Good Datamation article by Eric Spiegel with advice on avoiding common pitfalls to offshore outsourcing. Eric interviewed Tiffany Mura, president of bizprox, LLC, a management consultancy based in Boston who recommends that firms provide an "introduction to offshoring" training for their own employees.
Eric also quoted her as saying that "One cultural issue I encountered was a tendency for the project manager in India to agree with a statement made, but upon delivery you find out that he misunderstood your meaning, yet hesitated to ask because of — for lack of a better term — politeness…" To avoid communication gaps like this, Mura recommends being extremely disciplined about documentation. "You must reinforce your intentions with documentation so intrinsic meaning is not lost."
Another problem Mura mentioned was the high turnover on teams in India.
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/columns/article.php/3496331
