Very low cost
Ability to scale large teams rapidly
Large talent pool

Low-context communication, used by software development teams in the US and much of the westernized world, is concise, straightforward, and explicit. To ensure both sides understand one another, low-context communication requires “saying it as you mean it”.

High-context communication, used by many software development teams in Asia and Africa, is nuanced, layered, and sophisticated. Understanding often relies upon shared histories and experiences. High-context communication cultures, like India and China, require “reading between the lines”.

If clear communication is the goal, Offshore Software Development teams need to adopt low-context communication and processes. Otherwise, communication can break down. There is simply no shared history or experience between the offshore team and the US-based team to enable nuanced, high-context communication. This leads to miscommunication, inefficiencies, project delays, and other potential problems. Offshore Agile Software Development is not possible without tight communication.

If your potential development partner does not know what low-context communication is, it does not necessarily mean they don’t communicate in a low-context fashion. Many engineers in Central and Western Europe are from low-context cultures. Ask to speak to their engineers to see if their communication is crisp and precise. You can also ask them to show you how they screen, train, and test for low-context communication.