Barriers to Client Collaboration in Agile Offshore Information Systems Development

Abstract

There is a fundamental contradiction between the requirements of offshore outsourcing and the use of agile methods in IS development. While agile methods call for extensive, frequent interaction between client and developer, outsourcing unavoidably hinders this interaction on several levels. Research to date has not specifically addressed this mismatch; the issue is either dismissed as less important or skirted by assuming the existence of an onshore team to conveniently collaborate with the client. There is no doubt that some nominally agile offshore projects can be conducted successfully without the usual level of client interaction, and in others the permanent presence of an onshore team is feasible; anecdotal experience reports describe such projects. However, in the general case of agile offshore development, client collaboration is central, and this issue cannot be avoided. This chapter examines the nature of the mismatch between agility and offshore outsourcing with regard to client collaboration. The aim is to expose the underlying issues with clarity, to assist in further research designed to formulate improved ways of addressing the client collaboration gap in agile offshore projects.