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Top 10 do's and dont's in agile offshoring

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Johan Berneskog
Johan Berneskog

The document outlines the top 10 dos and don'ts for agile offshoring in Sweden based on a study conducted by the Agile Offshoring network in Stockholm. The study involved interviews and discussions with companies in Sweden with experience in agile offshoring. The top categories identified were culture, processes, organization, tools, and mindset. The number one do was to get to know offshore team members to understand their skills and capabilities. The number one don't was adopting a "we vs them" mindset between onshore and offshore teams and instead promoting a united team approach.

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Top 10 do’s and don’ts when doing Agile offshoring in Sweden • Ove Holmberg, OHC • Odd Sivertzen, Rumbline • Hannes Fries, H&M Hennes & Mauritz • Johan Berneskog, Don't Stop Believin' • John Cannerborg, Bridge Global IT Staffin
The Agile Offshoring network in Stockholm • Founded during the spring of 2012 • IT professionals with different backgrounds and industries, based in the Stockholm region o Seven members in the core team o Total of 25 members accessing our discussions • Host regular meetings to discuss around the topics of Agile, Offshoring and the combination of them
The study 10 Do's and Don'ts - Agile Offshoring in Sweden • Last decade's increased interest in Offshoring and Agile processes in Sweden o Successful, cost effective projects? • Agile requires tight team work o How can it be combined with offshoring where team members in different cultures and timezones? • Study of companies and organizations in Sweden actively working with agile offshoring initiatives • Aim to define a number of important categories and complete a list of 10 Do's and 10 Don'ts to guide Swedish organizations
How the study was done • Based on open discussions - common interest in understanding what makes agile offshoring initiatives successful o Focus on Sweden • Started with survey to find companies and organizations with experiences to share o Survey • In depth interviews • The core team's own experiences • Experiences were given scores in voting o Top 10 Do's and 10 Don'ts
Offshore Categories • The following categories have been identified during the work: o Culture o Geographical distance o Learning curve o Processes o Organization & Roles o Expections o Mindset o Tools • For each of the items on the Top 10 lists, the corresponding category is presented
#10 - Do - Organization & Roles Clarify team loyalties • If the offshore team has a manager setting their bonus based upon quantity and a you as a project manager wants other focus, such as good quality - the offshore manager always will out-rule you. • Make sure that you are synchronized with the offshore manager on the expectations of the team.
#9 - Do - Processes Delimit the scope • Do not rely too much on others' experiences - each organization is unique o Delimit the efforts until enough experience is gained to invest more • Identify one or a few systems that are most suitable for offshoring to begin with o Get it all to work in a small scale first
#8 - Do - Tools Same development tools allover • Use same development tools offshore as you use onshore. o If you use JIRA, GitHub or Leankit internally also let the offshore team do the same. • There are a lot of great tools out there, use them!
#7 - Do - Mindset "Big Picture" • Make sure the offshore team understands the "big picture" of the project and not only understand the task they have been assigned. o Not fun to execute tasks without purpose and meaning... o More motivating to be part of something big o Fair setting to make a good job o DN.se
#6 - Do - Mindset Long term vision • If you have the vision of working long term with an offshore team - Treat the offshore team in the same way as you treat your onshore team o Part of intranet o Internal newsletter o Let them live by your companies values o Outcome will be: motivated team members, people that stay long
#5 - Do - Tools Working infrastructure • Make sure that you have a infra structure that are on the same level offshore as you have onshore. (Good quality of WIFI.) • "Reduce the distance" with help of good Internet connections. • Get rid of all technical barriers o Video conference system
#4 - Do - Processes Let members of the offshore team work onsite • Will make the offshore team members feel important and valuable • Gain better understanding of the business • Two teams will get to know each other and become friends, which benefit the actual work • Very good incentive as having onsite experience in CV is valuable and could help for extra motivation o Onsite rotational program with leads as well as team members
#3 - Do - Processes Visit the offshore site regularly • Make sure to meet the development team as well as the management team. • The dialogue with the development team should be made by a technical skilled person (e.g. Solution Architect) in order to really understand the developers situation. • Involve end client
