The success of any business project is inextricably linked to the work of a technical team. Depending on the scale of the project, ego goals and features, and financial opportunities, a company chooses the most convenient model of interaction with an IT contractor. Recently, companies are increasingly resorting to implementing a particular group of developers in their structures through outsourcing.
What is a dedicated development team?
Recently, companies are increasingly using a particular group of developers in their structures through outsourcing.
There are many models of interaction, among them we can distinguish: fixed cost, time and materials, fixed time and budget … But among all the Dedicated Team model is significantly different.
A dedicated team is formed based on the customer’s aims, wishes, and requirements. This model is suitable for developing large, long-term projects where conditions change frequently. It is pretty flexible regarding the scope of work and tasks, costs and resources, and the development team.
There are two aspects to forming a dedicated team. In the first case, the team is a separate full-service group, which includes all the necessary employees, such as the project manager, designer, etc. In another case, the customer may hire a dedicated team to expand his own; this strengthens his team with several external experts.
The client in this pattern has more control than in other models. Clients can interact with the team and track daily activities and overall project progress. This helps both parties to be on the same wavelength and adapt to the circumstances.
The structure of this model is easier to explain through the following steps:
The customer must have an idea of what exactly he wants. He must determine the number of employees required for his project and the technical skills they need.
The contractor hires or organizes a special team that meets the project’s requirements. The team, together with the customer, agrees on the workload and conditions of the project for a specified amount of time.
Specialists start work during their usual working hours.
The customer has complete management control over the project and the team, while the team is focused on delivering the best results.
Pros of a dedicated team
Economic expediency
One of the main benefits of the dedicated team model is cost savings. It’s cheaper to hire a dedicated team than to assemble a team yourself.
The fact is that assembling a team can be a time-consuming process. It is necessary to consider numerous candidates, their pros and cons, various professional skills, and a familiar role in the entire work process.
The dedicated team model is a viable solution because the team usually already exists and is set up for a specific project type. Removing the organizational part gives you much more time to focus on the project and save money for other essential processes such as technology research and business analysis.
Purposefulness and adaptability
One of the most significant benefits of the dedicated team model is the focused approach. A team without unnecessary distractions is at your disposal. Increased immersion in the project allows you to put additional emphasis on some things, which, in turn, generates much more diverse and extraordinary ideas about possible solutions.
Greater focus is also followed by significantly increased adaptability. The dedicated team model can be reconfigured at each project stage according to current needs and requirements.
This is influenced by numerous factors: the use of technology, market performance, budgetary constraints, etc. All of them require a timely response. This issue is greatly simplified due to more comprehensive development control.
While this is common in any agile process, in the case of a dedicated team, this fact is more nuanced due to more opportunities to test different options and select the best options.
The proposed team is 100% focused on a single project, which helps them stay focused on the task and deliver the best results for the client within a single project.
Full control
The client controls dedicated team members’ selection, motivation, and management.
Fast development cycle
Speed is another significant improvement over other interaction models. Due to the more hands-on approach on the part of the client and the focused development team, the whole process can proceed at a faster pace than using the Time & Materials collaboration model (where everything is strictly planned) or the extended team model (where it is necessary to coordinate actions between parts of the team).
In addition, implementing a DevOps approach will simplify the workflow and automate most of the routine operations, giving you more time to work out its essence.
Given these benefits, the project can be adjusted to suit the situation without slowing down the process. The dedicated team model is great for projects that require constant evolution of requirements in line with the market performance or technological advances.
Close cooperation
One of the biggest problems with long-term projects is narrowing the scope. The more a person is immersed in the process, the less he is aware of the overall picture of the whole process.
With the dedicated team model, collaboration is promoted not only within the development team but also between the client and the team. This helps make long-term planning more efficient. Team members also put more effort into the project, which helps improve workflows, brainstorm solutions, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the process.
Great things are born in close cooperation between the client and the development team. Working with a dedicated team, you have complete control over the project through daily communication and management through web-based tools such as Basecamp, JIRA, Skype, and more.
The team and the client constantly think about the best ways to solve problems and challenges. To get visible results and work more efficiently, brainstorming sessions between the development team and the owner are held jointly.
Continuous Integration
To succeed, the project must constantly evolve: add new features and improve existing ones. This is especially important, for example, for B2C e-commerce platforms, where UX is one of the critical factors and generates conversions.
The dedicated team model is very effective for projects that require growth and development over time.
Another necessary process is product optimization. Due to the evolving technology, such a requirement is vital to the maintenance and development of the product.
Cons of a dedicated team
While there are many benefits, using the dedicated development team model has little impact on short-term projects. While this statement is true to some extent for any software development, this model is especially effective only when applied to long-term projects. When the project is short-term, it will be better to use a different development outsourcing model.
There is no perfect strategy for attracting performers, so working with a dedicated team has drawbacks. Unlike traditional outsourcing, the customer takes on the part of the project risks here. For example, it is the client’s responsibility to take care of knowledge transfer in advance and allocate resources to maintain project documentation to reduce dependence on the supplier. It is also the customer’s concern to ensure that the team is fully loaded since downtime is billed.
