Agile offshore development is no longer a new phenomenon. No wonder organisations, regardless of their size and industry verticals, are making huge profits and reaching new heights due to geographically distributed Agile teams. However, there was a time when leveraging agile and offshore talent was considered as an option but that’s certainly not the case anymore.
Today, collaborating with remote teams to conduct successful web and mobile development projects is pretty common and you will come across lots and lots of information on how to manage your offshore development teams, however, this one is a bit different. Here you will find out how to manage offshore development teams successfully with agile development.
Now if you look at the surface level agile methodology and offshore development might seem to be at the world’s end but if and when addressed correctly these two concepts can offer significant gains and competitive advantages like never before. So brace yourself, the transformation is right about to begin! Time to drive innovation and efficiency and maximise your potential.
What is an Agile Offshore Development Team?
What if I say that in the present times, no other labor market boosts such impressive statistical growth than the IT outsourcing and outstaffing industry? The global IT outsourcing market is projected to reach $397.6 billion by 2025, with a CAGR of 4.5% from 2020 to 2025 (Grand View Research, 2023).
Moving on to agile, unfortunately, many of you think that agile development is kind of an overused buzzword but if you delve into the concept you will find the approach assisting teams to deliver amazing value to customers and reduces stress and unwanted headaches. The key characteristics of the Agile offshore development teams include:
- Collaboration
- Iterative development
- Cross-functional teams
- Agile practices
- Client involvement
Benefits of Agile in Offshore Development:
Here is a comprehensive list of the numerous benefits that are involved in agile offshore development.
1. Cost Control
One of the obvious benefits of considering agile in offshore software development projects is cost control. Here recruiting professionals from overseas can be extremely cost-efficient and easy to get started with. There is no need for long-term hiring costs. When you hire teams overseas, it means you can direct your resources toward other relevant areas of business.
2. Flexibility in Development
The next benefit of considering agile offshore development projects is it ensures absolute flexibility. The agile methodology is all about adapting relevant changes now and then and that too according to new market trends and dynamic user requirements. It has been observed that agile has the potential to enhance quality and relevancy.
3. Faster Product Launch
Another intimidating feature of considering agile development is faster product launch. Wondering how? Well, the answer is pretty obvious, since the product development is divided into smaller iterations and this is how the time-to-market increases. Some organisations have succeeded in launching the MVP at the end of each iteration. In other words, it is possible to create a user base after iterating successfully.
4. Quality
The next benefit of considering agile offshore methodology is receiving high-quality products no matter what the circumstances have been. In any agile-development-based project, quality assurance has been quite a consideration. Agile processes ensure regular testing while conducting the development procedure so there are no cases of last-minute bugs or issues. One should know for a fact that frequent testing results in the development of a high-quality product and reduces the unwanted risk of last-minute issues before releases.
In addition to all these core benefits, agile methodologies can tap into several other benefits such as:
- Bridging the communication gap – Conducting effective communication can be extremely challenging but agile highly speaks of open and regular communication between every team member, from daily stand-ups, sprint planning meetings, and regular retrospectives just to make sure everyone is on the same page.
- Boosting transparency – The next benefit is boosting transparency and trust, agile is one such approach which highly promotes a culture of openness. Different teams end up sharing ideas, voicing concerns, and discussing roadblocks, as a result, the scope of transparency and trustworthiness increases.
- Enhanced flexibility – The next one is enhanced flexibility, of course, this one isn’t new but due to enhanced flexibility, the scope for adaptability automatically increases. Unlike the conventional methods, now offshore development teams can successfully address issues and be quick with reducing unnecessary bottlenecks and downtime.
So after going through all these above-mentioned core benefits, you tell me how agile offshore development cannot be considered as an emerging trend. Well, of course, the grass cannot always remain greener. The concept of agile offshore development has a fair share of challenges that we need to acknowledge as well as address in the nick of time.
Common Challenges in Making an Agile Offshore Development Team
Creating an agile offshore development team presents a variety of unique challenges that must be carefully considered and addressed. These challenges include:
1. Communication Misunderstandings
One of the major challenges to address while managing an agile offshore software development company is communication-based misunderstandings. Not having a written code of conduct can lead to numerous goof-ups, confusion, and intercultural misunderstandings between remote workplaces.
Now does this mean, the code has to be a 50-page-long legal manual of course not, it can be as short as 10-12 plain statements in English which can be easily readable by everyone. Now I get it, these things are pretty tiny and might even seem insignificant but if you take a look at the big picture, these small things can assist well in enhancing productivity and efficiency and of course, you can be safe from a plethora of misunderstandings.
2. Time Zone Differences
Another crucial challenge that needs to be considered is time-zone differences. Managing an offshore team can be tricky if there is a huge time-zone difference and it can be extremely difficult for complex software development to work under such conditions. However, time zone differences can be insanely tricky but altogether this one is a doable job that needs precise planning and a highly structured approach. Even Google with its offices spread all across the globe had to grapple with the issue, the key is to look for overlapping hours and see where teams can find a common window of time to collaborate.
3. Cybersecurity Concerns
The next challenging aspect of the agile offshore development approach is the cybersecurity concerns. Cybersecurity breaches keep on happening now and then, so ensuring proper safety is pretty much paramount. The scope of data breaches and non-compliance can result in significant legal and financial repercussions so there is no longer a need to emphasise why solid data security protocols are essential.
Several aspects such as encryption, secure access controls, regular security audits, and compliance checks are supposed to be considered just to make sure every software development project conducted is thoroughly protected and by raising certain common cyber security concerns, further unwanted risks can be mitigated.
