Response from: Josh Breinlinger    (07/11/07 5:25pm)

Communication. Communication. Communication.

I'm surprised it's not on the list. I think it's the root cause of a lot of the other problems mentioned.

I believe I have unique outlook on outsourcing success and failure. I'm the Director of Operations at http://www.odesk.com.
I've worked with thousands of buyers and providers of outsourcing services and I find that the vast majority of failures involve some breakdown in communication.

Communication issues often arise out of cultural differences, English-ability, and timezone differences. However, my belief is that working remotely forces everyone to become better communicators and many buyers and providers need to improve their skills in this area. Communication is a critical skill. It needs to be practiced. You should ask for feedback on your communication style. You should strive to improve your communication and demand excellent communication from everyone you work with. Enforce a rigid communication process that keeps everyone involved in a project up to date on all requirements and changes.

One best practice that I like is to have everyone submit weekly reports in a Wiki, including:

-What did I do this week?
-What am I going to do next week?
-What issues / challenges do I have?
-What questions do I have?

-Josh