Cultural Differences & the Importance of Communication
I am based in the United States. I have worked with off-shore developers for over 20 years. One of the things I stress in all my interactions is to speak up if something does not make sense. Too often I have seen requirements go through a thousand iterations and end up with something that might not seem quite right. We are now asking for a square peg to fit into a round hole. They were both square to start with but through the iterations things changed a bit. One specific interaction sticks with me today. This one was not specifically about a requirement but did involve some confusion. I was having an instant message chat with one of my developers. She is a great developer and we fostered a great working relationship. This misunderstanding took place early in the relationship. There was a long weekend coming up and she had added another day or two around it. I was asking about her plans. She volunteered that she was going to attending a wedding with friends. "That sounds like ...