The idea of outsourcing software development services and teams with required skills and expertise without location limitations to leverage the benefits of access to a wider technical pool of specialists is not new and has been used across companies and industries for years.
Developex, as a service company with 19+ years of experience in software development. We have become an efficient partner in both project-based outsourcing and in creating and maintaining dedicated engineering teams for our clients.
WHAT IS A DEDICATED DEVELOPMENT TEAM?
The dedicated software development team, remote development center (RDC), also called out-staffing (outsourcing of resources) or as we call it in Developex – SW development team as a service means the type of outsourcing cooperation. The vendor provides the customer with a remote team of software developers (as well as any other type of specialists) that meet all of the customer’s requirements (amount of people, skills and expertise, education, and so on) and work on the customer’s projects as a part of his (customer) own team.
The team as a service includes:
- Recruiting services (people search according to your requirements, interviewing, skill tests)
- Administrative, legal and operational services (vendor takes care of all accounting procedures and other hiring-related tasks)
- Workplace arrangements and set up, office and workstation management
- Security set-up and maintenance and intellectual property protection
- HR support for your team (adaptational, motivational, team-building activities upon request)
The cost model for the outsourcing of the SW engineering team can be defined either by hourly-rates or as a fixed monthly fee per team member. In any case, the software development budget is fairly simple to define, as the monthly costs are easily calculated based on team size and planned workload.
The contract is usually defined by a monthly budget and the period in which the team is provided (3 months, 6 months, year) and can be prolonged.
It means that compared to the per-project outsourcing for beginning work with your dedicated team, there is no need to evaluate and plan the scope accurately. It’s enough to understand the workload and how long the team will be required. And usually, it’s a good fit for ongoing projects, as an alternative to in-house team extension or for mid and large-scale projects, where scope hard to plan accurately before the start or may change in process and allow to move on with the project effectively in a more agile way.
TYPICAL TEAM COMPOSITION
Project Delivery Manager/Team Coordinator – Can be a part-time role to coordinate the team and workload and assist with operations activities and requirements management. The level of engagement and full responsibility list is usually adjusted based on the project needs.
Business Analyst (Optional) – An additional role that can be provided for bigger projects, where a lot of work on technical documentation and specifications writing is required.
Software/Embedded Engineers – Experienced software developers or embedded engineers with required skills and background that are needed for the work under the project. The size of the team can be from 2 engineers to a team of 10+ specialists with a lead engineer at the head of the team.
QA Engineers – Provide testing of software, requirements, UI, load, etc. Also, there can be cases when only the QA team or only development team is requested.
DevOps, System Administrators, UI/UX Designers – More roles and specialists can be provided for the project temporarily or on an ongoing basis depending on project needs.
Developex maintains a competitive advantage over smaller companies when it comes to starting teams of 3-7 software developers. By utilizing personnel in our locations (which are offshore and near-shore locations for our clients), we can efficiently create an ideal-size team for your needs.
We outperform smaller companies who cannot build quality development teams of this size as quickly. Our typical set-up time is 2-3 months or faster, which is superior to building a team from scratch.
At the same time, Developex preserves a custom approach and flexibility to each client, which allows us to provide services more effectively compared to large service companies.
THE PROCESS OF SETTING THE TEAM WITH DEVELOPEX
The process of providing the dedicated team for the project usually customized from case to case to fit the best to the Clients expectations and needs, by typically consist of the next stages:
- With our help, you define the team and skills you desire. This includes different technologies, level of education, years of experience, unique expertise, etc.
- Together we decide the management methodology and operating model that will have place within your upgraded team
- You can participate in interviewing and shortlisting processes (most clients prefer to hold a final interview to approve candidates pre-screened by Developex.)
- After the team is created, we maintain the infrastructure and allocate our project manager/coordinator’s time for reviews and improvements, maintaining high motivation and an equally high level of engagement in the team.
- We strengthen our service by complimentary services including, but not limited to temporary staffing, specialized knowledge consultations, 24×7 support, security audits, continuous integration process setup and training, and additional advice on software development practices, team management, or quality control.
WHEN A DEDICATED TEAM CAN BE REQUIRED
A dedicated development team can help to solve multiple business tasks:
- Human resources for your current and future projects, which increases dramatically your hiring speed so you can start and deliver your projects in time.
- Lower your time investment on the selection process. You decide how much time you can invest in the interviewing process, so there is no need to screen each candidate by yourself.
- Decrease hiring risks (all the issues connected with employees is a responsibility of vendor).
- Optimize the software development budget – using services of outsourcing companies from Ukraine can be more cost-effective when compared to local hiring. No additional costs for employment, office space and hiring itself is required
How do you define whether or not outsourcing of the development team will work for your business?
That is a good question as it is evident that it’s not a suitable solution for every company. However, there are some signs that show a dedicated development team might fit your business or at least make sense to consider such an option:
- Your company is growing rapidly and new projects keep arising or the size of the project exceeds the possibilities of your in-house team.
- You think strategically about budget optimization for your products development.
- You are already an international enterprise or a distributed team whereas having a team in one more location is a normal process.
- You have a lot of open software development vacancies and it is rather hard to fill them with appropriate candidates.
- You have strict time limits and no time to form your internal team.
- You have a limited budget or resources to expand your software engineering department.
- You require some specific expertise or skills that are not in the area of your specialization.
The team as a service is a complex solution and though it is a remote service, all control and important management issues belong to you and your team. Of course, it cannot totally substitute the internal software department, but it can be a good and powerful addition.
DEVELOPEX COMPETENCIES
A dedicated development team can be provided for any type of project – web & Cloud development, mobile projects, desktop, and cross-platform, embedded, etc.
The remote service team is a powerful addition. Of course, all control and important management decisions are yours.
Read more about the outsourcing of software development:
7 Myths on setting the development team in Ukraine
Software developers team extension: local or remote?
