Communicating your requirements, but how?

Effective IT outsourcing is all about communication, how do you communicate your requirements and how does the recipient understand your requirements. I have seen countless  projects which were not finished due to miscommunication misunderstanding etc.

When two people communicate together there will always be a possibility for misunderstandings. Fortunately there are some steps one can take to lessen these misunderstandings. This blog is about what we at 1902 software do to lessen misunderstandings and ensuring a successful project execution. I do not claim that we do is correct or the best way but by now have a pretty good system in place, and we constantly improve it.

Communication problems

There are many reason to communication problems and many studies have been done on this particular subject. This blog is not academical thesis on communication problems but rather a more hands-on approach on how communication problems can be lessened and even avoided by doing some very simple things. Everything is seen from the point of view of an IT project and based on my experience in the IT outsourcing industry. Usually we have the following communication problems at 1902:

• Language problems. About 60% of our customers speak English as a second language. The developers in the Philippines also speak English as a second language although they usually have fewer problems understanding due to the predominantly English high school and university system in Philippines.
• The lack of ability to write in English. This is a big problem especially when we work with clients in Europe. Speaking is usually okay, but writing in English poses a challenge.
• Time difference. Depending where the customer is located we sometimes have a time difference of 8 or 10 hours. This means that meeting must be held at exactly the time it was agreed otherwise one party will have to wait for the other (discipline).
• Computer problems. At 1902 we primarily use Skype VOIP system, it’s free, it’s easy (never problems with firewalls and the like), it has video and great sound. The only thing required aside from broadband is a decent headset. You will be surprised how many people lack a decent headset at how many problems people have getting one. Get a decent USB headset it only costs $50. Next try it out and test it on your computer before holding a meeting. Skype has a fantastic testing service, call echo123 and then followed the voice prompt.
• Consider using a CRM system for communication that way everyone on the project has access to information. There are many CRM systems on the market, and there are many decent CRM systems which do not cost a dime. You can read more about the systems in the blog titled IT outsourcing should you go for a fixed price project or should you go for an hourly rate?
• Always send an e-mail whenever something new is agreed to.  This is especially important if you make a change i.e. deviate from the plan. A short e-mail summarizing what you agree to can help you tremendously 6 months down the road when no one remembers a particular change.

Tools which can help communicating with your outsourcing supplier

At 1902 we use different tools to communicate without customers. Each tool has a specific purpose and not all tools are used on all projects. In the following I will list the tools we use and quickly explained how we use that tool.

Skype – voice over IP communication. As explained above all verbal communication we do is done through Skype. It’s free, it’s easy, it has great video, it has a great voice and it works almost on all networks without firewall problems. Regular telephones are almost never used. If you need to call the client directly i.e. on the clients mobile phone then we use Skype out.

Logmein – desktop sharing application. This application is great for sharing desktops allowing two people to look at the same desktop when explaining or discussing a problem. The basic version of this application is free of charge and easy-to-use. It works on most networks getting through most firewalls. Sometime it can give a few hiccups but they are usually quickly resolved by opening up a port or two in the firewall.

Camtasia – screen recording. This is a great tool to record everything that happens on the screen while at the same time recording the voice. The tool is usually used by the customer to explain his or her requirements, problems etc. The output is a MPEG or flash video which the customer then sent directly to us.

When do we use Camtasia and when do we use Logmein? When the project manager and the customer discuss things through Skype they use Logmein so that both parties are looking at the same thing in real-time. When the project is almost finished and the customer wants to have the last nitty-gritty changes then Camtasia is used. The customer explains the changes while at the same time using the application.

Project communication.  By this I mean how do we communicate and keep track of all communication, files, specifications, flow charts etc. in a project. This is a very challenging part of the project and we have over a number of years tried many different approaches and spent a considerable amount of time and money trying out and using different applications which supposedly could solve all our problems. We have never really found a tool which really  works well in our organization. Either the tools were prohibitively expensive, required a PhD to install or required two weeks of massive schooling for our employees just to grasp the concept. Neither of this appeal to us.

Instead we have commissioned the development of an in-house system with the working title 1902 Timeline. The concept is rather simple, we view a project as a timeline. The length of the timeline is from when the project starts until it ends and everything that happens in between must be placed on the timeline. The plan is that we no longer use e-mails or FTP servers instead everything will run over the timeline. The mockup below shows the timeline. I don’t want to get into details exactly how it works because some of the features are confidential but I can revealed that it will have a limited scrum support in version 1. In version 2 it should be a complete scrum based tool. As of writing this we have no plans of selling or distributing 1902 timeline but that may change in the future.

1902 main timeline mockup

Demand specification – the communication aspect

Before you start any IT outsourcing project you should have a demand specification finished. Writing demand specification can be a daunting and very stressful process because if you forget to include something the application may not work the way you expect to.

That being said do not fall into the trap of ignoring the writing of demands specifications or taking the easy way out by doing a mediocre job. It will come back and bite you very hard in the tail if you do. There are different ways to write demand specifications:

• Write the demand specifications yourself.
• Get an external consultant who is familiar with your industry to do it togehter with you.
• Find an IT company, use them to write the demand specification. If you are satisfied with the performance then you can use the same company to develop the application (they will often be best suited to do that)

Whatever you decide to do not ignore the creation of demand specifications and take the time necessary to do it.

