featured panels include talent specialization and the emergence of language as a competitive differentiator in labor supply, strategies for emerging locators and locations, and competitive advantages in a changing business climate. New technology will also be extensively discussed vis-à-vis its role for IT managers, HR practitioners, and vendors of emerging Web 2.0 platforms.

In addition to plenary sessions, breakouts, and discussions, the second International Outsourcing Summit will provide a recap of the first conference, as well as extensive networking and business-matching opportunities.

Keep yourself updated about the event by following the developments posted on Facebook and Twitter.

Winners of free delegate pass: Philippine Six Sigma Conference 2010

2010-08-03T06:24:00.001+08:00

Many thanks to those who joined our free delegate pass contest for the Philippine Six Sigma Conference 2010 organized by Fiera de Manila, in cooperation with Center for Lean Systems and Management (De La Salle University), International Alliance of Quality Professionals (IAQP), and Digileaf, Inc. This will be on August 4 and 5, 2010 at Hotel Intercontinental, Makati City.

DigitalFilipino System and Software Process Improvement Network is a proud supporter of this conference.

The winners are:

Note that this slot is not transferable. Congratulations to the winners!
(Leah and Florencio, sent you folks a message via Facebook)

Get a free delegate pass: Philippine Six Sigma Conference 2010

2010-07-15T20:23:00.001+08:00

Fiera de Manila, in cooperation with Center for Lean Systems and Management (De La Salle University), International Alliance of Quality Professionals (IAQP), and Digileaf, Inc., is organizing the Philippine Six Sigma Conference 2010 at Hotel Intercontinental Makati City this August 4 and 5, 2010. They are giving away two (2) delegate passes to this event.

DigitalFilipino System and Software Process Improvement Network is a proud sponsor of this conference. Should you like to participate and hope to get one of the passes, this is what you have to do:

Make a blog entry about the Philippine Six Sigma Conference 2010 and cite why you like to attend this two-day event.
Your blog post must have a link to the following:
link 1: Philippine Six Sigma Conference 2010 at http://www.fmi.com.ph/?page=events&eid=21
link 2: Fiera de Manila at http://www.fmi.com.ph
link 3: DigitalFilipino System and Software Process Improvement Network at http://www.cmmiphilippines.com
Post a comment to this blog entry and give me the url link where your entry can be found.

Deadline for submission of entries is on July 29, 2010. We will list and link to all entries that get submitted here.

The 2 winners who will get one delegate pass each shall be posted here on or before August 1.
I hope you can join and see you at the Philippine Six Sigma Conference 2010!

Startups invited to take a pitch at E-Services Philippines 2010

2010-01-25T12:13:00.003+08:00

Plug and Play Tech Center will have a “Startups Take a Pitch” session at E-Services Philippines 2010 this February 9, 2010 from 9 am to 3:30 pm.

According to Jojo Flores of Plug and Play Tech Center, "Essentially, we are calling on Filipino start up companies involved in technology, including consumer web, internet, mobile, wireless, social media, gaming, software, hardware, clean and biotech. We prefer that the company has an authentic and owned IP with at least 2 founders who aim to solve a real and urgent problem. Finally, we prefer that the company already has an existing product (post idea), and if it’s already launched, with market traction and revenue. The startup must be looking for funding and/or globalization."

Here's more info:

WHEN: The competition date will be on February 9, 2010, Tuesday, 9am to 3:30pm.

WHERE: SMX Convention Center, Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

HOW: To join, simply email Plug and Play Tech Center at jojo@plugandplaytechcenter.com for details and instructions. Deadline of submission of company executive summaries is on January 29, 2010, 5pm PST.

CONTEST:

A short-list of 30 contestants will be chosen to present to a panel of international investors (venture capitalists and angel investors).
Each company will do an “elevator pitch” of 4 minutes each.
At the end of the competition, 3 winners will be chosen.

PRIZE:

Plug and Play Tech Center will help the winners in Silicon Valley on a 3-month VC fund raising mission.
Each startup will be presented to 10 top-tier VCs.
Each startup will receive mentorship from Plug and Play’s pool of Business Relationship Managers and Executives in Residence.
The startups will participate and be featured at Plug and Play’s PACT and/or EXPO events, which are bi-annual international startup competitions held at Plug and Play.
The startups will have a chance to participate in one of Plug and Play’s Entrepreneurship University sessions.

Good luck to all participants!

Call for speakers: DigitalFilipino SoftDev Conference

2010-01-04T15:45:00.004+08:00

We are now gearing up for the 1st annual DigitalFilipino SoftDev Conference 2010. This will be an intensive 1-day lessons learned sharing in software development and explore ways on how to grow further in this field. This is cheduled to take place on February 24, 2010 at the Hotel Intercontinental, Makati City.

If you had a great software development process improvement experience that you believe can be imparted as a competitive lessons learned in this conference, I will very much appreciate if you can contact me with your suggested topic that includes the following:

Topic title
Description
Case study (studies) / lessons learned to be imparted

If your topic gets chosen, I will contact you right away. In addition, sponsorship opportunities are available and I can send you more details if you are interested.

Attendees to this event can expect a highly-interactive session with e-commerce players and industry practitioners. Topics in the agenda includes (subject to change):

I. Business Track

Starting a Software Development Business
Software Copyright, Trademark, and Patents
Contracting and Working with Freelancers

II. Software Process and Methods

Software Development Process Models: Which fits right for you?
Team Leadership for Software Development Projects
Best Practices in Requirements Gathering
Best Practices in Software Testing

III. Technology

Best Practices in Software / Application Design
Security Standards in Software Development

IV. Application Development

Tools for software development

Free conference pass to DigitalFilipino SPIN members:

Individual member (1 slot - not transferrable)
Corporate members (5 representatives)

Additional club member and sponsor delegates are entitled to 15% discount. Register today to confirm your seats!

Nominations open for e-Services Awards 2010

2009-12-30T09:14:00.004+08:00

ICT/BPO Awards to highlight emerging innovations as global economy recovers

As the global economy recovers, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) is launching e-Services Awards 2010 to highlight ICT creativity and innovation towards developing “best-of-breed” technologies and solutions.

Now on its 10th year, the e-Services Awards continues to become a “stamp of excellence in the Philippine ICT/BPO community.” Past awardees include People Support, PLDT, Globe Telecom, Pointwest Technologies, and TransProcure to name a few. The award is a component of the annual e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition, a government led trade platform for ICT and BPO scheduled on February 8-9, 2010 at the SMX Convention Center.

e-Services Awards is open to all Philippine-based IT companies who have successfully developed and marketed new products and services in the Philippines and other foreign countries, as well as individuals with essential achievements and contribution in the field of IT-enabled services.

e-Services Awards also aim to encourage more ICT/BPO SMEs in developing creative content for the international market. The recent Creative Economy Report released by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2005 cited the Philippine creative industries contributing some 4.92 % to the gross domestic product and accounting for 11.10 percent of the country’s labor force for the same period.

