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Ready for Software Development Outsourcing?
Development leaders sometimes question whether they are ready for outsourced employees. Although 2020 forced many to adopt a remote staff model, doubt remains as to whether they have sufficient processes and management bandwidth to add outsourced capacity—particularly developers and QA engineers working thousands miles away.
Concerns over readiness often focus on the need for tighter process definition, more established metrics, or sufficient bandwidth to manage a larger team. Although these are legitimate concerns, often outsourcing accelerates meeting these needs. Augmenting existing staff or standing up a separate development team via outsourcing brings with it more than just access to resources. Outsourced development centers can bring process and resource management capabilities that scale capacity.
When evaluating outsourcing companies, look for the following characteristics that can provide needed scale:
- U.S. Management Team
Outsourcing managers that have run software development organizations here in the U.S. understand the challenges development leaders face. They also intimately understand modern development processes and hire/retain resources that fit within U.S. development practices.
- Development Process Experience
Development processes come in different flavors. Outsourced development centers tend to have experience working in all sorts of environments and can apply that experience to current engagements. So, for instance, not only do they easily plug into existing Agile-based teams, but they bring an understanding of Agile processes and metrics that often level up development teams.
- Flexible Service Options
Scaling up and down based on market or internal developments needs is the ultimate tool for deterministic delivery. An outsourcing partner provides easy on and off ramps depending on those needs. Good on ramps include codified onboarding steps that speed time to value and require minimal client investment of time. Off ramps include risk sharing engagement models with short notice periods and options for temporary staffing for employees on leave or unavailable to move to newer, important projects.
There are always opportunities to improve existing development processes. Outsourcing actually provides a faster path to at least a more perfect development organization by bringing expertise on board that understands optimal development processes, is managed by a team of fellow technologists who have run organizations similar to yours, and provide tailored staffing options that give you flexibility to meet product delivery goals.