In the previous post, I defined Extreme Remote as "having team members so far away that regular overlapping work periods are very difficult to maintain". And, I referred to countries such as Pakistan and India as sources of technical talent. So, isn't that just what we typically refer to as "off-shore development"?

I consciously avoid using the term 'off-shore' because, to most people, it implies a way of working and a set of problems that is exactly what we are trying to avoid. 'Off-shore' typically implies a waterfall process and an 'over-the-wall' mentality. With Extreme Remote, we want to apply genuinely agile principles and creatively solve/mitigate the challenges posed by distance, time-zones, and culture.

Here are some key differences between off-shore development and Extreme Remote teams:

  Off-shore
  	Extreme Remote
  
    Big Up Front Design
    Iterative design
  
    Requirement misunderstandings revealed at time of delivery
    Requirements expressed as automated tests; continuous integration allows early evaluation and course correction
  
    Lack of code ownership
    In-house team members intimately familiar with code at all times
  
    Code quality issues revealed at time of delivery
    Daily code reviews and regular group code reviews preserve code quality continuously
  
    Separate teams
    Integrated team