Dquadrant
5 free tips to outsource software
A few tips that can help you
The Netherlands, 30/08/2022
It is not an easy task to outsource software development. Many companies do not have, or only to a limited extent, the necessary knowledge and expertise of software development which makes it even more difficult to outsource.
The cost of bringing expertise in-house due to a lack of well-trained IT staff is very high. A highly competitive market complicates this process and the need for digital transformation is a must. That is why many companies look for solutions abroad where the pool of employees is larger and labor is cheaper.
A shortage of good software developers has led to an explosion of international software companies offering their services at low rates spamming your mailbox on a daily basis. Many of these software companies are very opportunistic in their approach and taking on projects while in fact their employees are lacking the required experience and knowledge.
In most such cases their employees are trained on-the-job during your project while you are not aware of this. Ultimately, lower hour rates are not a guarantee for the desired result.
A good software company trains its own employees assigns in-house projects to let them gain the required knowledge and practice before introducing them into a customer project.
Search for a software partner with the right knowledge and experience for your project, verify the work they have done and talk to their clients to find out about how satisfied they are.
In addition to the above problems, outsource software development to a software partner abroad can cause several problems, for example a mismatch in expectations and reality, interpretation differences, cultural differences, time zone differences, language barriers, control over employees, intellectual property, late deliveries, other laws and regulations etc.
Before you start with any project it is important to draw up a contract and NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement). Both parties agree on what will be developed, the resources (fulfilling the required expertise for the job), amount of hours per week, the start date of the project, the delivery date of the project, the deliveries and in case of a breaches what will be the sanctions.
The purpose of this article is to give you 5 free tips that can help you on your way to outsource software development.
Know your needs
Define what skills and knowledge your project requires and what you expect from your software partner. As an example do you need a front-end or back-end developer for your project and what is the required knowledge and experience with the software tooling in use or does a choice of software tooling still need to be made. Do you need help with designing the architecture of the solution etc. What is the required language to communicate. Only after you have a clear picture of the requirements for your project can you start looking for a suitable software partner. When looking for a suitable software partner, you should take the aforementioned problems into account.
Start small
In any case, start small to familiarize yourself with a software partner and gain insight into the development process and detect what works best for both parties. If it turns out that the cooperation does not work, you can quickly put an end to it and the damage incurred has been limited. In case the software partner does a great job you can consider expanding the scope and see how they manage that.
Project management is important
Designate a project manager for both parties. A good project manager is a trusted person who is accessible at all times, is aware of the latest developments and can provide insight into this, and he/she also thinks along in solutions to ensure that the project leads to the desired result.
Build trust
Building trust and a long-term relationship with your software partner is not an easy task and requires effort from both parties. You can build trust with the software partner by communicating transparently and openly and by sharing information and ideas with each other and by providing access to all layers in the company. This also applies to the software partner.
Identify and troubleshoot
The importance of coordination between both parties with regard to possible technical problems and the resulting consequences is essential, but it does not stop there. The availability of resources, changing scope as a result of progressive insights, possible budget restrictions, etc. must also be shared with each other in order to achieve good mutual understanding and cooperation.