For 2010, nominations are now open in the following categories: Outstanding Client Application of the Year, Outstanding Consumer Application of the Year, Groundbreaking Technology of the Year, and the Most Progressive Homegrown Company of the Year.

“Through the award, our clients usually become more receptive and try out the product giving us 90% probability to close the sale,” said Roberto Suson, CEO of NEXT IX Inc., which bagged the Outstanding Consumer Application of the Year for the INF Dictation Capturing System. He also added that the award gave their product and company better credibility when marketing in the local and international market.

Likewise, Winston Damarillo, EXIST CEO, also said, “We are honored for the e-Services award which is a testament of seven years of our company’s hard work and consistent innovation. There is no better time to really become innovative than during these trying times. We are sure that with the recognition, EXIST will continue with its progressive ways and will do our part to help in the progress of e-Services in the country.” EXIST, awarded as the Most Progressive Company for Software Development, is a software engineering firm that designs, develops, and delivers high-class products and interactive web applications for some of the world’s successful businesses, including a member in the prestigious Fortune 500 companies.

The past e-Services Awards likewise featured international personalities in the ICT scene including David Barett, chairman of the European Advisory Board and International Association of Outsourcing Professionals as well as Nora Terrado, country manager of Headstrong.

Deadline of submission of entries for the e-Services Awards is on January 18, 2010 and winners for each award will be presented during the Awards Night of the 10th e-Services expo on February 8, 2010.

For more information on e-Services Awards, contact the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) e-Services Project Management Team at tel. nos. (632) 832-5044/ 831-2201 locals 212/251/278/301, or e-mail itservices@citem.com.ph.

Thoughts blogging

2009-08-21T19:21:00.005+08:00

A few hours earlier, I just discovered the Thoughts.com free blogging community that is founded by Ben Ogden. It is similar to some of the social networks today that allows you to have a blog, photo album, podcast, forums, survey, video repository, and the likes. Some features I found interesting are:

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The photo album section allows you to import from existing accounts. Although most of the sections require you to post or upload original content.
Fellow users can rate most of the stuff you posted in the site.
The person with the best weighed averaged shall be able to win an all expense-paid retreat to a fun location every year. In the past two years, the winner got treated in Las Vegas. I guess this is also a means to encourage people to interact with each other.
It has widgets that you can opt to add or remove as part of your home. An example would be the meet & greet where you can say hello to those who just joined the community.

The site can be of interest to those who are looking for another possible venue in establishing their presence, publish their thoughts and ideas, while meeting a whole new set of people at the same time.

Bas Vodde: Interview a ScrumMaster Series

2009-08-14T09:12:00.007+08:00

Got word from DigitalFilipino club member CodeLean that it is bringing once again Dutch Agile expert Bas Vodde to Manila - to head a two-day course on Scrum on February 3 and 4, 2009 at Diamond Hotel, Manila.

Rather than just relaying, I decided to interview him further in this article and have a better understanding about Scrum.

Janette Toral (JT): Bas Vodde, what is your claim to fame as a Scrum expert?

Bas Vodde (BV): Eh. Well I wouldn't claim such a thing. But my experiences with Agile development started in the 90s. I was first involved in RAD (rapid application development) though the 4GL tool part never attracted me much. Though, via the design pattern moment in the 90s, I quickly got to know Scrum and Extreme Programming. I had more interest in Extreme Programming though and started experimenting with that (e.g. doing test-driven development, continuous integration and working in iterations).

In the beginning of this century, I joined Nokia where I fist continued my experiments. After some time, I was involved with a very large product and got more interested in getting things to work in a traditional waterfall environment. It didn't. So, I got back to agile development and then got more interest in Scrum as I was working with Craig Larman and Ken Schwaber. I led the company-wide agile transition project in Nokia Networks for a while and now work for my own company. Also wrote two books on large-scale agile development together with Craig Larman.

JT: How many trained Scrum masters are there in the world? How many are in the Philippines at the moment? Who is doing Scrum?

BV: There are very many ScrumMasters in the world :) A couple of years ago we passed the 100,000 I believe, but I'm not sure of the current situation. In Philippines, my guess would be about 100 around now. There has just been some private courses internal into companies and one public course. Another public course coming up in September 3-4th.

Who is doing Scrum? I'm not sure. I trained mainly people from smaller companies. I guess larger companies arrange internal Scrum courses which might have different trainers. At least CodeLean, the company I work with, are doing Scrum :)

JT: What makes Scrum your favored method (I assume) compared to others you have tried? How different is it? (use analogy when possible)

BV: Who said it was my favored method? I sometimes joke that I train Scrum because Extreme Programming is too hard for people to learn, so Scrum is a good starting point. There is some truth in that, though I like the focus of Scrum on the concepts of inspecting and adapting and self-management. That isn't so explicit in extreme programming. But the engineering excellence of Extreme Programming is good, I like that part of XP.In the past I've done RAD, RUP, Waterfall and been involved with CMM(i) (though that is not a method).

RAD was transformed into DSDM and is an "agile method." I've lost most of my interest in the other methods as there are some basic assumptions about the nature of software that are different. For now, my main interest is modern engineering practices and self-organizing, self-managing teams. I don't care too much about what 'method' to use, but Scrum and XP happen to embrace these concepts.

JT: When can a company or project manager say that "I think I need to learn Scrum"?

BV: Whenever they want, of course ;) I'd say that anyone who wants to stay up-to-date with modern development practices would need to at least learn about Scrum or XP. Their impact on the software development industry has been huge. It is not that visible in Asia yet, but I don't think there is any larger company is Europe/US that has not implemented or is looking at Scrum/XP.

JT: Are there Scrum rules that matter the most? What are they and why?

BV: I'd prefer not prioritizing rules of a development system :) Conceptually Scrum is based on self-managing, self-organizing teams who work in short-cycles and focus on a working product. By working in short-cycles they will be able to inspect-adapt their product and process. The effect on that on the product is that the organization will be able to react quicker to customers need, the effect it has on the process is that the team will own their own process and are able to continuously improve it due to the faster feedback of the short-cycles.

All of these together form a simple system in which all concepts are equally important. The most important is that people understand these concepts, try them out and think about them and adjust the development to fit their context, technology, culture or team.