Even IT companies have been victims of unwanted phishing attacks or scams. Several offshore developers choose to work in a workcation mode especially when using unsecured WiFi networks at hotels or remote villages but during such events there is a huge scope for work being easily compromised.
4. Cultural Differences
Last but certainly not least, challenges faced by agile offshore development teams are cultural differences. Dedicated development teams often end up being dissolved due to the creation of unwanted misunderstandings from diverse cultural backgrounds. This results in creating a huge impact on effectiveness and product quality.
So what happens when you try addressing these cultural gaps? Well, proactive efforts can be taken to foster cohesion and you get to have a better understanding among different team members. There are numerous ways to take care of cultural differences such as:
- All-hands calls
- Virtual team-building events
- Happy hours’
- Game nights
These ways can minimize the scope of cultural barriers and ensure synergy within agile offshore software development teams.
Best Practices for Working with Agile Offshore Teams
Now we will focus on the best practices or strategies to consider especially when working with Agile offshore development teams.
1. Determine The Project Scope
The first and foremost practice to consider in determining the overall project scope is collaborating with a reliable agile offshore development team. If you have pre-determined the project scope, collaborating with them won’t take much of your time. So what all needs to be mentioned here includes outlines of the project, goals, tasks, timelines, budget, and expected outcomes clearly and concisely.
So what will happen next is the entire project will be divided into smaller chunks named iterations and each one of them is supposed to be completed in the given time frame or deadline. Further, the document is taken for reference purposes and assists team members in conducting seamless execution of development in a well-organized way and also it is possible to prioritise changes on feedback given by customers.
2. Establish Clear Communication Channels
The next practice to consider when conducting your first agile offshore development project is to establish clear communication channels. Since it is offshore means the chances of miscommunication and misinterpretation are extremely high so to reduce any unnecessary goof-ups and ensure the delivery of high-quality software there is a need for well well-established communication channel. Here I would like to mention certain ways to do so:
- Video conferencing – Try establishing a sense of connection or scope for face-to-face discussions
- Instant messaging and collaboration tools – Slack, Microsoft Teams, Asana, and Trello can be considered here so that everyone stays on the same page.
- Project management tools – Again JIRA, and Trello, should be considered for creating and assigning tasks, tracking progress, and developing project backlogs.
3. Setting Up Agile Processes
The next thing you need to consider is setting up a seamless, transparent, smooth agile process. Now tell me what is the ultimate purpose of agile methodology? It is to enhance collaboration and increase adaptability and efficiency among software development projects, and by doing so, it is quite possible to bridge unseen gaps among both onshore and offshore teams. Here are certain ways you can do so:
- Create a centralised knowledge base
- Encourage pair programming and code review sessions
- Try focusing on applying cross-training between onshore and offshore team members
- Conduct retrospectives regularly
- Stay updated on the latest agile practices and tools
4. Conduct Regular Demos
The next thing you must take into account is conducting regular demos. By doing so, you will have a better idea of what your final product will look like. Also, the demo is a fundamental example of a final product that has been achieved after a large series of iterations.
Moreover, clients get to view the final product performance, and feedback or suggestions are given based on the same. The team is supposed to look back at the last iterations pinpoint all the positive and negative aspects and develop smart solutions. In the end, it is all about establishing an effective collaboration among different teams and receiving the best possible outcomes.
5. Use Collaboration Tools and Technologies
Another interesting agile offshore development best practice to consider is using collaborative tools and technologies. Not to mention, doing so is extremely important as agile teams can make the most of collaboration tools to simplify their work procedures and maintain easily accessible communication among different team members.
Now collaborative tools cannot entirely replace the idea of sitting and working together or creating something together but they can boost some teamwork and morals.
6. Build Trust Between Team Members
Partnering is not easy whether it is for personal or professional reasons, however, it is a doable job only if there is complete trust among team members. I mean can you communicate with one another if there is no sense of honesty or proper communication, so creating an environment of trust is important where professionals can heavily rely on each other.
It is quite rightly said that the success of the development project highly depends on the contribution of all team members and it’s not an individual effort. One must always remember this, implementing agile methodologies always goes beyond the surface-level adoption.
Moreover, a supportive environment is something that ensures members of the team are at ease. Moreover, opinions and collaboration are a must.
7. Cultural Sensitivity and Understanding
Another practice to consider when working with Agile offshore development teams is having cultural sensitivity and understanding. Fostering a culture of inclusion and respect can work wonders to a great extent. Try encouraging open discussions regarding cultural norms, working styles, and time zone differences instead of complaining try embracing diversity and uniqueness this will result in the creation of more stronger and cohesive offshore development teams.
Conclusion
And we are certainly done for now! I guess by now you are well-versed with the concept of agile offshore development, what it is all about, how it can be beneficial, what are its crucial challenges and above all the best practices to consider when conducting such a project.
Overall, considering an agile methodology with an offshore team of developers can be quite a productive approach to in-house teams since here you are bound to receive flexibility, customer satisfaction, enhanced efficiency, high-quality assurance, and whatnot!
I hope this post helps you a lot in dealing with the fast-paced and ever-evolving business landscape by delivering high-quality software that can certainly provide you with an edge over the competition in no time. So are you ready to make your software development journey a worthwhile endeavour? Good luck and please make sure to hire a reputable and reliable offshore development team that carries immense knowledge and is highly experienced in offering the best possible solutions from their space.
In case, you still have any doubts and queries, feel free to mention them in the comment section below. We will reach you as soon as possible. Also, feel free to share the post with your peers and help us spread the word.
