How to manage offshore development teams effectively

Offshore software development has been a business trend in recent years. Besides the many benefits, including only paying for delivered services, not having to worry about seeking highly skilled professionals, or maintaining infrastructure costs, Companies are always looking for how to manage offshore development teams effectively.

Offshore development services are typically performed in Asia, where labor prices are much lower than in the receiving country, which helps optimize costs for businesses that hire offshore development teams. 

In most cases, managing offshore teams are the first thing you should consider when outsourcing your software project.  

Despite all the fantastic benefits of outsourcing, such as cost efficiency and high quality of service, managing offshore teams is a true challenge. 

This article is a guide for you and is based on our experience working with many different brands in full-scale projects, where we provide fast, effective, and affordable software development services. 

I. Difficulties in Offshore Team Management 

Software outsourcing, while providing significant benefits, can also offshore team management expose business owners to a number of challenges associated with managing the development team, including: 

Cultural Differences	Managing teams with members who come from different cultures can have an impact on workplace dynamics. Even minor cultural differences can have a significant impact on workplace relationships.
Different Time Zones	The offshore team is most likely located on the other side of the globe. Even if they adjust their working hours to match the onshore team’s, problems may still arise. Unexpected project delays can lead to missed appointments and other inconveniences during teamwork.
Poor Communication	A common problem in managing a tech team could happen while managing both onshore and offshore teams. An ineffective communication system could cause negative impacts like slowing down the progress of the whole project.
Language Barriers	Hiring software offshore developers who speak a language other than English can cause you difficulties during the partnership. So, prepare and research thoroughly before choosing the partner because, in many cases, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter language barriers to some extent.

II. Project Management Tools  

An issue that many remote teams have to deal with is finding it difficult to understand the project’s core idea and solution. The unstable development environment across teams was one of the main reasons it appeared.  

Overall, the key to managing offshore development is fostering a collaborative culture in which every team member feels valued for their expertise and is indeed part of the team. 

That is why it is important to maintain accessible communication regularly via a variety of support tools to discuss mission details, provide login information, and stay online. Here are some suggested common project management tools: 

1. Collaboration Tools 

The easier it is to communicate, the faster your project will succeed. Chat tools such as Google Meet, Skype, Slack, and Zoom have grown in popularity, making it very convenient for remote development developers to stay in touch.

These tools can be handy for providing access and transparency, managing offshore developers, and promoting teamwork. 

2. Issue Trackers 

Popular platforms such as Jira, Asana, and Trello simplify document issues and keep your project materials in one place, with no hidden guides or resources.

These tools are designed with distributed development teams that distribute tasks that one or more developers work on during a sprint. Productivity tools like them can assist you in managing offshore teams far more efficiently and ensure work continues even when you’re offline. 

3. Email  

Emails could be used as a helpful communication channel for direct communication that requires more than a quick chat. To ensure security, provide all members of your outsourced team with company email addresses as well as use a private email system. 

III. Seven Tips for Managing Offshore Development Teams 

Outsourcing software was an excellent way to cut costs and save time. It now assists businesses, particularly startups, to remain competitive and stay ahead of their competitors. While working with an offshore team has its benefits, it also has drawbacks in the case of unclear development processes. Here are some helpful hints for managing a dedicated development team productively: 

1. Choose the Right Software Development Team 

The first key is to choose the right talent pool with qualifications, skills, and experience that match your requirements and goals. This helps to make your project run smoothly and manage the offshore team. Consider the elements below before deciding to pick any offshore software provider as your next partner: 

• Low cost 
• English fluency 
• Talented and highly experienced engineers 
• Effective communication 
• Trustworthy with the best quality services 

If you are looking for a cutting-edge software outsourcing provider, then TECHVIFY is one of the best choices. We have many years of experience delivering powerful digital solutions for many valuable clients around the world. We are well-known not only for our innovative and extensive software development products but also for the high level of customer satisfaction we achieve with each project.  

2. Clear Vision 

It is critical to get your developers to understand what you want them to do and motivate them. That is why you should not only assign simple tasks to offshore developers but also share the whole picture of the project.  

Before starting an Agile project with an offshore development team, all developers must understand the full product vision.  

Let them know the upcoming workload will allow for more flexibility in product development and make it easier to modify the priority of tasks based on user feedback or other external elements. 

3. Break into Milestones and Priorities 

To ensure your success with offshore teams, you must break your project into specific requirements and milestones. Understanding a customer’s schedule, project gates, and key performance indicators should be prioritized. That is why, before beginning work, you must invest time in researching and making a plan.   

4. Optimize the Communication System 

Communication with your offshore team is also essential for success. The timezone difference and language barrier are two primary issues that impede team communication in the first place. Here are some approaches you could use with your development team to optimize the communication system: 

• Use software explicitly designed to provide transparent communication.  
• Due to the differences in languages, limit your vocabulary and avoid metaphors that could confuse team members. 
• Use agile team meetings and short calls to bring team members together.  
• Provide immediate and clear feedback to avoid any potential misunderstandings. 

Related article:

The 4 power of effective team communication in Tech

Top 10 Offshore Software Development Companies

5. Overlap Work Schedules 

Working in vastly different time zones is one of the most difficult challenges for offshore development teams. Creating a shared daily work schedule is essential in managing the team. So schedule at least several hours daily for live communication with the offshore team. 

6. Direct Management  

We believe that no way can be more effective than direct management. Do not leave your offshore development team unsupervised regularly. This management method will help you know the team’s performance and how far the project has been completed. In our view, it is one of the most important elements that play a role in successfully managing offshore teams. 

7. Agile methodology 

The Agile methodology is now a popular and effective team management process that is used all over the world. This methodology adapts and changes suitably at any stage based on market conditions and feedback by providing a transparent framework that promotes iterative development and team collaboration. The Agile methodology prioritizes quality and efficiency. You can use this method, combined with your team management system, to increase the productivity of your offshore team. 

In Summary 

It is not denied that hiring offshore developers is a smart way to save you time and money, be more productive, and gain a competitive advantage through robust digital solutions. It is essential to know how to manage offshore development teams effectively.  

I hope all the tips above are helpful for you and your enterprise. If you are still confused about how to hire offshore software developers and how to make the collaboration as smooth as possible, feel free to connect with us to discuss more.