Long Distance Project Management

Managing an offshore project from an onshore (or near-shore location) is always a challenge. Though the project manager has the advantage of being close to the client, which is great for requirements gathering and later for UAT support, he/she could struggle to make the remote team stick to the schedule. Not only do you as a PM have no control over attendance and timings, you cannot stop the team leads or coordinators from making minor changes to your project plan as per their own judgement. If you allow them a free hand, you run the risk of losing control over the project. But if you complain or interfere too often, you are seen as playing power games and trying to micromanage. So you need to constantly walk a tightrope between being a dictator and being totally hands-off, while ensuring that the offshore team completes the project on schedule, at (or better still slightly below) budget and most importantly, to the satisfaction of the client