Pragmateam

𝗢𝗳𝗳𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽𝘀. We have seen many companies with offshore teams. And while everyone hits problems, people often point to time zones, culture, poor English or team skills as the cause. But what we’ve experienced again and again is this: 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. Onshore teams often get by with unclear priorities, shifting decisions, vague requirements and inconsistent ways of working because 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗺𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿. But offshore teams don’t have the context, relationships and trust that paper over these cracks. So to fix that, suddenly: - Priorities need to stay clear - Decisions can’t change daily - Work must be broken down - Requirements need structure - The team needs delivery discipline Offshore isn’t harder but it 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. But the good news is that if we work to improve delivery discipline, the gains also benefit your local teams. (𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘴: Patrick Smith 𝘢𝘯𝘥 Leandro Augusto Zanchin - again!)

𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗜𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀. Many teams try to increase velocity with new tools, frameworks and now AI but the truth is: 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵. This story has very common themes as we look across the industry: • Features that were never validated go live • Scope grows quietly with little pushback • Teams optimise for velocity instead of outcomes Improving velocity matters does but the higher impact comes from 𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 to test value early: • Break down features and question each piece of it • De-scope the non-essential • Start with the thinnest version that proves the concept • Revalidate often as initial assumptions always change Teams that implement practices which makes it easier to question, de-prioritise and not build things tend to be much faster in terms of real value delivered. So while velocity is important, doing less is what most speeds you up.