This story reminded me of general situation in some software projects at large companies without <i>any outsourcing</i>. Clueless manager comes in and asks if this can be finished by Friday, developer already knows from previous experience that discussing realistic dates brings no good and just says "sure" and continues to develop at his own slow demotivated pace.<p>This article describes failure of communication which is not unique for outsourcing and can plagues any software project if contious attempts to avoid it are not made.