Off-shore development projects are becoming increasingly popular as they enable businesses to work with a dedicated team of highly-skilled developers while cutting costs and saving time to focus on core business processes. However, if you are working with an off-shore development team, you need to know how to manage it so that everything stays on track.
Communication is the main part of managing and working with an offshore team. This post highlights the main points on how to manage and communicate effectively with your offshore team.
With proper management of your offshore team, you can ensure that the project stays on track and you get a product that meets your requirements. But you will be faced with a number of challenges, such as:
- Time-zone differences
- Cultural differences
- Language barriers
- Communication issues
- Adhering to deadlines
What Do You need to Do?
- Your goals should be clearly communicated to the off-shore team.
- Assigning an on-shore technical lead will help you manage your team better.
- Be clear about your expectations and the feature specifications you want in your product.
- Create a roadmap for software development, such as the overall architecture, and structure of the system.
- Conduct a test of the software module post development.
- Communicate a timeline so that the product is ready before the launch date.
- Always use effective communication channels, like messaging service on the platform you use for project management.
- Make sure your team understands your language. Also, you should try to learn more about their culture and evaluate how the cultural differences might affect communication and interpretation.
- Always Use the Right Project Management Software
You should use the right project management software because:
- It makes communication easy between the company and the off-shore team.
- Helps in keeping a track of the tasks related to the project.
- It will also ensure on-time delivery of the projects.
You can use the following project management software:
- MSPS
- Basecamp
- Team Foundation Server
- Atlassian
- Wrike
Things You Should Not Do
- Do not keep pressing them with deadlines all the time. Allow them the time and space to properly focus on their work.
- However, make sure you do not ignore them altogether.
- Do not run away from answering their queries. Always be available for clarifications.
- Do not reach out to them unless there is a delay in delivery, or there is a big update or change.
- Always be clear about the communication channels that you prefer to use primarily.
Have a look at the following infographic for a clearer understanding.
Off-shore development projects are becoming increasingly popular as they enable businesses to work with a dedicated team of highly-skilled developers while cutting costs and saving time to focus on core business processes. However, if you are working with an off-shore development team, you need to know how to manage it so that everything stays on track.
Communication is the main part of managing and working with an offshore team. This post highlights the main points on how to manage and communicate effectively with your offshore team.
With proper management of your offshore team, you can ensure that the project stays on track and you get a product that meets your requirements. But you will be faced with a number of challenges, such as:
- Time-zone differences
- Cultural differences
- Language barriers
- Communication issues
- Adhering to deadlines
What You Need to Do?
- Your goals should be clearly communicated to the off-shore team.
- Assigning an on-shore technical lead will help you manage your team better.
- Be clear about your expectations and the feature specifications you want in your product.
- Create a roadmap for software development, such the overall architecture and structure of the system.
- Conduct a test of the software module post development.
- Communicate a timeline so that the product is ready before the launch date.
- Always use effective communication channels, like messaging service on the platform you use for project management.
- Make sure your team understands your language. Also you should try to learn more about their culture and evaluate how the cultural differences might affect communication and interpretation.
- Always Use the Right Project Management Software
You should use the right project management software because:
- It makes communication easy between the company and the off-shore team.
- Helps in keeping a track of the tasks related to the project.
- It will also ensure on time delivery of the projects.
You can use the following project management software:
- MSPS
- Basecamp
- Team Foundation Server
- Atlassian
- Wrike
Things You Should Not Do
- Do not keep pressing them with deadlines all the time. Allow them the time and space to properly focus on their work.
- However, make sure you do not ignore them altogether.
- Do not run away from answering their queries. Always be available for clarifications.
- Do not reach out to them unless there is a delay in delivery, or there is a big update or change.
- Always be clear about the communication channels that you prefer to use primarily.
Have a look at the following infographic for a clearer understanding.
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