How To Successfully Outsource Software Development

A lot of things could be done quickly if you outsourced software development teams, especially when you need more time to focus on your business’s core activities. IT outsourcing services help you save time and money. Therefore, out of a million ways of improving productivity, outsourcing is always in my top 5 tips. 

However, challenges come alongside a solution. Outsourcing requires a business to work with people from far away. Hence, getting your hands on detailed communication and collaboration is challenging.

To succeed in working with software outsourcing companies, you will need to organize things carefully from A – Z. It might take some time for you to conduct some thorough research on how to work with your outsourced software development team properly.

However, I’m here today to help you narrow the list down to 5 tips that will help you along the way. 

Tip #1: The right partners make the perfect collaboration.

A good team always makes the job easier for both sides. Most of the time, you only need to ask them for an overall weekly update. After that, everything is done from A – Z without you interfering too much. 

The first step is to ask for references from your friends or connections. Find out which has a profile suitable to your company’s demands. After that, you can ask for some reviews from the tech communication on different platforms such as Facebook, Linkedin, etc. 

It’s all about patience at this point because you will have to do a lot of asking. Also, you must be selective with the information that you pick up because the internet is a huge place. Once you get the hang of it, it gets easier for the next step. 

Related article:

What Makes a Good Offshore Development Center?

Software Development Agreement Checklist 

Tip #2: A clear written agreement bonds the responsibility. 

A contract that gives clear statements that include different headings is the right substance to control the collaboration. It shows them what you expect to see and lets them know that they’re bound to these terms. If they don’t follow, they will face the consequences.

There can be plenty of headings on the contract. It’s good to list them all out and write as much as you can in the term you expect them to perform the most. Especially communication and deadline requirements are the 2 most important things in my case. As long as you feel the terms are necessary to break down, bring them all onto paper, have the software outsourcing company sign them and be ready for work.  

Tip #3: The right communication tools make interactive collaboration.

Technology has played a huge role in determining how a system functions. Using a good communication tool for business takes up to 30% of the success. Especially when it’s now the pandemic period, people will have to work long distances in an undefined amount of time. 

This critical aspect also applies to the collaboration between a business and its dedicated software development team. The communication process will take place 100% through a digital tool. Therefore, picking the right tool for cooperation takes up to 50% of the efficiency of the work. 

There are thousands of tools that you can use. Each has distinctive features that match different types of business models. However, the number one thing you need to keep in mind is to use the right tool for both teams. Skype or Slack are popular. If you need some apps to manage the workflow, I’d suggest Trello and Jira. 

It’s important to check the collaboration channels every day so that you don’t miss out on any updates.

Tip #4: Deadlines: make them sound serious 

Deadline is the most important thing when two teams work together. Overdue results happen a lot of time, and they are caused by many reasons: misunderstanding, lack of communication, technical issues, etc. It may happen beyond our knowledge, and oftentimes, it’s really hard to control when you have the work in someone else’s hands. 

A common mistake I often see from people working with a software development team is that they only claim they need things done “as soon as possible.” This is wrong to use the ASAP phrase as it has no clear date and time for the other side to count on.

Most of the time, when I hear this from my boss, I would assume he’s giving me some more time, gotta chill. However, this phrase is not to be used under any circumstances.  

Always make sure to put a certain date and time on the paper. And remember not to state anything verbally. What comes out of your mouth will always disappear. But what’s on the paper will be there forever. 

If they miss the deadline, give out a warning and ask for their explanation. Problems might happen unexpectedly, and it’s hard to maintain a good partnership. So, don’t act quickly. Think clearly before you pull out any decisions that might end up terminating the contract. 

Also, only discuss the deadlines with the project manager of the team. This way will help you avoid contacting too many people, which leads to confusion in the end. 

Tip #5: Be involved, but don’t micro-manage 

At the end of the day, it’s all about trust when collaborating. If the trust doesn’t show up, issues happen very often. Micro-management is usually the main problem that causes this. Many times clients are too sensitive.

They always want to stick to details, eventually leaving the software outsourcing company no free space. And when there are no easy-to-breathe moments for the work to be done, the moment can exceed the boundary. 

Trust is an important factor that makes a good partnership. Therefore, instead of micro-managing, you should establish more meetings to get frequent updates from them. After that, sit back and let them do their job. Also, you can come up with unexpected questions and make sure they can answer all of them. 

Working with an outsourcing team has never been easy. But once you get the hang of it, everything will be as smooth as you expected. 

I hope the few tips above will work out for you when you hire your next software outsourcing development team. Make sure to follow TECHVIFY for more useful tech guides along the way.