Project Retrospectives · Published April 28, 2026
Retrospective: Visibility Beats Promises in Outsourcing
The vendor said nearly done every week, until a week before delivery revealed half the work was missing.
We outsourced part of the frontend to a vendor. The contract set a delivery date and acceptance criteria but said nothing about process. A week before delivery we discovered the work was far behind and had to absorb it internally.
What went wrong
Progress came from verbal reports. No shared board and no weekly demo.
Acceptance criteria lived only in the contract, with no checkpoints along the way.
Communication scattered across chat groups, where changes were agreed verbally and never recorded.
What we require now
The vendor works on our task board, updating status daily and visible at any time.
A demo every two weeks with running features, not screenshots or progress notes.
Every change confirmed in writing, including impact assessment and schedule adjustment.
Outsourcing does not transfer responsibility; it requires defining collaboration. Transparent process makes outcomes controllable.
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