In one of our previous articles, we mentioned several points to take into consideration when deciding to hire an outsourced team. Truth to be told, the article was written before the lockdowns and everything that followed was in full swing. And even before that point, the outsourcing industry weighed over $62 billion.
In the pandemics year, it surely just got higher, but the points we included back than still may serve as a good starting point in a globally remote work from home mode.
Therefore, in this article you can read about getting ahead of outsourcing downsides in this order:
As the above-mentioned number shows, outsourcing is far from being a new trend. And it is not something that start-ups use in their strategy, but some major players as well, such as: Slack, Adobe, GitHub, just to mention a few.
If done correctly, outsourcing can bring several benefits: from quicker project delivery to the market to significant cost-savings. On the other hand, if not set up carefully, it may affect your business plans and goals significantly.
So, what are the top three red flags that can bring to frustration and put the relationship with your software development partner at a stretch.
Communication struggles
It has not become the buzzword yet, but recently we heard several opinions where a sure way to avoid communication roadblocks is to – overcommunicate.
While access to talent pool in the geographical areas far from your headquarters bring undoubtful benefit, it is a good idea to approach it with caution. Namely, you and your outsourced software developers need to overcome inevitable language and cultural differences. In some cases, time zone differences as well.
There were multitude of communication channels even before 2020, yet the market flourished during COVID-19 and all you need to do is take advantage of it. Be it for written or video communication, use them and overuse them to enhance clarity and transparency. With the establishment of Agile and Scrum as industry standards, daily check-ins at regular have become something both the in-house and outsourced team expect to be in place. And also the best way to stay on track and follow the deliverables timeframe and milestones. Of course, all of that accompanied with collaboration tools and ticketing system with clearly defined priorities just add up to efficiency.
Misunderstanding the scope of the project
There are two major points where the misunderstanding of the project scope can happen: before the outsourcing to the remote team and during the communication (yes, this again) to the newly formed remote software development team.
Before setting on a journey of software outsourcing development, it is recommended to have clear expectations, road map, timeline, and priorities of the project. That way, you may be more certain that you can go to step two more safely.
By communicating the clearly defined expectations, you will allow the members of your team, wherever they are, to be aligned and focused on the tasks at hand. If the scope of the project and features which need to be implemented is documented, the room for misalignment is minimized and easily traceable. Also, in this way, the developers can do their part in participating and suggesting the solutions that can further improve the features of your product.
Code quality doubts
As well as the scope of the project, it is always a good idea to clearly define the quality standards of the code itself. Outsourcing developers will appreciate the check-list they need to go through before the delivery and you will safe yourself from frustration and code conflict resolutions.
Furthermore, it will add up to having well-documented and tested code which follows the conventions of the programming language your application is written. Regular feedback about code maintenance sets the tone for the long-term trust and commitment.
Code reviews and code pairing are nowadays fairly common among software developers who take interest in advancing their career and staying on track with current trends and using that advantage will do a lot of good when it comes to keeping the high standards in quality code.
Neglecting “Get it in writing”
True, the bunch of paperwork may seem unnecessary when everything goes smoothly. But once the bump comes along, you will thank yourself for taking that extra time to review the agreements in detail and include what ifs in writing.
Be sure that the contract includes time commitment, solution if the deadline is overdue, if there is a turnover of your dedicated developers, and benefits if the milestone is reached before the schedule.