JT: Some folks say that the Certified SCRUM course, being two days, tends to give the wrong impression to some in terms of expectations (also being referred to as certified). What is your opinion on that?

BV: I care that people learn something useful in a 2 day course which they can apply in their work and life which will make their work a better place to life. I don't care how that would be called.

JT: They say you can't implement Scrum if you don't practice Agile. What is your opinion on that?

BV: I'm not sure what this question means. Scrum is an Agile method, so therefore if you apply Scrum and follow the principles/practices of the Agile Manifesto, then you can say that you "practice Agile." Not sure what practice agile before implementing Scrum would mean :)

JT: How can an organization transition to a Scrum process or style of development management?

BV: Well, they would first need to learn about Scrum and get a common understanding of what they are trying to do. Then sit down with the team and discuss about how to try out or transition to Scrum. Every organization will do this differently, I cannot give you a seven-step process for rolling out Scrum.

At least, I always recommend organizations to get coaching help especially related to technical practices and to make sure everyone has a clear understanding of Scrum and its difference with traditional development.

JT: What are the benefits that companies can gain for practicing SCRUM?

BV: As mentioned above, working in short-cycles where the people doing the work own the process leads to being able to respond easier and quicker to changes and to continuously improve your development practices. Scrum provides transparency within your organization which, if acted on, can lead to huge improvements.Personally, I just think that work becomes nicer as people have more control over their own work. A friend of mine and a long-time team member of a Scrum Team in a large organization told me the following: "Before, I would be asked to do things, I'd do them and wouldn't know why. Now I don't do them anymore and instead focus on the things that are important for the product"

(CodeLean to Hold 2nd ScrumMaster Certification Course in Makati

Encoraged by the success of the first-ever ScrumMaster Certification Course in the country, CodeLean, Inc. once again brings Dutch Agile expert Bas Vodde to Manila to head a two-day course on Scrum on February 3 to 4, 2009 at Diamond Hotel, Manila. Scrum is an Agile methodology that deals with how projects are organized and planned.

The Certified ScrumMaster course covers the what, how, and whys of the Scrum framework for product development—from theory to practice. Structured around stories and discussions, the course is for IT professionals who want a deep understanding of Scrum: team members, Product Owners, Scrum Masters and other stakeholders. The first phase of the course covers the concepts of Scrum: background, overview, roles, empirical process control, and the key differences between Scrum and other ways of developing new products. The second phase reveals the practical side: making a backlog, planning, estimating, scaling, initiating a daily Scrum, and more. At the end of the course, participants will have concrete knowledge on how to implement Scrum and an understanding of why it is done that way.

Attendees who complete the course will receive an official certificate labeling them as Certified Scrum Masters (CSMs), and will be listed on the CSM registry of the Scrum Alliance, an organization of internationally recognized Scrum experts.

Facilitating the course is Bas Vodde, who currently works for Odd-e, a Singapore-based consulting company that trains Asian professionals in Agile and Lean development. He is also coauthor of "Scaling Agile and Lean Development: Thinking and Organizational Tools for Large-Scale Scrum" and "Practices for Large-Scale Agile and Lean Development."

Agile software development continues to gain many adherents in most developed countries. Agile methods improve the ability of IT companies to respond quickly to market and customer needs, cut down on inefficiency, and result in more productive and happier employees.
For inquiries and reservations, email info@codelean.com or call 8920419.)

Chikka: CMMI Level 5 Philippines Story

2009-05-01T18:51:00.005+08:00

In the Philippines, there are few software development outsourcing, industry, and information technology companies that have embraced CMMI or Capability Maturity Model Integrated - a process improvement approach.

One of the few is Chikka - the first mobile applications developer in the world to become recognized as a CMMI Level 5 organization.

I'm very glad that Chito Bustamante, CEO of Chikka, granted this interview and share to blog readers their CMMI story. For a long time as chief operating officer (since 2002), Chito has stayed on top of both engineering and product development departments, the heart and soul of Chikka. He has led Chikka thru its ISO and CMMI Maturity Level 5 certifications, giving "a method to the madness" or the frenzy that characterized product development, marketing, quality assurance at Chikka, and making sure it could sustain the same even as the company pursues an aggressive international roll-out.

Janette: When did Chikka started with its CMMI journey? What prompted the company to pursue it?
Chito: Chikka launched its first services (Chikka Text Messenger, Bidshot online auctions and Crushcow Mobile Matchmaking) in 2001. In 2002, the company began pushing a frenetic product development program that saw the company experimenting, designing, developing and launching various services that sought to “mobile-enable” every conceivable aspect of life in these parts. A prolific line of mobile messaging-based products ensued including:

mobile corporate promos
a text to email solution that was a veritable “poor man’s blackberry” at the time
mobile versions of Internet Relay Chat
text hotlines
various games and polls
a Catholic mobile portal with the blessings of the Church.

By 2003, Chikka had completely diversified into the content (SMS, MMS, Ringtones and logos), corporate solutions, and communications businesses. It was also already experimenting with m-commerce. Furthermore, the company started fixing its eyes on an international rollout for any and all its services.

This is the complete backdrop for the Chikka’s quest for the highest certification standards. Beginning with the ISO standards for Quality Management, Security, and Technology Management which it hurdled and validated from 2002-2004. But already eyeing CMMI Maturity Level 5 for which it finally opened itself to actual audit in 2005.

In sum, what prompted the Chikka to benchmark its processes with the highest standards especially CMMI was:

“the Pace and the Space” – much of what we were doing was groundbreaking and highly competitive globally (there was a race on virtually every front, to “mobile enable” virtually everything, not just IM). Before ISO and CMMI, we felt that there was a strain in product development and software development with too much going back and forth especially between these two departments and so much competition, internally, for resources. We believed that the process standards would provide “a method to the madness.”
“Manila as Global HQ” – by 2005 with one or more services live in over 10 countries and tens of network operators, this is what Chikka had become, a global hub for mobile applications development, and a Global Headquarters providing support and direction to various country operations. We believed that CMMI especially would help us support this expansion which was proceeding as rapidly as product development itself.
“Opening Doors” - CMMI was a standard recognized worldwide. It would help open doors and gain the immediate recognition of potential business partners around the world. Like speaking the same language.

Janette: How long did Chikka went through the process?

Chito: Chikka didn’t take that long to adopt the CMMI standards since prior to CMMI, Chikka was already ISO 9001; 27000; 21000 certified. All these standards contributed to the easy adoption of the CMMI requirements. The work that needed to be done was on the calibration of semantics and the adoption of other policies deemed necessary for the level 4 and 5 processes.

