12 Tips to Successfully Outsource Software Development
Outsourcing your custom software development is a great way to gain competitive advantage. Outsourcing empowers you to speed up delivery while keeping budget within restraints.
But it takes work to make software outsourcing successful. Here are some tips that will turn the tides of success to your favor.
Start small
There is no guarantee that the first company that you hire will be the perfect fit for you. Start cautiously by asking them to work on a small project.
The benefits of starting small:
- Shorter-term, lower-risk commitment.
- Easy to switch to a different software company.
- Minimal loss if the chosen software company falls short of expectations.
If you are building a new product, you can ask them to put together your minimum viable product (MVP).
Put value first
Cost-saving is the most attractive reason to outsource. But it should not be the main parameter for choosing a partner.
Value means getting the most out of your outsourcing investment.
The lowest bidder may deliver with less-than-desired quality. On the other hand, the most expensive services are not necessarily the best.
When searching for a development company, factor in their portfolios and customer reviews. The, you can cross-reference those with their price points.
Find a company that can work as a business partner
A software engineering company should go beyond just writing code. They should understand what your business values.
They should be able to show understanding of your business and translate that into how they build software. A custom software development company should be able to:
Understand what your business needs. A software partner should not just say "yes" all the time. Instead, they ask probing questions and suggest solutions that are more suited to your current context.
Help you with missing or incomplete software requirements. Well-written software requirements prevent miscommunication between you and the development team.
Prioritize features and issues. Time and money will always be limited. But the potential of your custom software is virtually unlimited. Prioritizing features helps you deliver software in increments.
Ask about post-development support
Thorough testing is done before software is released. But the only time software is truly tested is when it reaches the hands of customers. A software company should be able to provide you with necessary support like bug fixes and updates after your software is released.
Warranty period. This is complimentary support if a bug is found after a release, within an agreed upon time frame.
Patch. This is a fix for a problem, defect, or security vulnerabilities.
Update. This is a revision to software, often for enhancements.
Software is not a living entity but it should be treated as such. Technologies, attacks, and vulnerabilities change over time. Your custom software needs updates and patches to maintain a level of acceptability and usability.
Review customer feedback
The sad truth about the custom software industry is that many companies may overstate their ability to deliver. There are two simple ways to verify a software partner's claims about their ability:
Ask for their portfolio.
Look for verified customer feedback on sites like Clutch.co.
Make SLA Mandatory
A service level agreement (SLA) is a written document between you and a software partner. It specifies the services a software company should provide and the level of quality expected. The services of a software engineering company should meet or exceed the terms stated in the SLA.
This guarantees that you will get the software quality you expect.
An SLA should cover the following:
Service: The types of services that an outsourcing partner should provide. This can include software development, testing, project management, and post-deployment support.
Measurement: Defines the level of service commitment. For example, an outsourcing partner may commit to an uptime of 99.99% for your app.
Penalty: States the actions or monetary compensation that a software partner must provide if the SLA is not met. This clause of the SLA ensures that the contract is maintained.
Discuss ownership
It is sensible to assume that the code used in a project belong to the person who sponsored it (you, the business owner). However, unless it is put in writing, this ownership is not guaranteed.
Pay only for what you need
There are different pricing models based on the project size or type of services that you need.
Project-based. In a project-based plan, you pay a fixed amount for the feature or product that you want to build. This is the best pricing model for a short-term and well-defined project.
Dedicated team. A dedicated software development team works solely on your project throughout its duration. They give your project their undivided attention.
The scope of a dedicated team's work is not strictly defined, giving you the flexibility to change requests.
Flexible plan. A flexible plan is not offered by all software providers. The best way to go about learning this type of plan is to contact a software provider regarding their flexible plan.
What is the best pricing model for your project?
It comes down to scope and length. Longer-term projects that require domain expertise and undivided attention benefit best from a dedicated software development team.
A project-based pricing is ideal for smaller projects or for building a minimum viable product (MVP). Meanwhile, a flexible plan is your best bet if you have an idea but do not have a clear roadmap yet.
Discuss project goals
Goals give the development team a reason for why they are doing things. It adds an extra level of motivation. On a practical level, goals are needed because they help the development team come up with the best approaches for building a product or feature.
Consider the following example of goal statements:
Allow a feature that will enable a guest (a user who is not logged in) to make a purchase; in order to increase sales conversion by 5%.
Create a chatbot that will reduce call center calls by 30%.
Implement automated tests to reduce testing time.
Work closely with a project manager or chief technology officer
Managing a software project successfully requires diving into software management. It requires understanding the technology stack that a software team uses. Management is a technical skill and should be treated as such.
Short of being the engineering manager yourself, you can work with a project manager or a chief technology officer. They are your personal contact points with a software outsourcing team.
Be a part of the project management board
As the project sponsor, you should be able to oversee the project and steer it towards the right direction. A low effort way to do so is by monitoring the project board. Trello and Jira are two of the most commonly used project boards.
Take part in the user acceptance testing
The user acceptance testing (UAT) is the last step before the development team moves the software to the production environment. This is the step wherein a client declares if a piece of software is fit for end users to use.
A client may be involved or not in designing the UAT. As the owner of a software product, it is within your right to take part in deciding how to go about the UAT.
Software development carry its own risks and rewards. Get a specialist insight into your plan to outsource custom software development. Schedule a call with our CTO.
