Top 5 Tips to Work Effectively with Offshore Mobile App Development Teams

Famous management consultant Peter F. Drucker once said, "Do what you do best, outsource the rest."

Outsourcing has been prevalent since the 80s in different segments and industries globally. However, it has gained momentum in recent times after businesses have aligned offshore partners with their strategic vision.

In 2024, the outsourcing market is projected to reach $541 billion in 2024 (Statista). However, outsourcing outcomes depend largely on your approach and strategy. It also helps if you have a good process in place.

We have observed specific challenges businesses face while outsourcing and have identified the best practices or tips to work effectively with offshore teams.

Challenges of Working with the Offshore App Development Team

Collaborating and producing a seamless product comes with its challenges. Say you are a company in the United States. You want to outsource to a mobile app development company from India. Considering the different cultures and processes, you might need some time to understand and adjust before proceeding with the development.

Here are some of the commonly experienced challenges you should know of when outsourcing to a mobile app development company.

#1. Communication

Language isn't the only barrier you will face with your offshore development company regarding communication.

What might sound friendly or professional may not be considered the same by the offshore development company. Similarly, what is follow-up for one country might be a rude intervention for another.

Communication protocols differ from country to country. For example, how you start an email is different in India compared to the United States. Again, the way non-English speakers convey a point may seem inappropriate to the native speaker.

You can overcome these challenges by understanding the communication differences and offering a defined protocol.

#2. Culture differences

There is a difference in culture when we move from one place to another. This difference will be more significant when you go from one country to another.

A simple example is how people greet in India versus how they greet each other in Japan. Though both are Asian countries, they differ in this simple aspect.

You cannot overlook the methodology and process differences when it comes to culture. Each country follows its own methodology. In some countries, they empower the teams to make their decisions. On the other hand, there are countries where the instructions are defined and precise. All team members need to follow them.

Overcome this challenge by becoming completely aware of the cultural differences. It is crucial to know how they connect, greet and acknowledge each other to ensure building a smooth relationship.

#3. Project management issues

When you are outsourcing, you may face managing issues. You are not sure about the stage of the development or how long it might take. Your project's lack of control and visibility can be quite a challenge.

The biggest challenge is collaboration, as you cannot connect with the several people on the team and work in tandem.

You also cannot have most of your resources attending to the offshore app development while your work back home suffers. Managing several tasks and ensuring you have some visibility into the milestones can be a challenge.

You may overcome this challenge by having a designated point of contact. That single person will be responsible for handling the different project management issues.

#4. Lack of industry knowledge

As we discussed earlier, you are outsourcing to a company with expertise in developing software solutions. However, they may or may not have the requisite knowledge of your target audience or the industry. They may not know how your industry works and what the app consumption pattern is.

This can be challenging as it can ruin the experience and download rate if you don't get the application right. That's why you will need to outsource it to someone who has good research capabilities and can draw the persona.

It is equally essential for you to sit with the development team to talk about your industry, what people want and how you visualize the solution. Understanding their experience and checking if it is relevant can also help you with finalizing the right hire.

5 Tips to Work with Offshore Development Team Effectively

When you are working with an offshore development team that is separated from your company geographically, you need to work with an effective strategy. These tips can help you create a productive and cohesive environment for smooth collaboration.

Let’s take a look at all the top tips in detail to understand how your team can work effectively with offshore teams.

#1. Clear Communication

Clear communication can help you ensure successful project outcomes. You can collaborate with the offshore teams using clear communication models that help everyone stay on the same page and ensure relevance during the meetings.

You can also reduce the misunderstandings and bottlenecks caused by improper communication methods. Moreover, the best communication protocols can help reduce complexities and build trust in the client-company relationship.

Additionally, with the right asynchronous and synchronous processes, you can address the time zones and cultural differences.

✅Regular Meetings

Scheduling weekly check-ins with the offshore team can help you stay in the loop and understand the project’s progress. You can have a project manager who conducts daily stand-ups with a single point of contact at the client’s team.

These meetings will help you understand the challenges, offer resolutions or share the resolutions. Using this meeting, you can build cohesion and gain better understanding of the project.