Development specifications – the communication aspect

Following the demand specifications development specifications are needed. Development specifications is the technical documentation necessary to develop the application. This documentation is usually prepare by the IT company who’s going to develop the application. You must be prepared to participate in this process although be on the sideline. This is because the IT developer will inevitably come up with ideas, suggestions or request that you change some part or parts of your demand specification.

As a general rule the supplier can give you either a fixed price or approximate price when the development specifications have been finished. In this blog I will not get into how demand and development specifications are created and what information they should contain. The subject will be discussed in a later blog.

What tool you use to write the specifications?

There are different tools available on the market which supposedly will help all make it easier to write these specifications. Based on my experience you need: Microsoft Word, a good keyboard and a lot of hard work.

You can also use voice recognition. I use DragonDictate voice recognition for everything I write. This blog is written using voice recognition saving me a great deal of time and making almost no spelling mistakes. The problem with voice recognition is that it requires some training, you don’t just buy DragonDictate version 10 and then start talking to the computer. You need to train the computer by reading very boring text for a few hours. Fortunately DragonDictate learns from your mistakes and over time you get quite high accuracy although I’m not sure I get 99% as claimed by DragonDictate (but then again English is not my first language). Important: if you want to use voice recognition do yourself a favor of buying a high quality USB headset with built-in noise cancellation. I got one which costs me about $275 but I’m glad I did (The brand is Andrea).

If you do not have a big IT infrastructure with all the bells and whistles to support you and your team, consider using Google’s online document system. As plain as it may sound it actually quite good because it allows you to write documents online in a Web browser and let other project participants view and review these documents online. Furthermore if you’re in a meeting discussing a particular item everyone present can see the changes you do to the document in their browser at the same time as you do it. It may sound like an almost childish simple way of doing things, but trust me it works.

Cultural differences

You cannot talk about communication problems if you do not talk about the cultural differences. The cultural differences between a western and an eastern company are substantial.

In the west people tend to express themselves directly by not beating around the bush and getting straight to the point. In the Asian culture people tend to express themselves indirectly assuming that you deduct and figure out the meaning yourself.

This is what researchers refers to as low context and high context communication.

In low context communication the sender explains the message and ensure the that the recipient understand the message 100%. This is what happens when someone explain something to you and keep on asking questions to find out if you have understood the message. Depending on the person conveying the message this can be a little bit intimidating for a high context communicator. I am a very low context communicator myself. I always ask questions to find out if the recipient of my message have understood what I’m saying.

In high context communication the sender assumes that the recipient interpret the message correctly based on the shared cultural background. The recipient will typically say 50 to 60% of the entire message and then leave it up to the recipient to fill in the blanks. When two people of the same high context cultural background communicate its less of a problem -but still a problem – however when a person with a high context communication pattern communicates with a person with a low context communication pattern then we have the recipe for misunderstandings and problems.

To further complicate things if you take high context communication and add the other eastern cultural barrier - losing face – then you have a potential disasters mix because the high context recipient of a message who did not understand everything being said will not ask qualifying questions out of fear of losing face.

This ladies and gentlemen is the reason that many western companies have a very difficult time outsourcing to countries such as India,  Pakistan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Vietnam etc. However if both parties are aware of the problem it can be overcome.

How do you get around this problem you ask?

• Experience is without comparison number one. The more you do it the better you are. I’ve been in the Philippines for about 12 years and a lot of experience, so much in fact that I know how to communicate and how to ask questions to ensure that the recipient understand what it is I’m saying and this without the recipient losing his or her face.
• If someone this explains something to me I do not understand, then I asked questions and continue to asked questions until such time I understand.
• In 1902 we try to seek out those employers who are most adaptable and teach them the difference often with good results. The way we teach this depends on the individual employee but it is usually through examples and hands-on experience.

Weekly or biweekly meetings

It is very important that a weekly or biweekly meeting is scheduled and that these meetings are held religiously. During these meetings you should always discuss the following (in addition to any other item on the agenda)

• Is the project on schedule?
• Are there any problems that needs to be dealt with which could interfere with the project schedule?
• Has there been any staff turnover?
• Is there any likely staff turnover in the foreseeable future in the next 2 – 3 weeks?
• Go through any outstanding questions which were not answered or addressed since the previous meeting.

You can also take a different approach using the scrum agile development system. The scrum system also requires meetings, in fact they require meeting every single day for 10 to 15 minutes. But that may not be feasible if you are in a different location or time zone. I don’t want to get into details about scrum, but scrum has some very distinct advantages if it’s done correctly. If the outsourcing supplier does not use scrum then have as a minimum one preferably two meetings every week where you always ask the questions listed above. Each question is self-explanatory.

Conclusion

When you choose your IT outsourcing supplier one of the things you should look at and ask into his how do they do their communication, what tools do they have available and how do they do it. Don’t discount a supplier just because the system they have in place is not as good as the system I have discussed here or another system you know of. It is not the system used but rather the results that count. Just make sure that you have a system in place before you start and that everyone involved knows exactly how the team members are going to communicate with each other.

Research a little bit about high and low context communication so that you know what to look out for and avoid misunderstandings. Show patience when you deal with the other party and understand that he/he is  from a different background.

This blog was written by Peter Skouhus. Peter Skouhus is president of 1902 Software Development Corporation, an IT outsourcing company based in Manila, the Philippines.

You can read more about 1902 at http://www.1902software.com in English.

You can read more about 1902 at http://www.1902software.dk in Danish.