I've used outsourced and offshore developers quite a bit, spread over 5+ years. From this, I heartily recommend: * For projects of substantial time and comple

I've used outsourced and offshore developers quite a bit, spread over 5+ years. From this, I heartily recommend: * For projects of substantial time and complexity, pay by the hour. You might like to get a bid and a complete system on a fixed date from a supplier across the planet, but realistically you will probably be left disappointed. * Hire individuals, to work on your team, rather than hiring a firm/team. * Manage the project yourself, or at least hire someone nearby (with whom you have a close cultural match) to manage it. Outsourcing whole projects to an outside firm can work. My own firm supplies this service, with good results, and so do many others. But I've mostly see it fail when the outsource firm is around the world. That's a shame, because I've worked with quite a few really excellent developers who happen to be around the world.