An interesting report was published recently on IT outsourcing.  The report, titled IT Outsourcing Statistics 2009/2010, from Computer Economics Inc. is based on a survey of 200 companies in the USA and Canada.  It concluded that 33% of companies outsource some part of application development. Also of interest to everyone involved with ITSM will be that 23% of organisations outsourced their service desk.

Is there a best practice framework for outsourcing?

Yes, there are two!

• Outsourcing Professional Body of Knowledge (OPBOK) targeted principally at buyers of outsourcing
• Outsourcing Management Body of Knowledge (OMBOK) targeted principally at outsourcing suppliers.

However, both frameworks cover outsourcing in general and not exclusively IT outsourcing.

• OPBOK is owned by a professional membership organisation, The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP).
• OMBOK is owned by a not-for-profit trade organisation, the International Institute of Outsourcing Management (IIOM)

In this article I am going to look into both these organisations and their frameworks OPBOK and OMBOK.

What is the IAOP?
The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) founded in 2005 has as its tag-line “global standard-setting organization and advocate for the outsourcing profession” and states that its OPBOK framework is the only professional quality standard for outsourcing.

What is OPBOK?
OPBOK provides a set of best practices for the design, implementation and management of outsourcing contracts, including a code of ethics and business practices for outsourcing professionals.

OPBOK has been the hardest of the lesser-spotted frameworks to write about because of the lack of publicly accessible resources. OPBOK is only available to IAOP members and is securely controlled – I was unable to locate any of the OPBOK content from web searches - other than illegal downloads that I refused! An IAOP on-demand webinar (30 minutes, name and email address required) and a summary set of 77 webinar slides (exactly the same content but open access) are mainly about the COP professional certification scheme and only give an outline of the OPBOK structure:

• Section I: Purpose of OPBOK
• Section II: The Outsourcing Professional Context
• Section III: The Outsourcing Professional Knowledge Areas
• Appendices (six) including The Outsourcing Framework and Reference Guides and Checklists

OPBOK has nine knowledge areas and standards that can be found listed in the Implementing IT Governance textbook by Selig. These are principally areas that would interest buyers.

If OPBOK interests you, then you will have to join IAOP to obtain it, or request a free guest pass to an IAOP chapter when a suitable presentation is running. To get started as a buyer in outsourcing read the well received but inaccurately titled 2005 textbook The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Successful Outsourcing  – the foreword was written by IAOP’s chairman.

What is the IIOM?
The International Institute for Outsource Management (IIOM) was founded in 2007 and states that it is “dedicated to supporting the outsource community and the clients it serves”. It refers to itself as a “non-profit trade organisation under the control of a board of governors”.

What is OMBOK?
OMBOK Release 2.2 (January 2010) is a 102 page framework for professional outsourcing aimed at audiences of buyers as well as suppliers. It is freely downloadable from IIOM’s website without registration. The content has been developed – starting with release 1.0 in 2008 – by a group of 20 international specialists led by Jerry Durant, IIOM’s chairman and founder.

It consists of 11 management disciplines containing a total of 94 knowledge components.  The roles of buyer, supplier and specialists for each of the 11 management disciplines are shown in a RACI matrix.

A paragraph description is provided for each management discipline, but the 94 knowledge components are simply named and not further explained. Overall about 30 pages explain the framework. For those used to the detailed COBIT, ITIL and PRINCE2 documentation the content of OMBOK will seem rather brief.  However, the knowledge components do act as a list of detailed focus areas.

The remainder of OMBOK is an extremely extensive set of references to published resources and other bodies of knowledge (BOKs) – over 50 pages and around 1000 references, some hyperlinked for ease of use.  However, it is my view that most users of OMBOK will not have access to most of these resources and will probably not wish to study them either, for example the 120 references to academic work on cross-cultural issues. It is a pity that OMBOK does not include detailed descriptions of the knowledge components to make it of more direct practical use. There is a good glossary of outsourcing terminology.

Another resource – but not a BOK
Much guidance on outsourcing can also be found at the website of the Outsourcing Institute, another professional membership organisation that targets both buyers and suppliers.

© 2010 Geoff Harmer