What Is Software Development Outsourcing?
Software Development Outsourcing, as the name can tell, refers to the practice of paying an individual, a team, or a company to handle the full process or just a part of software development. Those who consider employing this methodology often can take advantage and make use of a large body of IT talents who may not be easily found in their own country. Another key benefit of this outsourcing is the significant saving of time and money, allowing the company and its employees to leverage their resources for major business operations. Moreover, what makes this method invaluable is that it can grant you access to cutting-edge technology for your software projects by hiring a dedicated software development team or just one dedicated developer.
The Essence of Software Outsourcing Development
For a lower expense and effort, businesses should opt for Software Development Outsourcing as it is deemed reliable and effective. That being said, although this practice brings an array of benefits, it is indeed not completely risk-free.
How Do You Successfully Outsource Software Development?
There exist a few things that need careful consideration regarding successful Software Development Outsourcing. Regardless of the project scale, keep the following in mind to ensure the expected outcome. See how HDWEBSOFT solved time zone challenges in offshore software development with daily reports, escalation paths, and flexible communication hours.
Paying close attention to communication
Attending to processes and procedures
Providing frequent and detailed feedback
Making a clear and comprehensive brief of Software Development with the end result idea and timeframe
Setup for Software Development Outsourcing
The arrangement for the outsourcing process is sometimes time-consuming as it may take up to a few months to complete. This largely depends on the selected model of outsourcing, the capability of the partner’s initiatives, your ready preparation for such processes, and more.Step 1: Decide whether to outsource or not
To make an informed decision for Software Development Outsourcing, conduct feasibility analysis which include the following steps:
Barrier Identification
Scope Decision
Cost Comparison
Choosing the most suitable method of software outsourcing services:
Choosing the most suitable method of software outsourcing services:
Step 2. Choose the best outsourcing company
Take into account the following factors when considering potential partners:
Partner Expertise
Client Testimonials
Location & Time Zone
Culture & Language
Dev Infrastructure
Quality & Security
Compliance Standards
Pricing Options
Maintenance & Support
Step 3: Set up the outsourcing procedure
Team Augmentation
- Send the chosen IT partner a personnel recruitment request with a specific list of skill sets and required FTEs.
- Ask for CVs and rates of available software developers.
- Arrange interviews with potential candidates.
- Set up a test task for the potential IT specialists (optional).
- Discuss SLA (Service-level Agreement) including punishments for security breaches.
- Sign the contract.
- Perform the necessary orientation and knowledge transfer to the outsourcing force.
- Provide access to the project infrastructure to the remote developers.
- Agree on the networks for communication between the outsourced party and the remainder of the project team.
- Fix the schedule for weekly or monthly reports on performance evaluation.
A Dedicated Team
- Send the chosen IT vendor a recruitment request to acquire the proposal with service options, development methodologies and et cetera.
- Ask for the estimation of the project scale and required efforts to carry out it.
- Along with the partner, set KPIs and keep track of the outsourced development team performance.
- Discuss SLA including punishments for security breaches.
- Sign the contract.
- Perform the necessary orientation and knowledge transfer to the outsourcing force.
- Provide access to the project infrastructure to the remote developers.
- Agree on the channels for communication with the outsourced dedicated team.
- Fix the schedule for weekly or monthly reports on performance evaluation.
Full Process Outsourcing
- Send the chosen IT partner a Software Development Outsourcing request.
- Ask for the presentation of estimates for technological solutions, service options, development methodologies and et cetera.
- Acquire the following from the partner: examination of all needed software development and support, judgment for the project scale, analysis of your existing development and testing processes and a viable service delivery plan.
- Discuss SLA, KPIs such as planned budget VS spent budget, metrics for user satisfaction, metrics for security and application dependability.
- Sign the contract.
- Perform the necessary knowledge transfer to the outsourcing force.
- Discuss with your IT vendor to arrange the development process, carry out CI/CD if necessary, and accommodate the processes of development and deployment from other partners if needed.
Pros and Cons of Each Type of Software Outsourcing Development Model
| Team Augmentation | A Dedicated Development Team | Full Process Outsourcing | |
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The IT partner’s side
| Team Augmentation | A Dedicated Team | Full Process Outsourcing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The IT partner’s side | Single/ multiple developers | Software developers, DevOps engineers, Project manager/team leader | Project manager, BA, UX/UI designers, Developers with a Team Leader, Testers, DevOps engineers, Support engineers |
| Your side | Project manager, BA, UX/UI designers, Developers with a Team Leader, Testers, DevOps engineers, Support engineers | Project manager (for the partner’s PM/Team Leader to report to), Developers (optional), DevOps engineers (optional), Support engineers | IT manager |
| Shared by both parties | — | BA, UX/UI designers, Testers | — |
Costs for Software Development Outsourcing
The following aspects define the cost of Software Development Outsourcing:
- The hour-based rate for the outsourced forces depending on the outsourcing location;
- The productivity of an outsourced development team;
- The transfer to another outsourcing partner.
Specific factors for cost estimate for full process outsourcing:
- The capacity of the partner’s outsourcing processes including project management maturity and long-established development processes to avoid starting over the project;
- QA process particulars of the vendor (aggressive testing reduces QA expenses while bug fixing in production works the opposite way).
What Do We Offer in Software Development Outsourcing?
With more than a decade of experience in Offshore Software Development and 250+ in-house top-rated developers, HDWEBSOFT offers various options for Software Development Outsourcing for businesses of all sizes. We provide you with the state-of-the-art software solutions at affordable prices and guarantee you the best quality.
Team Augmentation
- Software developers and architects with extensive expertise in Java, .NET, Python, PHP, Node.js and many more including legacy languages
- A wide array of outsourcing roles including testers and test automation engineers, DevOps specialists, system and integration experts, data architects and support engineers
- Flexibility in collaboration terms: up to 14 years
- Available top 1% professional developers at your service (from 0.5 to 100+ FTEs)
- A remarkable capacity in cutting-edge technologies (AI, Big Data and VR), innovative architectures such (cloud-native and microservices), development methodologies (CI/CD and test automation) and knowledge in various industries
A Dedicated Team
- Quick formation of an outsourced team (2 days - 2 weeks)
- Seasoned team leaders and project managers to control the outsourced teams
- Comprehensive support in building control of a cooperation environment and project progress
- Enforced compliance with quality KPIs upon agreement
- Adjustable team scale
- High competence thanks to our developers’ quality coding and time management practices to speed up the development process
- Significant reduction (up to 50%) in project expense because of the agile measure, CI/CD, and re-employment of available components
Full Process Outsourcing
- Complete Project Management Office (PMO) to implement projects regardless of complexity
- Experienced consultants in various industries such as retail, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics and many more to bridge the gaps between business and technology
- Business and software development objective defining and complete responsibility handling of the development project
- Tailor-made communication with every stakeholder
- Constant detailed monitoring of project process and frequent reports