✅Effective Tools

Use the top communication tools, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams to facilitate regular communication between teams. You can also use the tools for real-time messaging, video conferencing and collaboration. You can use these tools to ensure regular and continuous communication.

✅Detailed Documentation

You must have detailed documentation of the processes and changes made to the project. This will help everyone stay on the same page with respect to the project’s status.

The detailed documentation will help create a reference point to make altercations in the project and bring the new members up to speed.

✅Feedback Loop

This allows you to build a continuous feedback loop, which will help address the popular issues. You can encourage quick feedback on the processes and tools with this tip. It will help you improve the areas that are struggling and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

#2. Set Roles and Responsibilities

When you set clear roles and responsibilities across the teams, it helps build an effective relationship with your offshore team.

You can prevent any sort of overlaps in the in-house and remote teams. Moreover, this will help reduce the chaos and confusion, marking a possibility of accountability.

By clearly defining the roles and responsibilities, you can ensure smooth expectations and measure the performance effectively.

✅Define the Key Roles

You must have a detailed list of the roles required to complete the project. For instance, typical roles like project manager, developers and QA testers are crucial for the project.

You must mention the responsibilities and expectations from each role. It helps realize clarity when the team member works on the tasks, reducing ambiguity.

✅Use Responsibility Assignment Matrix

This is an incredible way to ensure each person on the team is accountable for their jobs. You can use the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed) matrix for each task.

Using this approach, everyone will know who is working on the particular project task. It can also help accelerate the project lifecycle.

✅Document the Roles

You must maintain a document of all the roles and responsibilities. It should outline the individual roles, tasks and their deliverables in detail. You must ensure the document is accessible and updated regularly.

✅Regular Reviews

It is crucial to review and update the roles and responsibilities as the project evolves. Using agile methodology, you can adjust these roles and assign new ones based on project needs and sprint goals.

By reviewing these responsibilities, you can also make sure the roles that aren’t needed anymore are scraped.

#3. Foster Team Integration

Team integration is important for a more cohesive and productive environment. When the teams integrate, they are able to work effectively and collaborate efficiently. You can create a sense of unity, which can help you overcome the time zone challenges and location issues efficiently.

✅Onboarding Process

With an integrated team, you can ensure a cohesive and productive offshore development team. These integrated teams will work towards a single goal. You must plan a thorough onboarding process, where the team members feel integrated with each other from the start.

You must have a process that introduces them to the company’s culture and team norms. Make the guidelines clear and precise, while offering them the needed guidelines and resources.

✅Cultural Sensitivity

Establish cross-cultural sensitivity and awareness among the team members. This would help them respect the differences in cultural practices and holidays. It can also help recognize the diversity and strengthen the bonds of the existing members.

✅Cross-functional Collaboration

Cross-functional collaboration is essential when team members are working on different aspects of the project. For instance, a collaboration between the development and QA teams can guarantee the best quality and faster development.

✅Shared Goals and Objectives

Working towards a common goal can help unify the entire team irrespective of their location and culture. You can also inculcate a sense of collective purpose amongst the team members. You must revisit the goals and celebrate the achievements to maintain motivation within the team.

✅Feedback and Recognition

Implement a system where regular feedback and recognition is important. You must encourage your team members to offer continuous feedback and acknowledge the achievements for a great journey together.

#4. Incorporate Agile Methodologies

When you incorporate agile methodologies in the offshore development processes, you can enhance the collaboration and flexibility within the teams. They are also responsive to change and adapt to newer market trends.

Using agile practices, your offshore team can break the entire project into manageable tasks that allow the teams to deliver high-quality projects. It also enhances the efficiency and adaptability of the teams.

✅Sprint Planning

By implementing the sprints, you can create iterations along with the goals and tasks for each iteration. It ensures a more structured process that increases the clarity among the team members. Moreover, it also helps manage the responsibilities and adhere to the timelines.

You can foster accountability and stay focused on the short-term goals while progressing towards completing the entire project.