#2 - Do - Processes Establish common values & terminology and a learning culture • Establish common values o Define and exemplify the values that are to be followed  Examples: • The resources should propose improvements if possible and not just implement according to the specification • It is ok to deliver later then planned (in dialogue with the project manager) if the quality requires • Establish a common terminology o Define the entities within the business domain and make shore the offshore resources understands them o Define routines for how projects are implemented in your organization align them with the offshoring part • Establish a culture of continuous learning in the Agile way of working o Get the resources used to continuous improvement where they are an important source for the improvements
#1 - Do - Culture, Geographical distance Get to know the team members • As with all teams, each member is an individual • Important to get to know the offshore team members to learn who does what and to which quality o Good for assessing what responsibility to give to whom • Best way is to spend time with the team, preferably at the offsite location
The final score top 10 Do's No Description Category Culture, #1 Get to know the resources Geographical distance Establish common values & terminology and a #2 Processes learning culture #3 Visit the offshore site regularly Processes #4 Let members of the offshore team work onsite Processes #5 Working infrastructure Tools #6 Long term vision Mindset #7 "Big Picture" Mindset #8 Same development tools allover Tools #9 Delimit the scope Processes #10 Clarify team loyalties Organization & Roles
#10 - Don´t - Processes Don't start any development without defined criteria's being in place • Don't allow the development of a Feature to start unless there are: o Proper specifications  The more complex a Feature is, the more important the specification is o Detailed estimates  The bigger a Feature is, the more an estimate needs to be broken down o A common understanding between the business side (requirements owner) and the development team  Could be secured via: • a short "handover meeting" between the developer and the requirements owner before the development starts • a short "handover meeting" between the developer and the tester before the testing starts
#9 - Don´t - Culture When problems occur, don't focus on who was responsible • Present what the problem was and exemplify and discuss how to avoid the problem in the future o Speak in general terms instead of focusing on the individual • Promote asking as problems occur o Could be against their culture o "Very good you asked! This saved us 20 hours as we now do not have to rewrite this piece of code!"
#8 - Don´t - Processes Don't outsource before internal team is "on the boat" • Don't take a management decision to outsource before internal team is "on the boat". Everyone need to understand the motive, the benefits and the reason for doing it. o Risk for internal conflicts o Risk that internal team works against the situation o Workshop o Interesting input from operations o Result: motivated staff - successful offshore initiative
#7 - Don´t - Processes Don't underestimate the extra time needed for admin work • Team leads will most certain have to spend time in additional status meetings etc. to get the remote team up and running o Easy to underestimate the actual time needed • The team lead role can potentially be very different from when only working with local teams o More regularly checking team status o Control questions to verify progress is according to plan
#6 - Don´t - Learning curve, Processes Don't scale up too quickly • Don't increase the number of projects until the routines are established and the offshoring team is working well o Start with one or two pilot projects that are limited in size and complexity  The planning should allow the project to be successful o Train the offshoring team regularly in the routines and the Agile way of working  Get them used to continuous improvement where they are an important source for the improvements
#5 - Don´t - Organization & Roles Don't forget the business side • Don't forget to involve the business side (requirements owner) in the work made by the development team. • They need to be involved daily and learn to know the people who work offshore
#4 - Don´t - Processes Don't underestimate the importance of physical meetings • "Internal english" takes time to understand • Body language • Hard to understand over the phone
#3 - Don´t - Culture Don't assume things • Don't assume things - instead ask the extra question to build consensus o If you have not met o Different cultures o Please repeat
#2 - Don´t - Culture Don't underestimate employee resistance • Organizations that do not have English as their corporate language or (experience of international cooperation) will most likely see resistance from employees o Linguistic and cultural barrier  Both day-to-day interactions with the remote team  Speaking in front of the team in daily stand-up meetings • Work with the HR department • Communicate the motives and goals with the offshoring initiative
#1 - Don´t - Mindset We and them • Don't embrace a mindset of "we and them". It should be us together as a team. • Teambuild • Visit a home • Agree on and communicate the common goal
The final score top 10 Dont's No Description Category #1 We and them Mindset #2 Don't underestimate employee resistance Culture #3 Don't assume things Culture #4 Don't underestimate the importance of physical meetings Processes #5 Don't forget the business side Organization & Roles #6 Don't scale up too quickly Learning curve, Processes #7 Don't underestimate the extra time needed for admin work Processes #8 Don't outsource before internal team is "on the boat" Processes #9 When problems occur, don't focus on who was responsible Culture Don't start any development without defined criteria's being #10 Processes in place