Jantte: What went well in the process? What were the challenging parts?

Chito: What went very well was that people embraced it, and we mean everyone down the line, understood the need and the importance nay, the urgency of getting certified, and what it meant for ones own work, and the business side of things, making less mistakes, and recovering quickly if there are any, being very efficient - even as we remained tenacious in seizing opportunities.

It was going to allow us to be more tenacious – which is the original culture of Chikka that we wanted to preserve -- tenacity and resourcefulness -- the loose translations for the value and culture everyone in Chikka embraced and simply called – diskarte. And Chikka wanted to continue winning.

The challenging part has always been there and that is to stick to the discipline. A certification is never a guarantee. Everything was still up to management --- how we would use the tools that have been learned and that we keep validating.

The challenge was further to blend CMMI with the culture for that would have meant to us, perfection. Having the rigid and rigorous disciplines of documentation, along with the culture of speed, and tenacity, and winning.

Janette: When did Chikka got its CMMI level 5 confirmation?

Chito: In February 2006, Chikka hurdled the assessment, becoming the first mobile applications developer in the world to become a CMMI Maturity Level 5 organization.

Janette: What does being CMMI level 5 mean to Chikka? How about to its software engineering process group (SEPG) members?

Chito: For Chikka, being a CMMI Level 5 organization means that our operations are conducted to the highest level of IT standards. As an IT organization, this means that we raised the bar for competition in our space. We have literally lived the promise of CMMI for efficiency and productivity.

As for SEPG members, this presents a new exciting horizon for them --- a chance to make a difference in the organization, being in-charge of facilitating new and exciting changes that will help better the organization.

Janette: How is Chikka adjusting to the new policies being done in conjunction with CMMI that now requires regular audit?

Chito: Well, we acquired the services of a consultant; who was previously Head of our QA team. He maintains liaison for Chikka’s change requirements --- from the adoption of the new policies, to training new personnel.

Janette: What advice can Chito give to entities who are considering to invest in CMMI? (in terms of target budget on hand, sepg team, transition to new processes, the audit process, and maintenance)

Chito: Large or small, a company would like to pursue CMMI for all the advantages it would give in terms of business development and marketing but most importantly to be able to rest on correct analysis, as the basis for decision making, and ultimately action and execution. This is true more so in highly volatile industry and business environments, such that we all face now. You know, those things can make or break a company.

And should one decide to pursue, to get the commitment of the entire company, to aspire for and then to embrace CMMI as intrinsic to ones culture.

Invest, believe, but don’t expect miracles. CMMI is a long term improvement process. Benefits are gradually felt as you embed its policies in the organization’s culture.

Get help. Getting a consultant helped us and reduced our cycle time in understanding the changes on the new policies. Be vigilant on the audits. Ensure that things are set into the open, not kept in the dark. Real change can only happen when there is acceptance. And lastly, become the change.

(If you like to share your company's CMMI story, just contact Janette.)

Software Process Improvement Workshop Series

2009-05-01T07:45:00.000+08:00

All DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN members are invited to attend the Software Process Improvement Competency Development Workshop this May 6 to 8, 2009 at the AIM Acceed Conference Center, Benavidez St. corner Paseo de Roxas, Makati City.

DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN members can send one representative on one of the trainings mentioned above. Please confirm for food count purposes.

Non-members can also join this training through Posh Marketing Services and avail of our 1+1 promotion.

Software Process Improvement Competency Development Workshop

Day 1

Introduction to Software Process Improvement
The CMMI Framework - Level 2
Requirements Management
Project Planning
Project Monitoring and Control
Supplier Agreement Management
Configuration Management
Creating a Software Process Improvement Strategic Plan

Day 2

Process and Product Quality Assurance
Measurement and Analysis
Introduction to CMMI Level 3
Requirements Development
Technical Solution
Product Integration
Verification
Validation

Day 3

Decision Analysis and Resolution
Integrated Project Management
Integrated Supplier Management
Risk Management - Organizational Process Focus
Organizational Process Definition
Organizational Training
Presentation of Software Process Improvement Strategic Plan

We added a Competency Development component. The Competency Development Exercise is meant to assist participants in drafting the list of skills needed to be acquired in order for each process area to be developed in the organization. It can also be used in the future in assessing skills needed by one personnel to be able to competently perform a process area and in determining their capability as well.

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN member prior to the training date and confirm attendance for food count purposes.

Getting into the web hosting business

2009-04-05T16:54:00.003+08:00

Eversince I started DigitalFilipino, a question often received is if we develop websites and into web hosting business. Default answer would always be a "No, but I can refer you to others." However, as I find myself gradually investing into domain names, create blogs, helping companies start a blog, among others, having a web hosting server that can service unlimited domain names is fast becoming an attractive option. Eventually subscribed two weeks ago from a corporate club member and will start attending to it soon.

Being in the search engine marketing and optimization business, having multiple web host accounts, not limited to one country provider, is critical especially for those whose clients are global in nature. This also saves you from the situation where if the web host is down, all of your sites (especially if they are by the hundred) are down too.

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I realized that this is now easy to do as there are cheap webhost review sites today, like Web Hosting Bluebook, that can help any newbie webmaster decide to pick the right one that suits their budget and be confident as the entities are recommended by others.

The top 10 web hosting sites offers great deals like free domain name and monthly hosting fees as low as US$3.95. I like also the trust factor where details about the web hosting provider is given such as the year they started in business, uptime rating, total customers, etc.

Readers can also suggest other providers and complain about the ones listed through the forums.

The web hosting business is still very much promising. For as long as companies believe they need to have a website and individuals recognize the importance of having their own presence, the demand for it will continuously increase.

What will separate one service provider over another is the trust and reputation they are able to establish.

Agile expert Bas Vodde to teach Scrum in Manila

2009-03-20T18:00:00.006+08:00

Bas Vodde co-author of the book "Scaling Agile and Lean Development: Thinking and Organizational Tools for Large-Scale Scrum" and of "Practices for Large-Scale Agile and Lean Development" will be in Manila this April 14 and 15 to conduct the 1st Scrum Master Certification Course, organized by CodeLean Inc. and Agile Philippines.

Bas works for a small consulting company based in Singapore called Odd-e specializing in training and coaching related to Agile and Lean development in Asia. For several years he led the agile and Scrum enterprise-wide adoption initiative at Nokia Networks. He is also known as one of the authors of "CppUTest" unit test framework for C/C++.

Attendees who complete the course will receive an official certificate labeling them as Certified ScrumMasters (CSMs), and will be listed on the CSM registry of the Scrum Alliance, an organization of internationally recognized Scrum experts. The course will be conducted in the Boardroom of the Dusit Hotel in Makati City.

