Today the role and popularity of outsourced software development services in the modern business world are growing. And this trend is quite simple to explain. Nowadays, more and more companies working in completely different spheres and industries may have a need to launch their own custom software solutions to deal with their specific needs. However, in the majority of cases, it will be not feasible to create an in-house development team as quite often development projects won’t be planned on a regular basis.
That’s why more and more companies every year (especially those that do not have programmers on their team) turn to outsource services. However, many of them have very little understanding of how everything should be organized and how to find the right team to work with.
To facilitate all the related tasks for you, we’ve prepared this short guide. And we hope that with the help of the provided information, you will seamlessly establish cooperation with a reliable software development company and get your solution created in full accordance with your requirements.
Step 1. Clearly describe your goals
Before starting to look for developers, you need to define the goals of your project. Here, you should take into account the expectation of all project stakeholders, including your company’s management, clients, and end-users. As you will work with external programmers who do not know your corporate culture, the specificity of your business, and all the processes, you need to describe all the requirements in detail so that even third-party specialists will be able to understand them.
Step 2. Prepare your project documentation
There is no sense even to start any discussions about potential cooperation with an outsourcing agency if you do not have a well-written plan and other project-related documentation. Even during your first communication with a vendor, you will be asked about your requirements and budget. So, please, be prepared.
Step 3. Choose a tech stack
As you understand, when you start working with third-party developers, in the absolute majority of cases they will work remotely. It means that it is vital from the very beginning to discuss the technologies that programmers should be good at. You should provide an outsourcing agency with this information presented in a convenient form. For example, you can create a project resource list. It will also be useful to mention there’s such aspects as tools and approaches to data protection and security.
Step 4. Find a reliable software development partner
Regardless of the cooperation model that you will opt for (it can be, for example, a dedicated development team or augmentation, or any other that is available today), you need to have a highly professional company by your side. This company should not only have access to a rich pool of specialists but also be able to manage them in such a way that will be comfortable for clients. Before you make a final decision regarding cooperation, do not forget to check the portfolio of the company as well as the reviews written by the clients that they have already worked with. Make sure that your future outsourcing partner shares the same business values as you have.
Step 5. Proceed to work, manage the process
Of course, your involvement in the development process will greatly depend on the cooperation model that you’ve chosen with your software partner. In some cases, you will have the possibility to control every step, in some other cases, your engagement can be minimized if it is comfortable for you. Nevertheless, it is still recommended to execute at least a high-level control during the process of development in order to make sure that everything is going exactly as it is supposed to.
Tips for choosing the best software development company
As we’ve already mentioned, it is crucial to choose the most reliable partner that will be comfortable for you to work with. Let’s summarize the key points that you have to pay attention to:
- Previous experience
- Expertise in the particular business domains
- Types of companies that this agency usually cooperates
- Portfolio
- Tech stack
- Pool of talents
- Cooperation models
- Cost of development
- Reviews
- Level of English skills (or any other language that you will use for your communication)
- Time zone (it is important to have the possibility to communicate with your developers at least for some hours per day)
If you feel that at least some points look suspicious or not appropriate for you, it’s better to look for another vendor in order to avoid unpleasant situations in the future.
Closing word
Actually, outsourced software development services provide a lot of freedom and flexibility for companies. That’s one of the reasons why even those businesses that specialize in building software solutions sometimes turn to third-party service providers. It can happen, for example, in those situations when they need some special skills for their project but they do not see any sense in hiring such employees for long-term cooperation.
With outsourced software development services, you can save a huge part of your budget without losing the quality of your newly built solutions. The main thing, in this case, is to find an appropriate cooperation model and a good vendor.
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