✅Daily Check-Ins

This methodology encourages daily communication and sync between the team members. They are brief communications that help in addressing the roadblocks and acknowledging the progress. It can also help resolve issues promptly.

✅Iterative Development

This approach allows the developers to deliver functional software with the perfect features continuously. You will be creating a shippable product incrementally. You can also use this approach to make adjustments to the project and ensure it is in sync with the final requirements.

✅Continuous Integration and Testing

The continuous integration and testing loop can enhance the agile workflow. It can automate the build-to-test flow and help detect issues in the early stages. Moreover, this approach can reduce code quality issues and mitigate the risks associated with delays.

✅Collaborative Tools

You can use the agile project management tools to ensure seamless collaboration. It helps assign, track and manage the tasks within the project. You can also use it to streamline the communication and make it more real-time.

#5. Leverage Time-Zone Differences

When you are able to work with time zone differences, it is a sign of maximum productivity. You will be able to manage continuous workflow and ensure quicker completion of the tasks.

As the progress occurs round-the-clock, it makes the team more efficient and effective.

✅Implement Follow-The-Sun Model

This is a brilliant model wherein work occurs 24/7 on the project. As soon as the offshore team works on the project, they hand it in for feedback. The local team will work on the corrections, and share it with the offshore team during their work hours. The continuous movement of feedback and work will ensure maximum speed and reduce bottlenecks.

✅Overlap Work Hours

Make sure to add a few hours where the two teams can connect and communicate. By overlapping, you will be able to improve decision-making and speed up the discussions. It can also help resolve the urgent matters on hand.

✅Structured Handoffs

The handoff between the teams at the end of the work day is quite an important task. This should include sharing progress and mentioning the pending tasks. The handoff should also include a mention of the roadblocks that the teams might face. The project management tool can ensure quicker updates and streamlined processes.

✅Sync Meetings

House sync meetings on a regular basis during the overlapping hours. this can help with discussion on project progress and check on goal alignment. It can also help address the concerns any of the team members may have.

Conclusion

Working with an offshore development team requires clear communication and a strategic approach. You must define the roles and responsibilities clearly, ensure clarity in communication and incorporate the agile methodologies.

Use the time zone differences to stay productive and enjoy a cohesive partnership. Moreover, you can increase the efficiency and quality of your projects with this collaboration.

Expert App Devs is a successful offshore app development company with a diverse portfolio comprising several apps and industries. We have delivered success as a partner to several businesses with our defined process and agile methodologies.

Consult our team to take a look at the best practices that differentiate us and give our clients an edge over their competition.

Frequently Asked Questions

#1. What are the cost benefits of hiring an offshore development team for the software project?

➡ When you work with an offshore development team, you will notice reduced costs and impactful labour rates. The locations offer competitive resources at a reasonable cost. Moreover, the companies need not invest in infrastructure or other overheads, saving more money in the process. The company can use the savings to reinvest and further the business growth.

#2. What are the tools that help collaborate effectively with the offshore software development team?

➡ The key tools that help with effective collaboration include Slack and Microsoft Teams. They foster immediate communication between the team members. Additionally, you can use Jira and Trello to share the progress of the project. It can also further real-time collaboration.

#3. State the differences between an offshore vs onshore development team?

➡ The biggest difference between an onshore and offshore development team lies in their location. An onshore company stays closer to your location. they may have similar cultures and time zones. On the other hand, the offshore company is located in a different time zone or continent, thus causing language and cultural barriers.

#4. How to hire the perfect offshore app development partner for the project?

➡ You must have a solid definition of your requirements and research well before shortlisting the candidates. Make sure to conduct detailed interviews and proceed with a trial project before concluding the hire. You must check their experience and portfolio in detail before hiring them.

Jignen Pandya

CEO of Expert App Devs

A purpose-driven CEO, Jignen Pandya blends visionary leadership with humility and hands-on execution. Known for his ability to inspire teams, build trust, and drive business growth, he leads with a customer-first mindset while empowering people to achieve collective success. His leadership philosophy is built on empathy, collaboration, and turning challenges into opportunities — creating a culture where growth follows value creation.