The Certified Scrum Master course covers the what, how, and whys of the Scrum framework for product development—from theory to practice. Structured around stories and discussions, the course is for anyone who wants a deep understanding of Scrum: team members, product owners, Scrum Masters and other stakeholders. The first part covers the concepts of Scrum: background, overview, roles, empirical process control, and the key differences between Scrum and other ways of developing new products. The second part covers the practical side: making a backlog, planning, estimating, scaling, initiating a daily Scrum, and more. At the end of the course, participants will have concrete knowledge on how to implement Scrum and an understanding of why it is done that way.

200 Million to Boost the E-Services Sector

2009-03-08T13:49:00.002+08:00

One of the announcements made by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during the E-Services Philippines 2009 event last February 9 & 10 at SMX Convention Center was the 200 million assistance by the government to help the growing e-services sector.

There are varying opinions on how this 200 million be better spent. Lauro Vives, CEO of XMG believes that this is better used to boost the quality of manpower resource in the country.

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Bayantel Managing Director Tunde Fafunwa believes this should be used to promote the Philippines and bring potential investors in the country.

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How about you? What do you think?

Legazpi City as Web Development & SEO Outsourcing Hub

2009-02-13T10:37:00.010+08:00

I was in Legazpi City last February 6 and 7 for the Search Engine Marketing Conference Bicol event. After the event, we visited several places and one of them is Embarcadero IT Park being developed by Embarcadero Land Ventures Inc. (ELV). This is a spot intended to become an information technology and modern trading hub in a sea front environment (Legazpi Port Area).

The IT park is part of the 15,477 square meter Embarcadero de Legazpi. It is already recognized by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) as an Economic Tourism Zone with IT component. It aims to host an estimated 8,000 seat call center on its 1st building.

Australian company BN Group Property Ltd. is the masterplanner of the project. It is conceptualized from the Fisherman's Wharf in California and Sydney Marina in Sydney Australia.

During the E-Services Philippines event, I also got the chance to catch up with Albay ICT Association president and Legazpi City ICT Council chairperson Rosemarie Quinto-Rey who also desires for the city to be known as a major outsourcing center for web development and search engine optimization projects. Companies such as Content Online Services Inc. and SLTCFI Business Solutions specializes in this area.

More information:

Embarcadero IT Park
Manila Office
+632-6373357
+632-6347790

Contact person:
Randolph Zuniga
Chief Operating Officer
318 Defedbac Building, Penaranda, Bonot, Legazpi City
+6352-480-7000

ALBAY ICT ASSOCIATION (AICTA), Inc.
Contact Person:
Ms. Rosemarie Quinto-Rey
President
Contact:
(052) 480-8939 / (052) 435-4770

Philippines transaction volume in oDesk reaches US$50,000 weekly in 2009

2009-01-21T04:39:00.006+08:00

oDesk just released over the weekend its report showing the Philippines and Pakistan topping the value for money survey. The site also launched its Philippines oConomy page that shares data on the pricing, services, hours worked rendered by freelancers in oDesk. oDesk is a marketplace for outsourcing services buyers and providers.

More than 10,000 work hours are rendered by Filipino freelancers per week reaching transaction volume of almost fifty thousand dollars charges (US$50,000). There are more than 17,000 Filipino service providers registered in oDesk to date.

WorkPerformedOn	Hours
12-31-2006	$3,874.06
01-07-2007	$4,545.07
01-14-2007	$4,832.27
01-21-2007	$5,321.37
01-28-2007	$3,568.01
02-04-2007	$4,594.22
02-11-2007	$4,612.06
02-18-2007	$5,525.30
02-25-2007	$5,651.27
03-04-2007	$3,680.10
03-11-2007	$3,881.72
03-18-2007	$3,315.72
03-25-2007	$5,253.20
04-01-2007	$4,726.77
04-08-2007	$5,549.89
04-15-2007	$6,355.90
04-22-2007	$6,177.47
04-29-2007	$5,472.63
05-06-2007	$5,980.95
05-13-2007	$6,702.97
05-20-2007	$6,335.83
05-27-2007	$7,458.24
06-03-2007	$6,792.93
06-10-2007	$7,353.37
06-17-2007	$7,988.66
06-24-2007	$8,069.14
07-01-2007	$7,732.15
07-08-2007	$9,257.27
07-15-2007	$8,089.33
07-22-2007	$9,375.35
07-29-2007	$10,365.91
08-05-2007	$9,729.77
08-12-2007	$7,889.39
08-19-2007	$9,233.08
08-26-2007	$10,597.59
09-02-2007	$7,906.68
09-09-2007	$6,702.20
09-16-2007	$10,349.25
09-23-2007	$10,638.54
09-30-2007	$11,146.94
10-07-2007	$10,915.78
10-14-2007	$10,149.00
10-21-2007	$11,653.36
10-28-2007	$11,014.42
11-04-2007	$11,311.71
11-11-2007	$13,982.61
11-18-2007	$13,908.95
11-25-2007	$12,087.07
12-02-2007	$13,556.29
12-09-2007	$12,331.53
12-16-2007	$10,617.82
12-23-2007	$8,385.48
12-30-2007	$12,514.58
01-06-2008	$13,627.94
01-13-2008	$12,609.32
01-20-2008	$14,716.96
01-27-2008	$13,361.80
02-03-2008	$15,039.30
02-10-2008	$16,153.11
02-17-2008	$15,692.27
02-24-2008	$14,888.62
03-02-2008	$15,040.47
03-09-2008	$16,953.67
03-16-2008	$16,777.57
03-23-2008	$18,908.40
03-30-2008	$19,169.05
04-06-2008	$21,467.23
04-13-2008	$22,004.16
04-20-2008	$20,816.74
04-27-2008	$21,692.89
05-04-2008	$26,078.47
05-11-2008	$23,725.89
05-18-2008	$26,897.53
05-25-2008	$26,679.93
06-01-2008	$29,235.06
06-08-2008	$29,320.11
06-15-2008	$30,963.88
06-22-2008	$30,760.29
06-29-2008	$30,631.00
07-06-2008	$33,255.84
07-13-2008	$35,164.94
07-20-2008	$37,631.48
07-27-2008	$38,844.41
08-03-2008	$41,209.12
08-10-2008	$40,010.36
08-17-2008	$40,028.74
08-24-2008	$41,317.20
08-31-2008	$40,859.78
09-07-2008	$42,074.32
09-14-2008	$44,500.80
09-21-2008	$42,918.35
09-28-2008	$47,857.51
10-05-2008	$48,021.90
10-12-2008	$49,027.49
10-19-2008	$48,030.80
10-26-2008	$48,781.15
11-02-2008	$51,017.71
11-09-2008	$51,393.19
11-16-2008	$52,452.87
11-23-2008	$46,771.24
11-30-2008	$47,516.78
12-07-2008	$52,669.59
12-14-2008	$50,628.27
12-21-2008	$35,724.05
12-28-2008	$37,178.80
01-04-2009	$53,978.45
01-11-2009	$45,862.09

Services like data entry, programming, writing, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, among others are some of the offerings by Filipino freelancers in oDesk.

