Pratham Mittal
Did you know that a majority of failed projects can be attributed to communication gaps and not technology failures? This is especially true in a remote environment where you are required to “over communicate” to compensate for the lost face time.
Most communication corresponds to the agile development schedule. This ensures that continuous feedback is given to the team after every story/module/iteration, so that everyone is on the same page.
Here are a few ways in which you can establish a robust communication channel between the various teams when you’re outsourcing your project.
1. Daily Standup
A daily standup meeting is a 10-20 min short call that brings everyone on the same page. But, it cannot be used as a substitute for task management done via a tracking platform. In fact, both can work together. Daily standups can force the team to sit together and align their goals. It can be conducted at the start of a working day or just before it ends. The call is generally supposed to focus on answering three questions.
- What was done today?
- What were the challenges faced and the solutions used to overcome them?
- What will be done tomorrow?
2. Chatting
Besides the daily standup, it helps to have some time-overlap so that questions that come up during the development phase can be answered. This way the whole day is not wasted. An overlap of 2-3 hours is generally helpful.
3. Weekly Iteration Demo
You may schedule a longer weekly call to actually go through the latest iteration and give feedback. It’s important to maintain a written log of the minutes of the meeting, so that feedback given is not lost.16 iv. Monthly (or Bi-Weekly) all hands in: This is a broader meeting where strategy and other non-technical issues may be discussed. This gives the team a sense of inclusion and provides them with a better understanding of the overall goals.
4. Monthly (or Bi-Weekly) All Hands In
This is a broader meeting where strategy and other non-technical issues may be discussed. This gives the team a sense of inclusion and provides them with a better understanding of the overall goals.
These four techniques can establish clear modes of communication between all concerned parties when you’re on a remote working model. And when channels of communication are open and properly established, you can be sure that lack of information or misunderstandings don’t form a roadblock.
If you’re keen on learning more about remote working, download our ebook Outsourcing 101. Based on our personal experiences, it contains valuable nuggets on topics like software development, outsourcing, and project management.
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