The effect of cultural differences & offshore contracting on effective DevOps Implementation.
Teamwork can be defined as the interaction among team members and the work they complete. Teamwork lies at the center of most successful projects. Every team member get fulfillment from knowing that they have a meaningful role to play in the team and that their input is valued. Due to financial constraints and the scarcity of local specialized IT human resources needed for some projects, organizations tend to look beyond country borders for the needed skills. Finding the synergy of characters and passions in most cases improves the odds of project success. Attracting and keeping the right team members is an essential ingredient to effective teamwork. The importance of teamwork on organizational productivity cannot be understated.
Working with team members from different geographical locations has its pros and cons. On the pros side you get to build friendships across the globe and learn new stuff about other countries. However, on the other hand it has its shortcomings, with culture being the main inhibitor to effective teamwork. One of the other main barriers is language, difficulties in understanding what the other person is saying is a big hindrance to effective communication and collaboration. It is increasingly difficult to fully hear the English accent of people from for example some non-native English-speaking countries. This can lead to some parts of the project not fully communicated resulting in wrong input from other project members and consequently loss of project time and resources.
By definition, communication is the transfer of information or knowledge between actors. Communication is an integral part of the entire software development life cycle and of DevOps. In most cases conflict is as a result of ineffective communication which leads to misunderstandings, wrong strategies, and common feelings of frustration. Thus lack of effective communication can lead to dysfunctional development and operations teams. Effective communication can lead to better team collaboration, better engagements with the clients and reduced time to incorporate client feedback.
Temporal distances like time differences also mean that some team members will have to compromise their family time, sleep time or leisure time in order to attend stand-up meetings and other team meetings. This can be a strain on the affected team members which can lead to frustration and disengagement, both of which are counterproductive.
Some gestures (body language) mean totally different things if they are given by people from different geographical locations, for example shaking your heard sideways in India means “I agree” but in some part of the world means “I disagree”. Speaking in a commanding way is fully acceptable in some cultural dynamics and is can be viewed as rudeness and confrontational in other geographical locations. Strong language is not a big deal in other locations and is offensive is some.
It’s very vital to understand these cultural differences in order to build a custom DevOps adoption strategy that works for everyone. Getting this mix right will have a positive effect on teamwork which can energize the entire team and conversely getting it wrong might cripple the entire team.
In conclusion, notwithstanding the challenges that comes with offshore outsourcing, it can be highly beneficial if enough and thorough considerations are made during formative stages of setting up the team. Considerations such as, Identifying the possible clashing areas, common areas of understanding and then building of a teamwork strategy that takes into account these areas. A team leader will then ensure that this strategy is effectively communicated among all team members and be agile; adjusting the team as and when needed until you find the right recipe to your team’s maximum productivity.
