There are many challenges to outsourcing: This post will be high-level and cover a few key tips I used when outsourcing to a team in India.
Communication & Culture – Communicating via web meeting is a challenge. A language barrier and cultural approaches to communication can slow things down or lead to mis-interpretation from both sides.
It helps to use video whenever possible to see facial and body language. Also, make sure you take the time (usually extra) to really make sure both sides are understanding each other. I’ve learned from experience that sometimes the team might say they are clear on something, and actually they think they are, but it’s best to verify either by having them document it for verification or describe it back to you. It takes more time getting on the same page with requirements but it’s better than re-working things that are not meeting expectations. Lastly, find a person on the team that you communicate best with and make sure they are a part of each meeting. Typically they can be a good facilitator when needed.
Time Difference – Depending on where you outsource, there is usually quite a time difference. And let’s face it, unless you like to wake up in the early am hours or your team agrees to work very late in their day, there are minimum time overlaps.
These issues are challenges and can be overcome, but it will mean changing your existing working habits and approaches. Find a good window for both sides and then set up some standing meetings. This should be a priority to use that time wisely, because missing the window means another 24 hours of potentially wasted time. This sounds obvious, but can sometimes be overlooked when getting bogged down with day to day activities. Adding someone on your team to “cover” this window and perhaps rotating it if its inconvenient can help too.
Outsourcing can work and be an effective way of making engineering progress while reducing cost. But if you don’t adjust your standard (local) work behavior for an outsourced team, you will see drastically different results.
Work-Agile 