Table of Contents
When you are looking to finish a software development project for your company, choosing the right development team to outsource the project to is extremely important. The reasons for outsourcing software development are abounding, from cost and time efficiency, to gaining access to a team of professionals who will take your project to the next level.
The main question every business owner has to answer is how to hire a dedicated team, that will successfully deliver the best product for your company?
Know Where to Look
When searching for a development team, time might not be on your side and you might be finding yourself picking the first option that comes before you. Fortunately, there are multiple sources you can rely on, in order to find the best match:
- Word of mouth
Everybody agrees that word of mouth is the best advertisement for any kind of service, software development included. Ask your friends or colleagues from the branch to recommend someone they’ve previously worked with and make a list. Afterwards, do some research and see who is the best suited for your needs.
- Look online
Many software development companies advertise their services directly through their website. A well put together website has a lot to say about the company, so make sure to pay good attention to this. If you don’t know where to start, try searching for some relevant keywords, such as “app development services”, “dedicated web development services” and so on.
- Go to conferences
In order to keep up with what is new in the industry, software developers often participate in conferences or meetups, which are usually covered in the media. Look for such events, attend, and discuss with developers face to face. The advantage is that you will get the chance to meet part of the team in person and have a more informal discussion that will hopefully give you an idea about them.
Evaluate Skills and Experience
After making a list with potential vendors, which should not be larger than 4-5 options, take some time to evaluate their skills and past experience, to see if they can meet your needs. In order to make an informed decision, you should take into consideration the following:
- Experience: if you need to outsource a complex project, look for teams that have at least 2 years of relevant experience in your desired field. While young teams do not necessarily lack the skills, they may not have the overall experience to finish a complicated project.
- Portfolio: ask about past work and clients and contact them for reference. Ask if they were satisfied with the project management, as well as overall product development. Looking for genuine reviews will give you much more perspective and will serve as proof of their skills.
- Product quality: request examples of their previous work or, if possible, try to use the services of previous clients. Try to see if their products are intuitive, fast-working and user-friendly. This will show you if the team can deliver high-quality services.
- Communication skills: managing a virtual team is hard enough already. Ask how you will be keeping in contact and how often you will be briefed about the development process. Ideally, you will be receiving updates every few days, but this depends on the deadline and the complexity of the project.
Ask About Flexibility
Throughout the development process, there is a big chance parts of the initial project are going to change, in order to meet your company’s needs. Look for a team who is open to those sorts of changes. Look for customized solutions that can be easily modified and tailored to your needs.
If you are in need of a mobile app, for example, keep in mind that there are going to be operating system updates and your clients will need the app to keep up with those updates.
If you choose to outsource to an offshore team, keep in mind that there is going to be a time difference between you. Make sure you keep communication open through various means, such as video conferences, phone calls and emails. If possible, try to communicate with every team member at least once during the process, to have an idea of who is going to be behind the product.
Look for Transparency
You will want to be permanently updated with all the details of the development process, up until the deadline, so look for a team does not have any issue in briefing you whenever you need it. Ask to have access to the project plan, as well as status and task assignments. Request to be kept up to date with any kind of issues and how they managed to solve them, to have a clear idea of the whole process.
Another way to see the evolution of the project is to request weekly demos and briefings and collaborate with the team in order to have them deliver the best possible product. After all, you are the client and no matter how experienced the team is, they should be able to keep communication open and take your opinions into consideration.
Discuss Costs Upfront
Chances are, you have already thought about how much money you are willing to put towards software development. Before making a decision, discuss costs as direct and transparent as possible. Ask for a pricing offer from every team you are interviewing and see which one has the best offer.
Keep your budget in mind, but be willing to go a bit over it if necessary. Look for quality over price, as you might be saving a few dollars, but it can cost you the image of your company and, frankly, it is not worth it. Focus on aspects such as product quality, delivery timeline and support. Some companies might charge you less, but will not provide support after delivery and you might find yourself having to pay more in case something goes wrong.
Pay Attention to The Contract
If negotiation goes well, you will have to sign a contract before starting the collaboration. The contract should typically include:
- Confidentiality agreement: pay attention to details and make sure the confidentiality is mutual and does not include any obligations other than secrecy.
- Masters Services Agreement: this is the main contract, which contains the main clauses that apply to the overall relationship you will have with the vendor. Pay attention to payment terms, as well as the non-compete agreement. You would not want the company to sell the same project to a competitor of yours a few months later.
- Statement of Work: The two main types of SOWs are Fixed Bid and Time and Materials. Fixed Bid refers to a certain work delivered to for a certain price, which does not fluctuate during the project. Time and Materials means you will be billed for the time spent on the project and not for the project.
Why Hire a Dedicated Team at JetRuby?
No need in recruiting
By choosing the dedicated team, you won’t have to spend time on searching the developers for your project. JetRuby provides you with all the necessary specialists and cutting-edge equipment for implementing your project into reality.
You’ll also save money on workspaces, office expenses, insurance policies, on various trainings and so on.
Having team in one place significantly simplifies the communication, planning and the development process.
Staff Management
Having a permanent team working on one project is another big plus for a DT. Such team would be able to know every detail of the project.
Moreover, the complete structure, a unique approach to every employee, and the distribution of social roles will contribute to starting a project without any delay.
Full Control over the Project Flow
You have a full control over the team activity and their workload. Set the direction of your project according to the priorities.
Direct communication between the team and the client is a crucial factor in any successful software development projects. Dedicated team members have no reasons in hiding the possible issues in a product development. As a result, this allows client to react quickly and make the right decisions in the right time.
The Bottom Line
Summing up, dedicated team is a good choice if you want to produce your product while having a full control over the process and stay mobile in business decisions.
A little degression – we are in the category of Top Web Development Companies Of 2020! We wouldn’t achieve it without your help.
By choosing JetRuby dedicated team, you’ll get:
- A personal approach, adaptive way of communication
- A considerable experience in developing startups and MVP
- No need in recruiting, training expenses or administrative work
- Full control over the development processLet’s build the future together!
About the Author
Marie Fincher is a content writer at TrustMyPaper company with a background in marketing, technology and business intelligence. She frequently writes about datascience, BI, new marketing trends and branding strategies. Marie gradually changed her focus from working in marketing to writing about it.