Outsourcing Article Re-write

2008-12-31T10:07:00.004+08:00

I often receive offers to do article writing and find myself too tied up to accept them. However, I began meeting young people who are potential creative writers and decided to refer one opportunity yesterday, to a talented 18 year old, that more or less pays US$400 per month. She was very happy about it and even linked Busby SEO Test.

After that, I realized that outsourcing is changing indeed. One doesn't have to be a matured professional to accept work. In fact, the young and talented are an interesting resource to tap for the amount of pay is almost secondary to them. Although still, that amount if converted to pesos, is way above minimum wage. Their first intention in accepting projects is to get experience. Next, since they are still dependent (living with parents), the amount they earn is more for them to spend on things they like.

For the matured ones, I guess this also meant that we have to be really competitive with our offerings and be flexible with our rates as the market is becoming wiser and even practical.

See you at E-Services Philippines 2009!

2008-12-30T14:33:00.006+08:00

I am excited as DigitalFilipino.com will be having a booth at the 9th e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition on February 09-10, 2009 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City.
The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) is organizing this event.

Folks are encourage to visit the exhibit for free. Just register to attend the exhibit.

The full conference program is also posted online where visitors can register as a delegate.

E-Services Philippines is also one event where companies converge to launch their outsourcing services. Exhibiting in this event is an investment that is worthwhile for any entity into outsourcing. You can also check out past exhibitors.

Another event highlight as well is the E-Services Awards 2009. Good to all the nominees! (I'm one of the recipients for 2008.)

There are two to three things that I would like to be able to showcase in this event that includes:

Launch of our international virtual assistants network.
Philippine-based blog advertising network.
International blog marketing network.
Launch of 2 to 3 books. (yes, I'm dreaming)

Once the above three have gone in full form, I'll post more details here. See you there!

P.S. Glad that the Busby SEO Test competition will be over by that time. I hope we will have great news by then.

Outsourcing Website Requirements

2008-12-22T14:25:00.003+08:00

When a company decides to create a website, it must look into a lot of factors in order to increase its chances of success. Working with a web design company that has in-depth expertise is important especially if high return is desired.

Using Diggy, an Australian Web Design Company as a reference, here are some aspects you need to explore when checking your outsourcing vendor capabilities:

Website Design
It must reflect the identity, goals, culture, and vision of the company.
Database development
Can they generate the database you need?
Web applications
Do they have ready-made application (or 3rd party) such as customizable image gallery, file management system, membership based website, forums or bulletin boards, blog platform, newsletter system, among others.

Another area you also need to look at is their ability to promote your website should they offer you Internet Marketing services. Some services that fall into this category are:

Search engine optimization
This involves optimizing your website, developing high-quality content, and make the necessary link building task to ensure that your site rank on keywords that can generate revenue or traffic for your website.
Pay-per-click advertising
This is where advertising placements in ad networks like Google is performed and manage in your behalf. This is ideal when you don't have the time and expertise to do this on your own.
E-mail campaign
Scope of work in this area includes creating opt-in pages, developing the campaign content proper, and monitoring its effectiveness.

It is interesting to see how the web design and development business has evolved through the years. The above services are now offered as well by individuals and entities. There are simply a lot of competitive options now for the customer.

Philippines – challenging as a new offshore location

2008-08-22T07:49:00.007+08:00

Ovum analyst David Mitchell just released their view on this subject.

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The Philippines is trying to position itself as the next major global outsourcing destination, in competition with the major outsourcing powers of India and China. Despite a number of different initiatives that have been announced recently there are still major challenges to be faced.

There needs to be major investment in the education system in the Philippines, to deal with the anticipated skills shortfall.

The Philippines has set out major ambitions in the global outsourcing industry, aiming to have annual revenues of $12–13 billion by 2010, according to presentations this week by the CEO of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines – Oscar Sanez. As part of that growth the industry will need to find an estimated 420,000 additional workers, to serve the anticipated growth of contracts.

Of course, there will be expansion of the basic call centre operations that do not have high skill requirements. However, there are also ambitions to grow medical and legal transcription services, engineering services and other higher-value outsourcing tasks. For all of the outsourcing activities there are skill requirements for language, IT, management and customer service – and the various elements of the Philippine education system need to respond positively here. However, the more specialist skills, and the sheer number of different specialist skills that will be needed, are likely to be more difficult to produce without significant support and investment from government in secondary, tertiary and vocational education.

This support will be much more readily provided if the proposed Department on Information and Communication Technology (DICT) in the Philippines is created, with a remit to increase the level of effectiveness of policy development in the country – as has been suggested recently.

Smaller economies in emerging markets need to have focus, and avoid competing with larger economies on cost alone

If DICT is created it should rally the ICT economy around a maximum of four capability areas, aiming to create high-value businesses rather than commodity outsourcing capabilities. The reason for the exhortation that the Philippines needs to focus is two-fold. Firstly, the country is not large enough to compete against India and China on the basis of scale, and so the country needs carefully to select its battles. Secondly, focus brings the ability to charge premium rates, for skills that are rarer. This means the Philippines can avoid being dragged into a low-wage, low-investment spiral.

To date one focus area in the Philippines has been the development of software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses, including companies such as Morph Labs. A further hotspot of SaaS activity is developing at one of the technology parks in the Philippines.

Open source is set to be another area of focus. A new technology park, located at the University of the Philippines, is due to open in December and will focus on developing businesses around open source. However, the key will be to ensure that the open source businesses that are created develop high-value assets, rather than developing as low-value services businesses. This needs to happen to ensure that the Philippine businesses have a greater ability to scale; something that will be crucial, given the labour shortfall that was highlighted above. Working on open source software, hardware and peripherals is all part of the initial open source plan for the latest technology park. Again there are local roots to the open source activity, just as there were for SaaS. Here the creation of an open source electronic health record application (released in beta in May this year) is a good example.