Thanks for listening • Contact us on LinekdIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4404631

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Top 10 do's and dont's in agile offshoring

  • 1. Top 10 do’s and don’ts when doing Agile offshoring in Sweden • Ove Holmberg, OHC • Odd Sivertzen, Rumbline • Hannes Fries, H&M Hennes & Mauritz • Johan Berneskog, Don't Stop Believin' • John Cannerborg, Bridge Global IT Staffin
  • 2. The Agile Offshoring network in Stockholm • Founded during the spring of 2012 • IT professionals with different backgrounds and industries, based in the Stockholm region o Seven members in the core team o Total of 25 members accessing our discussions • Host regular meetings to discuss around the topics of Agile, Offshoring and the combination of them
  • 3. The study 10 Do's and Don'ts - Agile Offshoring in Sweden • Last decade's increased interest in Offshoring and Agile processes in Sweden o Successful, cost effective projects? • Agile requires tight team work o How can it be combined with offshoring where team members in different cultures and timezones? • Study of companies and organizations in Sweden actively working with agile offshoring initiatives • Aim to define a number of important categories and complete a list of 10 Do's and 10 Don'ts to guide Swedish organizations
  • 4. How the study was done • Based on open discussions - common interest in understanding what makes agile offshoring initiatives successful o Focus on Sweden • Started with survey to find companies and organizations with experiences to share o Survey • In depth interviews • The core team's own experiences • Experiences were given scores in voting o Top 10 Do's and 10 Don'ts
  • 5. Offshore Categories • The following categories have been identified during the work: o Culture o Geographical distance o Learning curve o Processes o Organization & Roles o Expections o Mindset o Tools • For each of the items on the Top 10 lists, the corresponding category is presented
  • 6. #10 - Do - Organization & Roles Clarify team loyalties • If the offshore team has a manager setting their bonus based upon quantity and a you as a project manager wants other focus, such as good quality - the offshore manager always will out-rule you. • Make sure that you are synchronized with the offshore manager on the expectations of the team.
  • 7. #9 - Do - Processes Delimit the scope • Do not rely too much on others' experiences - each organization is unique o Delimit the efforts until enough experience is gained to invest more • Identify one or a few systems that are most suitable for offshoring to begin with o Get it all to work in a small scale first
  • 8. #8 - Do - Tools Same development tools allover • Use same development tools offshore as you use onshore. o If you use JIRA, GitHub or Leankit internally also let the offshore team do the same. • There are a lot of great tools out there, use them!
  • 9. #7 - Do - Mindset "Big Picture" • Make sure the offshore team understands the "big picture" of the project and not only understand the task they have been assigned. o Not fun to execute tasks without purpose and meaning... o More motivating to be part of something big o Fair setting to make a good job o DN.se
  • 10. #6 - Do - Mindset Long term vision • If you have the vision of working long term with an offshore team - Treat the offshore team in the same way as you treat your onshore team o Part of intranet o Internal newsletter o Let them live by your companies values o Outcome will be: motivated team members, people that stay long
  • 11. #5 - Do - Tools Working infrastructure • Make sure that you have a infra structure that are on the same level offshore as you have onshore. (Good quality of WIFI.) • "Reduce the distance" with help of good Internet connections. • Get rid of all technical barriers o Video conference system
  • 12. #4 - Do - Processes Let members of the offshore team work onsite • Will make the offshore team members feel important and valuable • Gain better understanding of the business • Two teams will get to know each other and become friends, which benefit the actual work • Very good incentive as having onsite experience in CV is valuable and could help for extra motivation o Onsite rotational program with leads as well as team members
  • 13. #3 - Do - Processes Visit the offshore site regularly • Make sure to meet the development team as well as the management team. • The dialogue with the development team should be made by a technical skilled person (e.g. Solution Architect) in order to really understand the developers situation. • Involve end client
  • 14. #2 - Do - Processes Establish common values & terminology and a learning culture • Establish common values o Define and exemplify the values that are to be followed  Examples: • The resources should propose improvements if possible and not just implement according to the specification • It is ok to deliver later then planned (in dialogue with the project manager) if the quality requires • Establish a common terminology o Define the entities within the business domain and make shore the offshore resources understands them o Define routines for how projects are implemented in your organization align them with the offshoring part • Establish a culture of continuous learning in the Agile way of working o Get the resources used to continuous improvement where they are an important source for the improvements
