Offshore and distributed

Any ThoughtWorks project can be delivered from any of our locations, or any combination of them. The decision about where to hold the project is all about the client and the project needs. Occasionally it's essential to undertake the whole project onsite, co-located with the client. This is fantastic from our point of view as it makes the work we're doing ultimately transparent and collaborative, but it is not always an option, or even the best solution.

In many cases, we can engage in an offshore or distributed manner, whether the need to do so is physical -- the space is simply not available, or cultural -- having a global team ensures diverse input, and we often find that the more diverse the team, the more innovative the solution.

Modes of delivery explained

Distributed - the project team is split across more than one site. That's it. Nothing more complicated, or long distance! A distributed team could be in two different offices in New York City, they still face communication challenges and need tools to support their collaboration. Distributed Agile is something we have been practicing successfully for a long time, and often in combination with Offshore delivery.

Offshore - projects delivered from a single offshore centre, primarily. Often these engagements start with an intense face-to-face inception, in whichever location makes sense. Then, with everyone sharing understanding of the challenge, the project team are co-located, most frequently in one of our offices in India, China or Brazil. There's lots more information here on our offshore pages.