Lack of trust Trust is a vital component of any relationships, especially business ones. Talking about business communication, we should not underestimate the power of truth. Outsourcing development requires a solid foundation that can be laid only by those parties who fully trust each other and sincerely invest in the project from each side. Lack of trust can cause a lot of issues that will prevent from achieving the project goals. That’s why it’s necessary to clarify the following questions on the early stages of communication with the outsourced developers: Is he/she qualified enough to perform the required job? How much can he/she impact business processes as a whole? Is he/she asking the appropriate questions? Do I have the time to assist him/her in the process of the project workflow? Besides, every further conversation, email, comment, and call will either strengthen or weaken the trust. This statement can be checked when you see that the project goal is not reached within the agreed timeframe and the developer does not even report it. A reliable partner must be honest and open, and the commitment to project success must be mutual. Otherwise, the project is doomed to fail. Many people think that trust is a result of relationships build for a long time, but this is a dangerous strategy. Try to encourage trust between parties and mutual commitment from the first day of cooperation.

Communication breakdowns

The outsourcing development process must be continuous. And the first critical thing that ensures continuity is communication without any gaps. If you feel that you have any issues in communication, try to eliminate the reason causing these issues. When partners fail to communicate on the appropriate level, they inevitably become disappointed in each other.

Difficult technical issues of software development are simpler to discuss with modern channels of communication. Make sure these channels can guarantee high audibility and intelligibility of speech. Sometimes, the problem consists in cultural gap, which is difficult to overcome without specialists. Accents can be significant, some words may be lost during translation, so there may be a feeling that there is no understanding and sincere desire to help. Try to hire a professional translator who understands your developer’s accent in case you face with a language barrier.

Organize a call center service working 24/7 in case of time zone differences. If you have a problem with a misunderstanding of goals or inconsistency in achieving them, do not hesitate to get in touch and ask more questions that will make everything clear to you.

The lack of transparent and frequent communication sometimes leads to the fact that the potentially best projects never get off the ground. Make sure you create an effective communication model with multiple communication channels.  It is known that communication and mutual understanding is a key to successful cooperation, so break down all communication barriers as quickly as possible.

Poor communication

Fast and high-quality communication can help to develop a successful cooperation. However, poor interaction or even lack of communication can cause a lot of issues. It is very common thing when a project hit bottom because of the lack of communication. That is why it is extremely important not only to make your idea and requirements clear from the beginning, but also continue durable cooperation with your team and be aware of what is going on. While looking for software development vendor, make sure you pay attention to such things as the speed of response, communication channels and communication capabilities. All these factors will have a direct impact on your working process.

Nowadays, there are many ways of communication, which do not require both parties to be in one place. Therefore, distance is not a problem for the effective collaboration at all. We have such great tools as emails, messengers, phone, and video calls and so on. So, there is a possibility to arrange regular meetings and be aware of what was done before, what is going to be done next, and whether there are some challenges or obstacles at all. Losing track with what your outsourced developers are up to may lead to undesirable results and the need to re-make some tasks. It will obviously have a negative impact on costs and efforts invested into the project.

Not Establishing Communication Ground Rules

Regular two-way communication will always lead to success. Transparency throughout the development process is crucial as it minimizes misunderstandings, ensuring the entire team, including the product owner, is on the same page.

Good communication starts from the first day of cooperation. Asking the big questions helps you to know what you can expect. For example, you can ask such questions:

What is the technical focus of your company?

What is your process?

What is your security policy—how do you handle emergency recovery and data security?

How do you ensure our data is properly secured?

If you pay attention to all the communication factors mentioned above, your project will have much more chances to meet client’s expectations and requests.