Rating DRC Systems from India – Offshore Development
Under the heading of offshore development, we have compiled a rating of DRC Systems from India. Rating DRC Systems Ahmedabad and New York.
This review uses various evaluation criteria. Before we begin, the following question: Why use offshore programming?
Arguments for offshore programming?
Indian programmers are very competent? This was claimed some years ago. Disillusionment came with time.
Another point: Offshore programming is cheaper. Is that true? We would like to clarify this with our rating.
The candidate: DRC Systems from India, based in Ahmedabad, India. The company has an office in New York. In 2011, we placed an order.
Project Data for DRC Systems
- Project start: January 2011
- Planned completion: end of 2011 (7 months)
- Actual completion: No completion (March 2017)
- Project: Creation of a community website
The Management Team
The management team was very willing to take on the work. Communication was initially good. The project is then handed over to the project manager. Management subsequently shows no further interest.
Comment: Little interest in the project.
The Project Manager
Several project managers over 5 years. Basis for our requests: a list of all functions, over 180 pages. This list formed the basis for the work.
Project manager No. 1: Slow communication. Occasionally even just one email. After some time: project information overloaded. We were told to write directly to the programmers.
Project manager No. 2: A woman. She did very good work. The quality was much better. Unfortunately she moved to another company – and that after only a short time.
Project manager No. 3: A man. What did he do? I was probably not the only one asking that question. As a result: developers became my point of contact. My impression: the project manager had no idea about the project.
Comment: Poor.
The Development Team
Various programmers employed.
The first group immediately begins the project. The developers worked from images (images from the requirements list). No custom design was created. Work was done solely from the images in the requirements list. Descriptions of functions were not understood. Presumably the requirements list was not read. Even the project name was wrong.
The designs were implemented graphically 100%. Errors were also reproduced 100%. Complex CSS was used to create different image heights – completely unnecessary. Little independent work. Fewer than 10 self-initiated suggestions in 5 years. No effort to optimise the project. The collaboration is uninspiring.
Programming Quality and Error Checking
Highly detailed screenshots were provided. Simple functions had to be explained repeatedly. Not infrequently, four emails were needed for specific points.
Example: A list of 30 items is returned as completed. After review: 28 items not done. A second pass resolves more items. “Not understood” is a common response. A detailed description with drawings is required once again. Lists were sent back and forth multiple times until finally complete.
“Completed” often means “not understood”. Results are rarely or never checked. The project manager says it works. But on the test server, the function has an error.
The work often seems unstructured. Progress was overwritten multiple times. Then everything has to be checked again.
After approximately five years of working with Typo3, a developer’s advice: for this project, another framework would be better.
Again and again the promise:
- The work is completely done.
- Quality will be improved.
- Verification will be improved.
- Typo3 upgrade in a few months. In reality, approximately one year. Five developers worked on this.
None of this helped. The promise was not kept by DRC Systems. The developers were always friendly and helpful. That did not help.
Delivery Time
Contracted delivery time: 7 months. Over 5 years of work. The website remains unfinished as of 03/2017.
Rating: Not acceptable.
Contract Performance
- Not delivered to date.
- Penalty not paid.
- Refund of purchase price has not taken place.
Comment: Unreliable contractor.
Overall Rating
The rating paints a poor picture. No area was convincing. The website was not delivered. Damages were not paid. Management does not respond!
Comment: Development in India is cheaper than in Germany. The financial advantage cancels itself out. Quality and delivery time are not acceptable.
Two sentences: For developments in India, only pay when everything is ready. Check all functions in detail. Otherwise you risk losing your money. The legal system in India is different. Enforcing claims takes a long time. Contractual agreements are often not recognised. Offshore developers in India appear to know this. Always check the quality of work in detail!
Our rating of DRC Systems: Unfortunately very bad. Contract was not fulfilled. Compensation was not paid. Management ignored the matter.