The planned creation of two additional technology parks in the next year or two creates further opportunity to extend the areas of focus. However, there is a danger that too many areas of focus emerge in the Philippine ICT economy, meaning that it will become difficult to gain the depth of skills required to develop globally competitive business that can sustain premium rates – as opposed to the low-rate economy associated with much outsourcing and BPO activity.

---------------------------------------------

My thoughts:

My problem is that I've been in the industry long enough to hear various insights on this subject matter. The concerns and opinions mentioned here particularly on improving the skill set started to sound like a broken record. I wish reports will highlight headways made in this area on various competing economies in the field of outsourcing.

Whether the creation of a DICT will contribute to better policies is a desire the office has and one of the means to justify its creation. I believe that it can already do much in its present capacity. Furthermore, it should get its act together first in providing better transparency in their handling of the multi-billion E-Government Fund.

I find it unfair that the analysis did not recognize the amount of effort exerted by government agencies, like the Board of Investments and Department of Trade and Industry, to help bring the sector where it is today.

USD4.1 bilion - Philippines Outsourcing Market 2007

2008-06-02T13:08:00.000+08:00

XMG was referred in this article estimating that the Philippines outsourcing market reached USD 4.1 billion and 1.4% of the global market share.

This makes me wonder if the target of 10 billion USD Philippine outsourcing market and 10% market share in 2010 can be achieved. What do you think?

Avatrian to expand Cebu operations

2008-03-10T21:12:00.001+08:00

A lot of exciting developments are happening in Cebu that you can hardly find elsewhere. This is partly attributed also to people who have experienced living in this part of the Philippines and decided to continue investing there.

One of them is Dennis Bacsafra, CEO and founder of Avatrian, LLC. He came up with the idea of a full-service metaverse development shop and formed Avatrian officially last October 2006 in the city of Emeryville.

The California office functions as the official headquarters and the hub for marketing and promoting the products and services of Avatrian. Design decisions originate from its California office as well.

Almost immediately after inception, Dennis thought of opening an operations base in the city of Cebu. "Content creation in Second Life and providing consulting services in the metaverse requires a range of skill sets such as communications, technical, and creative. Having lived there for several months in 2005, I know from direct experience that Cebu has a strong pool of talented individuals who are more than able to be competitive in the global market. This important factor, along with the incredible location and obvious cost savings, left no question in my mind to base the operations in the city of Cebu."

Avatrian’s Cebu office handles the bulk of the development and production for internal Avatrian projects as well as client work. Internal projects include the development of their website, the creation and of the company's presence in Second Life, graphic design for promotions, management of the company databases, organization of shared files as well as the accounting and human resources. Client work includes the content creation for Second Life, contracted projects, and customizations.

Like any company that runs a company in more than one country, there are challenges in running an offshore office in Cebu but Dennis tries to work around it. "The challenges I encounter are common across businesses that operate in multiple locations and time zones. For example, our schedules do not sync up sometimes. And, although there are several hours of the day that our work overlaps, we cannot all attend the same events on occasions. For more important events, we just make it a point to plan ahead of time and make notes on our calendars."

Avatrian currently has a total of 8 people in the team and revenues are modest according to Dennis. "Being a relatively new company, a big portion of our expenses for 2007 and 2008 went to the allocation of start up costs. However, we are meeting our financial targets and revenues are increasing at a regular pace."

In terms of service providers, Dennis considers Avatrian as a mid-sized company. "The large sized outfits are few and far between. Electric Sheep, Millions of Us, Anshe Chung Studios, and River Runs Red, for example, are the only ones who have over 30 or more employees. Other service providers have a staff of 10 or more but primarily contract their work on an as-needed basis. Then, on the other side of the spectrum, there are independent builders who work by themselves and offer their services freelance. So, Avatrian sits comfortably in the middle of this variation."

With few Filipinos playing in Virtual Worlds, that still is not a hindrance to make us competitive in doing work in this field according to Dennis.

"It is hard to get definitive statistics on the number of residents in Second Life and virtual worlds per country. And, it is true that the use of the most common virtual world platforms is still limited in the Philippines. However, the same can be said for many other countries in Asia. With the exception of Japan, many Asian countries still have to do a bit of catch up in terms of participation in the virtual world and economy."

"I think the high level of literacy, the English language proficiency, and our ability to integrate new technology into our lives make it possible and even advantageous for Filipinos to engage in businesses involving virtual worlds. There are already Filipinos in Second Life who are running successful companies in SL. Casa Del Shai by Shai Delacroix and HodgePodge by Isadora Fiddlesticks, for example, have garnered brand name recognition for their work in SL."

This year, Dennis shared that Avatrian Cebu is expanding its staff. "We are participating in local job fairs to meet and hopefully recruit new graduates who are a good fit for the company. In addition, we are looking for a permanent space in terms of our office. We are spending time researching locations that will be comfortable and at the same time, will give us room to grow for the near future. In regards to our projects, Avatrian Cebu is concentrating on in-world events and researching other avenues for promotion in Second Life. Then, the company is branching out our operations to other metaverses. However, we are still keeping our primary focus in the Second Life platform. Finally, Avatrian Cebu is going to design and redevelop the look, feel, and interactivity of our simulator in Second Life - Avatrian Central. It is a bit on the ambitious side. But we are hoping to accomplish all of these within 2008. "

Despite the modes success Avatrian has achieved, Dennis does not necessarily want to encourage everyone to start a business in the virtual world and Second Life. "Instead, I would advise not to look at it as a get-rich-quick scheme. It is important to know that, like any other real world business, it is not easy. But, if you have the passion for it, feel that there is a niche that you can fulfill and you see a demand that is not currently provided to the market, then those are very good foundations for beginning a virtual enterprise."

Morph Labs launches Software as a Service platform

2008-03-07T12:10:00.001+08:00

Through a social network, I got the chance to meet Macel Legaspi, marketing manager, of Cebu-based Morph Labs. This Web 2.0 technology company is into providing tools, platform, and applications to support Software as a Service (SaaS) globally through Morph eXchange.

Morph eXchange is planned to be launched on the second quarter of 2008. As an international service offering, it is intended to become a one-stop shop marketplace for SaaS bringing both the demand and the supply side of the business.

Macel said, "We provide independent software vendors and entrepreneurs a complete end-to-end platform for the deployment, delivery, and management of web applications. The Morph Application Platform allows developers to simply focus on their job of building great software, while we handle the deployment, delivery, and ongoing management of their web applications. On the other hand, as the demand for SaaS-based business applications rides the high rise, Morph Labs plans to build simple enterprise applications to cater to growing demand. "

The first on-demand application that the company has built is a help and training application called Morph helpME. (finalist in the recent e-Services Awards) We're looking to secure a SysTrust Assurance in the next few months.

