With an increasing number of companies choosing to outsource their software development, how do you know if it’s right for your company? Software outsourcing requires careful planning, a detailed specification, a seamless workflow and thorough testing. You need to know that your outsourcing company can deliver the results you need.
There are several factors to consider when outsourcing your development, including your project deadline, your internal resources, the inherent risks of your project and your budget.
What Is Your Project Deadline?
One of the principal benefits of outsourcing software development is efficiency. An experienced outsourcing company will have robust workflows and processes in place to ensure that projects are delivered on time.
Outsourcing works well for companies that require fast turnaround times and don’t have the resources to deliver the development internally. Research suggests that the average software development project takes just under 12 months to complete. If you need your product to launch to market quicker, then outsourcing could be the answer.
Whether you decide to outsource all your development or part of it, a good software outsourcing company will assign an Engineering Manager and Team Leaders to the project. Having a hierarchical structure ensures that milestones are achieved and that responsibilities are met. It also ensures that the client receives regular feedback on progress.
What Internal Resources Do You Have Available?
If your company already employs software developers, the question to ask is whether you have enough resources to complete the project on time. In our experience, companies generally underestimate the number of hours it takes to develop software, which often leads to staff being overstretched.
To develop high-quality software, companies need to have the required skills at their disposal and they need to have enough developers to deliver the project on time. Before you decide to outsource, consider the skills of your internal team. For example, you may have enterprise mobile app development services available internally but lack skills in UX Design.
Once you know where the skills gaps lie in your company, you can identify the elements of your project that you need to outsource. Working with an offshore development team helps bridge your skills gaps and ensures you get the expertise you need.
With software outsourcing, you only pay for the skills that you require, which is more affordable than hiring full-time staff members. Outsourcing frees up your internal team to continue working on existing projects and day-to-day business activities.
In today’s business landscape, outsourcing is becoming an essential practice for ambitious companies that want to stay ahead of their competitors. Often, projects need to be launched quicker than your internal team can deliver. Software outsourcing provides an effective and reliable approach that ensures a high-quality product.
ONCE YOU KNOW WHERE THE SKILLS GAPS LIE IN YOUR COMPANY, YOU CAN IDENTIFY THE ELEMENTS OF YOUR PROJECT THAT YOU NEED TO OUTSOURCE.
What Risks Are Involved With Your Project?
There’s an inherent amount of risk with every software project. Partnering with an outsourcing service can mitigate those risks and ensure that your product is launched to market without delay.
Before undertaking a software development project, you should ask whether your team has the risk management processes in place to ensure a seamless delivery. A successful development project requires extensive research, prototyping and validation. Even with all of these elements, projects can still get delayed without appropriate risk management processes in place.
The risk ratio of your project will depend on its level of complexity and the expertise of your team. Projects that are being developed from scratch, generally carry more risk than those being updated on existing platforms.
The best software outsourcing companies will take the time to review all potential risks. They’ll be able to foresee any issues and ensure processes are in place to reduce the risk.
At BairesDev, part of our approach to software development is to conduct feasibility studies to provide technological and budget validation. We provide proof of concept, develop prototypes, and conduct ongoing testing to minimize risks early in the product development cycle.
What Is Your Project Budget?
ALTHOUGH COST-REDUCTION IS IMPORTANT, IT SHOULDN’T BE THE DETERMINING FACTOR IN DEVELOPING YOUR PROJECT.
Cost is always a consideration when it comes to software development. In many cases, outsourcing your project can be a more affordable option than developing internally. After considering the internal resources you have available, you should evaluate whether you have the capacity to allocate developers to the project.
If developing the software internally means having developers double up on projects and pay less attention to existing activities, then outsourcing will be a good choice. Typically, outsourcing software development is less expensive than the costs associated with training existing staff or hiring new talent. When considering outsourcing costs remember that there are no ongoing training costs or equipment expenses.
Although cost reduction is important, it shouldn’t be the determining factor in developing your project. Even multinational companies need to adhere to budgets and find alternative ways of moving projects forward.
A trustworthy software outsourcing company will be able to provide you with an estimation of how many hours your project will take. Depending on its level of complexity, they may be able to provide you with an up-front cost, so you’ll know exactly how much their expertise will cost beforehand. Other times, retainer fees can be arranged for projects where timescales are more difficult to estimate.
How to Outsource Your Software Development Project
If you’ve decided that outsourcing is well-suited to the needs of your company, the first step is to evaluate what expertise you need. Consider the skills of your internal team and identify any gaps that would benefit from being outsourced. Staff surveys can be an effective way of gauging where your team’s strengths lie.
Once you’ve identified the skills that you need, you should consider what your team’s current capacity is for a new development project. If they have availability, you may only need to outsource part of your project – the elements that require specialist expertise or those that are time-consuming.
Essentially, There Are Three Project Delivery Options:
Staff Augmentation
This delivery model works well for companies that have an internal team of software developers but lack specialist expertise. At BairesDev, we used an IT staff augmentation delivery method to provide 20 developers for the travel search engine iSeatz.
Dedicated Delivery Teams
This method is particularly suited to companies that require an outsourced dedicated team to be more involved. They would typically take responsibility for overseeing the management of the project, allocating tasks to developers and monitoring workflow.
Software Development Services
This delivery method is the preferred choice for companies that require the services of a full-cycle development company. The outsourced company would oversee the entire project, from creating the specification, to setting milestones and quality testing.
Tips to Choose the Best Development Partner
If you don’t have access to hire software developers and you need to outsource the whole project, you should create a long list of outsourcing companies that can handle your requirements. You should also check their reputation in the marketplace by researching their portfolio and contacting their previous clients to verify the quality of their work.
Once you’ve narrowed down your search for a software outsourcing company, there are some additional details you should get confirmed. Typical questions you should ask a potential outsourcing partner are:
- Do you need anything clarified in the project specification?
- What is your workflow process?
- What project management tools do you use?
- How will you communicate feedback?
- How long do you estimate the project will take to complete?
- Do you have references we can contact?
Once you’ve chosen a software outsourcing company to move forward with, management roles should be assigned and specific tasks should be allocated to developers using project management tools. File-sharing software should be implemented so that everyone involved has access to relevant documents.
Engineering managers should be responsible for ensuring milestones are achieved and feedback should be provided throughout the process. The key to successful software outsourcing is communication.