Who is on the dedicated software team
Project manager
This is an administrator who can build effective communication between the customer and the team of programmers. The main load of the project manager is at the start of the development stage, during the preparation of the terms of reference and prototyping of the digital solution. After that, administrative functions can be transferred to the lead developer – the team leader, and the project manager will switch to other tasks.
TeamLead
Lead developer. This is also a specialist responsible for administrative work; his main area of responsibility is not external communication but the management of a team of developers. In most digital projects with simple logic and architecture, the team leader and the project manager are one.
Back end
The developer is responsible for writing the program code and creating the server side of the software. He is fully involved in the project from the stage of drafting the terms of reference to the final release.
Front end
Developer – the second key developer responsible for creating custom parts of digital services. His workload in the programming team is also 100%.
Mobile programmer
A 100% load is involved in cases where a digital solution needs to be adapted to iOS and Android mobile operating systems.
Designer
Unlike programmers, he is not a developer, but in any case, he is part of the development team. His task is to create a user and functional graphical interface design in the early stages of project development. The load of the designer usually does not exceed 50% of the time allocated for the entire project.
QA
This is also a part-time specialist connected to test a digital service’s quality in the second half of the software development cycle.
Marketer
It is not directly responsible for creating a digital service, but many customers engage an IT marketing specialist to promote a new service.
Copywriter (technical writer)
He is responsible for filling the project with content and preparing technical documentation, for example, in the form of software manuals. Like a marketer, this specialist is not included in the development team, but his project load can range from 50% to 100% of the total development cycle time.
System Administrator (DevOps)
Leads several projects at once and is a member of many development teams. He must ensure security, data backup, and uninterrupted operation of servers.
Tips for successful hiring a software development team
Save your expectations
Be sure of your expectations when looking for a good software development team. This is important in helping you choose the right team to work with you to achieve your goals.
- Understand your business needs and discuss your goals with your team members.
- Identify significant issues (if any) in the current software development process.
- Find a team to help you solve problems.
- Create a plan that will lead to business success.
Find out what services you need
Before looking for a team, decide if you want to outsource or hire the team.
When you outsource a team, you give them the entire project.
On the other hand, if you move out of state, you hire a contractor to do your intended work.
If you want to outsource your business, determine which types of outsourcing are suitable for your needs—outsourcing types: onshore, offshore, onshore and hybrid. Depending on your budget and conditions, you can choose one of these models to keep your team locally or abroad.
Check outsourcing country
This is an essential factor to consider when outsourcing your software development team. When outsourcing software development services, consider IT market trends and costs.
Team experience
When looking for a software development team, you must consider their experience.
- See a portfolio of all possible options and rank them based on their experience and reliability.
- Check if they’ve worked on a similar project before.
- Find out if the team has completed challenging projects and how successful they have been on previous projects.
All this will help you find the right developer for your business.
Field of knowledge
Software development is like a complex system made up of different bodies. Web Development, Data Science, Mobile Development, Application Development, Backend Development, API Development, Software Appliance Development, Security Software Development, Embedded Systems Development, etc.
Every developer has a skill set that sets them apart. When choosing a software developer, focus on their skills and knowledge. Assess your needs and see if the developer has the skills you need. Do your homework, find out what technologies your software uses, and find developers who understand those technologies.
Team Skills
Some organizations are involved in large, long-term projects, while others work on several smaller projects. A thorough assessment of your expertise, knowledge, and experience is enough to unlock the potential of the software developer. That way, you can determine if your potential contractor has enough experience to carry out a large project.
Your budget one of the most important factors to consider when hiring a software development team is budget. The perfect deal is when your return exceeds your investment. Review offers from potential customers and makes a list of offers that fit your budget. Don’t be discouraged by cheap offers; they usually don’t provide expert service.
Don’t forget to check for hidden costs as well. Some software development agencies charge more for document management, maintenance, etc., which they shouldn’t.
Financial stability
Most companies ignore this aspect, but a software developer’s financial stability is essential. You should take the blame if your prospect goes bankrupt in the middle of your project. This not only affects the company’s finances but also hinders the company’s growth.
Customer-supplier relationship
To support and succeed in a long-term project, you need a team that understands you. Your development partner must understand project expectations, assess potential issues, and know when to say no.
After-sales service
Saying goodbye to developers after the project is over is not a brilliant idea, as all software requires regular maintenance. Even a tiny app needs the care to keep it up to date. Consider after-sales service from a software development team before you hire them.
Where to search for the dedicated software team
The search for candidates is a systematic work that is performed not only by recruiters but also by specialists who are close to the production process. CTOs and team leaders form teams for themselves and are interested in getting high-quality specialists. Of course, CTOs and team lead rarely look for specialists on job sites, but they can post ads about the search for specialists on their pages in social networks and specialized groups. But where to find a dedicated software team?
- Job sites – these are classic places; all know about them.
- Professional social networks – like LinkedIn, where you can find the right professional for a given project.
- Specialized sites for developers – like GitHub, a platform where developers post their projects, or StackOverFlow, a place to share experiences.
- Social networks are popular places where you can sometimes find just the right software developer. Social networks are also platforms for advertising. Targeting and content promotion gives you additional chances to be noticed.
Conclusion
The dedicated command is formed based on the customer’s goals, wishes, and requirements. This model is excellent for developing large, long-term projects where conditions often change. It is flexible regarding the volume of work and tasks, costs and resources, and the development team.