Being new, the pricing for solutions found in the portal is still being finalized. Macel explained, "As a start, we are planning to offer a "pay as you grow" or "pay only for what you use" model for the Morph Application Platform. This extremely lowers the start-up costs for new developers or for those software businesses transitioning into the SaaS model."

The company's success is partly dependent on the maturity and readiness of the community to use and avail such a service. According to Macel, the company does its business similar to the concept of The Long Tail. "When we talk about activities, we focus on areas which can contribute greatly to building a base of customers and these are our grassroots efforts."

Software Requirements and Test Management Workshop

2008-03-06T07:14:00.000+08:00

All DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN members are invited to attend the forthcoming Software Requirements and Test Management Workshop this April 28, 29, and 30, 2008 at the CEO Suite, 37th Flr. LKG Tower 6801 Ayala Ave. 1226 Makati City.

DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN members can send one representative to this training. Please confirm for food count purposes.

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN member prior to April 27 and confirm attendance for food count purposes.

The training program shall be as follows:

Day 1

9:00 to 12:00

Introduction to Software Process Improvement
Introduction to Requirements Management
Requirements Gathering Interviewing Techniques
Requirements Questionnaire Development

1:00 to 5:00

Software Requirements Prioritization
Vision and Scope / Business Requirements Writing
Software Project Risk Analysis

Day 2

9:00 to 12:00

Presentation of Vision & Scope / Business Requirements / Traceability Matrix

1:00 to 5:00

Introduction to Software Testing
Test policy
Test plan development
Test plan workshop

Day 3

9:00 to 12:00

Test plan workshop
Test plan / traceability matrix presentation

1:00 to 5:00

Software Metrics and Analysis
Improve Software Process

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a DigitalFilipino.com PH-SPIN member prior to April 27 and confirm attendance for food count purposes.

Re-Evaluating Go to USA H1B Job Offers

2008-02-20T19:25:00.000+08:00

I got a chance to catch up with a friend lately, let us refer to him as Cary who shared a story on the downsides to signing up for H1B "go to the US" offers.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One of his ex-staff was poached by a firm in New Jersey last November and was begging to come back to work for them in Manila last January. Basically, here's what happened to his staff:

He was promised an $80k salary but on arrival found that this would only be paid if he was placed in a client.
Otherwise, on the bench, he had to survive on $20 a day.
Sharing a 2 bedroom apartment with 5 other Indians - in a dangerous, ghetto neighborhood.

In the end, he had to pay for his own flight back to Manila.

Cary is based in the U.S. now and believes that the average Filipino IT worker doesn't understand the deteriorating reality of surviving in the US on even $80k a year. Perhaps it would be useful for them to know major expenses such as healthcare.

Healthcare costs – a family of 4 with employer-provided health insurance can factor an annual spend of around $6,000 - $10,000 a year on basic healthcare needs due to (i) employee premium contributions (ii) co-pays and deductibles (iii) out-of-plan coverage and pre-existing conditions and (iv) insanely inflated medication costs.
WITHOUT health insurance (cost = $7k per year) – you are literally gambling with your life and/or your kid’s lives.
Education costs - Most middle class families send their kids to private education from 4yrs up at $10k a year – otherwise it's the public schools that has its own set of risks and challenges.

Countries that have transformed, from poor to rich, were partly assisted by growing a strong local IT industry. Can the same happen in the Philippines? Maybe yes if we can contain the overseas attrition issues.

If an IT professional can make 90k + in Manila, they’d be mad to go to the US. But who can pay that much?

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Perhaps in our desire to have better lives, the immediate option is to get out of the country with the least difficult route as possible. As a result, some Filipinos have taken on job offers without going through the normal due process.

Time and again, we've seen that majority of those who encountered problems are the ones who didn't go through proper process.

Winners: E-Services Awards 2008

2008-02-13T08:38:00.004+08:00

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Board of Investment (BOI), and Center for International Trade, Exhibitions, and Missions (CITEM) concluded its successful E-Services Philippines 2008 yesterday.

The event has served as a venue to promote the Philippines as a tier-one offshoring and outsourcing center. It generates opportunities for Philippines offshoring and outsourcing suppliers. Furthermore, generate investments and jobs.

The last event yesterday was the E-Services Awards whose intent is to communicate the world-class achievements of Philippine firms internationally, celebrate success, and creation champions to inspire others.

The winners for E-Services Awards 2008 are:

Animation and Game Development Sector

Category: Outstanding Client Application of the Year
Winner: Sun Life VUL e-Learning Program" by Media Farm, Inc.

Category: Outstanding Consumer Application of the Year
Winner: Tekkids Courseware by Tech Factors Incorporated

Back Office BPO Sector

Category: Most Progressive Homegrown Company of the Year
Winner: Transprocure Corporation

Contact Center Sector

Category: Most Progressive Homegrown Company of the Year
Winner: People Support (Phils) Corporation

Software Development and Maintenance Sector

Category: Outstanding Client Application of the Year
Winner: "ATM System Development for a major bank in Japan" by Advance World Systems

Category: Outstanding Consumer Application of the Year
Winner: "Ur HR Partner" by Navigation Systems, Inc.

Category: Most Progressive Homegrown Company of the Year
Winner: Pointwest Technologies Corporation

Category: Technology of the Year
Winner: "NEXT I.X. INF" by Next IX, Inc.

Transcription Sector

Category: Outstanding Consumer Application of the Year
Winner: "Online On-The-Job Simulation" by Total Transcription Solutions, Inc.

Category: Technology of the Year
Winner: "Electronic Medical Record" by EMR Global Corporation

e-Champion Awards 2008
This award recognizes personalities or organizations whose ideas, talent, and commitment have contributed significantly to Philippine ICT development and/or whose passion and dedication have helped raise the bar of excellence in the Philippines' e-Services industry.

An exclusive DTI special recognition, this award also aims to promote and propagate good practices and outstanding contributions and inspire others to replicate achievements of the awardees. Last year's awardees includes Senators Mar Roxas, Ramon Magsaysay Jr., former BPAP chair Bong Borja, and Mosaic Communications President Dr. William Torres.

A. Country Promotion Category
Winner: Ernest Cu, Vice President, SPi

B. Policy and Legal Category
Winner: Janette Toral (photos)

C. Business Development Category
Winner: Benedict Hernandez, Senior Vice President, e-Telecare Global Solutions

D. Software Development Category
Winner: Fermin Taruc, Managing Director, Gurango Software