Please read this excellent article from Martin Fowler: Using an Agile Software Process with Offshore Development.
For the last four years ThoughtWorks has operated a lab in Bangalore India to support our software development projects in North America and Europe. Traditional approaches to offshore development are based on plan-driven methodologies, but we are very firmly in the agile camp. Here I discuss our experiences and lessons learned in doing offshore agile development. So far we've discovered that we can make it work, although the benefits are still open to debate.
The article is very old, but nothing changed so such since that time.
- It presents a fundamental introduction to setting up distributed team communication:
Use Continuous Integration to Avoid Integration Headaches
Have Each Site Send Ambassadors to the Other Sites
Use Contact Visits to build trust
Don't Underestimate the Culture Change
Use wikis to contain common information
Use Test Scripts to Help Understand the Requirements
Use Regular Builds to Get Feedback on Functionality
Use Regular Short Status Meetings
Use Short Iterations
Use an Iteration Planning Meeting that's Tailored for Remote Sites
When Moving a Code Base, Bug Fixing Makes a Good Start
Separate teams by functionality not activity
Expect to need more documents.
Get multiple communication modes working early</li>
Even if you decide to skip some of the tips and tricks mentioned there, it could be really helpful as a comprehensive
checklist - just to make sure nothing important was missed.