The Communication Challenge

Software Development Liverpool - Redland Software

The communication barriers between different cultures are greater than the language differences. There is a whole layer of meaning which cannot be taught, it has to be experienced.

The communication barrier is something that often causes problems with offshore outsourcing. We have sometimes struggled with this, particularly when the client is in direct contact with our Romanian team.

However, with time, it is possible to anticipate the potential barriers and do something about them.

For example it is sometimes useful to state a requirement in the positive (the field must only allow numerical data) and the negative (the field must not allow any non-numerical data). Furthermore, it is important to not make any assumptions about what words mean - the assumptions you could make with someone from your own country.