Can You Offshore Business Analysis ?

There are many obvious problems with offshore business analysis, not least the quality of the analysis that arises and risks that arise.

The main objection is that communication that is not face to face is inferior as much communication is non verbal.

Professor Albert Mehrabian’s communication model for verbal interaction states that for describing feelings and attitudes to something (taken, with apologies, from original LinkedIn discussion from Paul Anderson’s comment):

• 7% of meaning is in the words that are spoken;
• 38% of meaning is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said);
• 55% of meaning is in facial expression.

The immediate (possible) cost saving can be outweighed by costs that will emerge arising from poor analysis which will significantly outweigh the original cost savings.

There are also other more practical problems which include the fact that the business analyst and the stakeholders work in different time zones and cultural differences can result in misunderstanding with different expectations.

The ‘ideal’ business analysis engagement has the following characteristics and these are less likely to be satisfied in an offshoring scenario:

• Common language;
• Familiar with business and stakeholders (has established relationship/trust and/or shared understanding of business);
• Familiar with business sector (if the above is not true);
• Ability to act effectively on behalf of project stakeholders (i.e. sponsor) Business analysts are required to manage stakeholders expectations and control scope. This negotiation is best done face to face (Thanks to Marc Thibault for your comment on LinkedIn);
• Same working hours, Working in different time zones introduces extra difficulties in a challenging job;
• Familiar with country/regional culture where relevant. This includes accent and cultural norms. Less important, depending on the project, will be familiarity as an end user. For example, where the project delivers a product to the market which is familiar to the business analyst, this will not prove an obstacle to the analysis.

I would suggest these are listed in order of importance. Clearly it is critical that the the business analyst and stakeholders share a language. In certain circumstances, it is helpful that the business analyst understands the local market as a consumer and it is often, indeed, assumed this is the case.