Glossary
The vocabulary, without the vagueness
Outsourcing terms defined as the industry actually uses them, including the models we do not sell, each with the practical thing a buyer should watch for.
80 of 80 terms
Acceptance criteria
The specific conditions that decide whether a deliverable is accepted.
Read the definition ›All-in rate
A single rate that already contains every cost the provider will charge.
Read the definition ›Asynchronous communication
Working through written messages that do not need an immediate reply.
Read the definition ›Attrition
The rate at which people leave, and take their context with them.
Read the definition ›Background check
Verifying identity, right to work, education and employment history.
Read the definition ›Bench
Staff a provider is paying for but has not placed.
Read the definition ›Blended rate
One averaged rate charged across a team of mixed seniority.
Read the definition ›Body shopping
Supplying headcount with little regard for fit.
Read the definition ›Build-operate-transfer
A partner builds and runs a team, then hands you the whole thing.
Read the definition ›Burn rate
How fast a project is consuming its budget against its progress.
Read the definition ›Capacity planning
Matching the work you expect to the people who can do it.
Read the definition ›Change request
The formal route for altering an agreed scope.
Read the definition ›Code review
Another engineer reading a change before it ships.
Read the definition ›Contractor misclassification
Treating someone as a contractor when the law would call them an employee.
Read the definition ›Core hours
The agreed window when everyone is online and reachable.
Read the definition ›Daily stand-up
A short daily sync on progress and blockers.
Read the definition ›Data processing agreement
The contract governing what a supplier may do with personal data.
Read the definition ›Data residency
Where your data physically sits, and which laws follow from that.
Read the definition ›Dedicated team
A team held exclusively for you, month to month.
Read the definition ›Definition of done
The written standard a piece of work has to meet before it counts.
Read the definition ›Discovery phase
A short paid piece of work to find out what the real project is.
Read the definition ›Employer of record (EOR)
A company that legally employs someone abroad on your behalf.
Read the definition ›English proficiency (CEFR)
A standard scale for describing working language ability.
Read the definition ›Escalation path
The named route for raising something that is not being resolved.
Read the definition ›Escrow (source code)
Depositing code with a third party so you can get it if the provider disappears.
Read the definition ›Far-shore
Outsourcing to a location six or more hours from your working day.
Read the definition ›Fixed price vs time and materials
Two ways to price work, suited to different certainty.
Read the definition ›Follow-the-sun
Passing work between time zones so it never stops.
Read the definition ›Full-time equivalent (FTE)
A unit of capacity equal to one person working a full week.
Read the definition ›Near-shore
Outsourcing to a nearby country with overlapping working hours.
Read the definition ›Nearshoring
Outsourcing to a country close enough to share your working day.
Read the definition ›Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)
The mutual promise not to repeat what each side learns.
Read the definition ›Notice period
How long you must keep paying after you decide to stop.
Read the definition ›Offshoring
Moving work to another country, whether nearby or far away.
Read the definition ›On-call rotation
A published schedule of who responds to incidents outside working hours.
Read the definition ›Onboarding ramp
The time before a new person is fully productive.
Read the definition ›Overlap hours
How much of your working day you share with the team.
Read the definition ›Ramp-down
Ending or shrinking an engagement in a planned way.
Read the definition ›Rate card
The provider's published prices by role and seniority.
Read the definition ›Remote-first
Designing the way you work for people who are not in the room.
Read the definition ›Retainer
A recurring fee that reserves capacity rather than buying a deliverable.
Read the definition ›Retrospective
A regular review of how the work went, not what was delivered.
Read the definition ›Runbook
Step-by-step instructions for operating and fixing a system.
Read the definition ›Service level agreement (SLA)
Measurable commitments about response, resolution or availability.
Read the definition ›Sprint
A fixed period of work ending in something you can look at.
Read the definition ›Staff augmentation
Adding external people to your own team, under your management.
Read the definition ›Statement of work (SOW)
The document that defines what is being delivered.
Read the definition ›Sub-processor
A supplier's own supplier that also touches your data.
Read the definition ›Subcontracting
Your provider passing part of the work to another company.
Read the definition ›Talent network
The pre-identified group of candidates a provider can draw on.
Read the definition ›Technical assessment
A structured test of whether someone can actually do the work.
Read the definition ›Ticket deflection
Preventing support contacts by answering the question before it is asked.
Read the definition ›Time-zone tax
The hidden cost of every question taking a day to answer.
Read the definition ›Total cost of ownership
Everything a hire or a project costs, not just the invoice.
Read the definition ›Trial period
An agreed window to confirm the fit before committing.
Read the definition ›Next step
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