  • 15. #1 - Do - Culture, Geographical distance Get to know the team members • As with all teams, each member is an individual • Important to get to know the offshore team members to learn who does what and to which quality o Good for assessing what responsibility to give to whom • Best way is to spend time with the team, preferably at the offsite location
  • 16. The final score top 10 Do's No Description Category Culture, #1 Get to know the resources Geographical distance Establish common values & terminology and a #2 Processes learning culture #3 Visit the offshore site regularly Processes #4 Let members of the offshore team work onsite Processes #5 Working infrastructure Tools #6 Long term vision Mindset #7 "Big Picture" Mindset #8 Same development tools allover Tools #9 Delimit the scope Processes #10 Clarify team loyalties Organization & Roles
  • 17. #10 - Don´t - Processes Don't start any development without defined criteria's being in place • Don't allow the development of a Feature to start unless there are: o Proper specifications  The more complex a Feature is, the more important the specification is o Detailed estimates  The bigger a Feature is, the more an estimate needs to be broken down o A common understanding between the business side (requirements owner) and the development team  Could be secured via: • a short "handover meeting" between the developer and the requirements owner before the development starts • a short "handover meeting" between the developer and the tester before the testing starts
  • 18. #9 - Don´t - Culture When problems occur, don't focus on who was responsible • Present what the problem was and exemplify and discuss how to avoid the problem in the future o Speak in general terms instead of focusing on the individual • Promote asking as problems occur o Could be against their culture o "Very good you asked! This saved us 20 hours as we now do not have to rewrite this piece of code!"
  • 19. #8 - Don´t - Processes Don't outsource before internal team is "on the boat" • Don't take a management decision to outsource before internal team is "on the boat". Everyone need to understand the motive, the benefits and the reason for doing it. o Risk for internal conflicts o Risk that internal team works against the situation o Workshop o Interesting input from operations o Result: motivated staff - successful offshore initiative
  • 20. #7 - Don´t - Processes Don't underestimate the extra time needed for admin work • Team leads will most certain have to spend time in additional status meetings etc. to get the remote team up and running o Easy to underestimate the actual time needed • The team lead role can potentially be very different from when only working with local teams o More regularly checking team status o Control questions to verify progress is according to plan
  • 21. #6 - Don´t - Learning curve, Processes Don't scale up too quickly • Don't increase the number of projects until the routines are established and the offshoring team is working well o Start with one or two pilot projects that are limited in size and complexity  The planning should allow the project to be successful o Train the offshoring team regularly in the routines and the Agile way of working  Get them used to continuous improvement where they are an important source for the improvements
  • 22. #5 - Don´t - Organization & Roles Don't forget the business side • Don't forget to involve the business side (requirements owner) in the work made by the development team. • They need to be involved daily and learn to know the people who work offshore
  • 23. #4 - Don´t - Processes Don't underestimate the importance of physical meetings • "Internal english" takes time to understand • Body language • Hard to understand over the phone
  • 24. #3 - Don´t - Culture Don't assume things • Don't assume things - instead ask the extra question to build consensus o If you have not met o Different cultures o Please repeat
  • 25. #2 - Don´t - Culture Don't underestimate employee resistance • Organizations that do not have English as their corporate language or (experience of international cooperation) will most likely see resistance from employees o Linguistic and cultural barrier  Both day-to-day interactions with the remote team  Speaking in front of the team in daily stand-up meetings • Work with the HR department • Communicate the motives and goals with the offshoring initiative
  • 26. #1 - Don´t - Mindset We and them • Don't embrace a mindset of "we and them". It should be us together as a team. • Teambuild • Visit a home • Agree on and communicate the common goal
  • 27. The final score top 10 Dont's No Description Category #1 We and them Mindset #2 Don't underestimate employee resistance Culture #3 Don't assume things Culture #4 Don't underestimate the importance of physical meetings Processes #5 Don't forget the business side Organization & Roles #6 Don't scale up too quickly Learning curve, Processes #7 Don't underestimate the extra time needed for admin work Processes #8 Don't outsource before internal team is "on the boat" Processes #9 When problems occur, don't focus on who was responsible Culture Don't start any development without defined criteria's being #10 Processes in place
  • 28. Thanks for listening • Contact us on LinekdIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4404631