Many companies employ offshore development teams to work on their projects because it provides a number of advantages. One can not only receive higher quality at reasonable prices, but easily change the team size if necessary as well.

In our blog, we have already written in more detail about the advantages provided by dedicated teams and software development outsourcing, and suggest you familiarize yourself with these articles to know more about these practices.

Today, however, we will talk about managing such teams, and share the best practices of offshore software development with you to help you successfully complete the project.

There are a lot of difficulties here, but the advantages, which your business gets in the end, are worth investing your time in.

1. Provide specific details

The more information you provide to the development team, the more likely you will get exactly the product you expect it to be at a specified time and without exceeding the budget limits.

Here are the minimum tasks that need to be done:

• Describe what tasks the product should solve.
• Make a list of functions and mark their priorities, highlighting the most important ones.
• Specify for which platforms the product will be developed (web, iOS, Android, or all at once).
• Define the necessity of support and maintenance after the release.

2. Set clear goals

Most people will initially not have the same understanding of your business, ideas, and needs that you do. Consequently, each good manager knows how important it is to establish clear and achievable goals for the team working on the project. Otherwise, the productivity will fall, and people will start making mistakes.

If you set inaccurate goals that are unclear and incorrect, even an experienced professional will ask you questions – lots of questions! Or the project will eventually be accomplished, but you will not get what you expected.

Therefore, the project owner has to learn to set tasks clearly and, if necessary, share their vision – what is really expected as the result.

3. Never draw the line between business and technology

Developers should understand both what functions to implement in the final product and why they need to be there. Explain to them what issues the app or service option solves, and it will make it easier for them to comprehend the overall picture.

In addition, it is quite possible that a clear understanding of your needs will allow the offshore development team to offer you a more successful and profitable business solution.

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4. Communication is essential

Good feedback and understanding – that is what is even more important than your technical expertise level. The importance of regular video conferences and personal meetings for a successful project implementation is difficult to overestimate.

Lacking just 10% of the communication can lead to the work productivity drop by 50%. And vice versa, a little increase in the communication efficiency can lead to a substantial development process acceleration.

It is hard to demand motivation and loyalty from developers when you know nothing about them or they know nothing about you. Consequently, efficient app development depends, first and foremost, on an efficient communication system.

5. Engage and interact

When the work process is clearly coordinated and organized, you may think it makes no sense to waste time on weekly calls, as the work is being done and you can see the result. But, right at that moment, your employee may lose interest in your common project and perform their duties automatically. It is because they do not feel support from and proper communication with you. You will most certainly want to attend to this issue, because you are all tied together in a common project as one team.

People are not androids, so you have to make every effort to provide members of the offshore development team with the opportunity to feel involved in the project by letting them know you appreciate their contribution.

It is quite easy to forget about those who live and work thousands of kilometers away from you. However, investments in good relationships will always pay off. If people do not feel like part of something bigger, their motivation to work is reduced and the team potential falls.

6. Let them make independent decisions

You can expect the maximum return from the employees only if you point out the work directions to them but provide them with some freedom in completing the task. If all employees’ actions depend solely on your decisions, they will iterate your mistakes as well.

If you cannot communicate quickly with your developers, they should be given a wider scope of duties to make independent decisions. By providing people with this opportunity, you will maintain a higher level of their motivation and get better results.

7. Chose the right team

Choosing the right team is one of the key elements for successful offshore software development. Turning to a large company may seem like a simple solution to this issue. However, it is not so simple, and in the end, you may heavily overpay, and work on the project will run over a long time because of excessive bureaucracy. Smaller teams are more flexible and more focused on making their customers happy.

The right arguments in making such a decision should be the team’s expertise, professional skills, and their desire to provide a product that is able to solve your problems efficiently.