Such projects correspond to adding a team with a flexible size to an existing team that you have at your company to complement the work force you have available on a project. The projects that are given are usually subsections of larger projects, not always perfectly defined.

Typically, these projects concern mostly:

- Low-level architecture and technical components; The offshore team is providing all technical services, your team concentrates on functional developments
- Reports, utilities, complex routines, etc. that are easy to define
- Subset of the functionality of the application, usually considered as easily separable from the main project, complementary modules
- Service and consulting company that need complementary resources for a large project or a project that is late

With such projects, the specifications are usually not very well formalized. It must merge with the existing workflow of your company. (If the specifications are well formalized, we are in the one-shot project situation.) The continuous exchanges with the two teams by email or chats are often the main base of project definition.

The risk comes from the fluidity of the communication between the two teams, the quality of the people in charge on both sides, and on the methodology in place to offer intermediary check points and detect the possible misunderstandings.

For such organizations, it is mandatory to have a core team that is stable in time. The personal cooperation of the two teams is key to the quality of the communication and understanding of projects. Visits to the offshore team or to your company are often an asset.

The contract should avoid fixed fees in favor of long-term partnerships. A core team should be permanently working with you, with flexible team size. Frequent visits should be organized and long-term stays are to be considered.