How to Manage an Offshore Development Team
Manage an Offshore Development Team may seem to be an easy task. In fact, software product engineering in a distributed environment requires wise use of teams as well as hardware, software and relevant assets in order to enhance speed to market under budget constraints.
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In this context, there is a tendency to propose a reduction in management overheads. This goes for distributed and offshore development models and forming extended teams that report to managers working at remote locations. This may work for very small-extended teams of a couple of engineers working overseas on production support or routine maintenance tasks. Does it work for larger offshore dedicated teams as well? Many times, practitioners tend to embrace agile principles and recommend a self-directed team of offshore engineers that can be managed onsite by the outsourcing contractor.
Of course, the way to manage an offshore dedicated development team “on a paper” by dividing roles is just half of the process. At the same time, the actual guidance of the development team and the process by management tools is the inherent part of this mechanism.
We believe that the right combination of the smart project management software and the Agile approach can be the ultimate solution for the offshore development project success.
List of the Content
- Project Management Tools
- Management of the Offshore Agile Team
- Manage an Offshore Development Team With Scrum
- Conclusion
Project Management Tools
Speaking absolutely of how to manage the offshore dedicated development team isn’t enough if the managing instruments aren’t mentioned, due to everything must be considered in a complex. In the international project management setting, an online project management tool is fundamental. In the case of software development, such tool should have definite sections for reporting bugs, tasks, and questions. Starting to manage the offshore development team, forming a routine around this online tool is essential. This starts with writing clear guidelines on how to use this system. Because if five people using the same thing but doing that in their own way — that’s where communication issues appear. The management should not only predefine such tool but also watch whether team members use the system in a planned manner. And the primary rule here should be: ALL communication happens in the online tool. Management should outlaw emails and should ask everyone to upload a summary of any call (e.g. team Skype call) to this online system. Such systematization of the team’s workflow will turn into automated with some time. Paying attention to this at the beginning stage is crucial, for the best outcome in the future.
JIRA, Trello etc. are your ultimate helpers in offshore dedicated team management. These tools are designed with distributed development teams in mind. To be more specific, you can ignore some features for task management and tracking or performance measurement if you’re all in the same office. But if your offshore contractors are located overseas it is necessary to perform all the communication and task flow activities in the project management tool. The very first but not the obvious thing is that it will take some time even for your team to get used to 100% communication in the software ecosystem. Another quite tricky aspect to consider when you manage an offshore development team. It’s a common situation when in-house developers and managers are the ones who should learn how to get the maximum out of, let’s say, JIRA. The reason is they no longer can just go to the next room and describe their needs to the rest of the team how they used to. At the same time, offshore developers and project managers are very proficient with such techniques. You’ll be able to learn a lot about how to manage an offshore dedicated development team if you’ll be asking team members and, what is even more important, listen to them.
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Do you have your own tips and tricks that helped you manage an offshore dedicated development team in the past? Share your opinions and thought in the comment section below.
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