How do you manage an outsourcing software development services team?
Choosing to use outsourcing software development services nowadays is common, but using outsourcing may have drawbacks. Managing outsourcing teams can be difficult, and you may run into problems with communication, time tracking, quality control, work ethic differences, and hierarchies. All of these things can negatively affect the progress of a project, so how is the better way to manage an outsourced team?
1. What is outsourcing software development services?
Outsourcing software development services refer to the practice of hiring a third-party team, usually located in a different country, to handle software development tasks that would otherwise be handled by an in-house team.
Figure 1. What is outsourcing software development services
This can include anything from designing and building new software applications to maintaining and upgrading existing ones. Outsourcing software development services is often done to take advantage of cost savings, access to specialized talent, and flexibility in scaling up or down project resources as needed.
The outsourcing partner typically handles all aspects of the software development process, from project planning and management to coding, testing, and deployment, while the client retains control over the overall project goals and objectives.
2. Importance of managing outsourcing software development services teams
Managing outsourced software development teams is crucial to the success of any project that involves third-party partners. Without effective management, the project may suffer from communication breakdowns, missed deadlines, and quality issues.
Figure 2. Importance of managing outsourced software development teams
By properly manage an outsourcing software development services team, the client can ensure that the project is completed on time, within budget, and to the desired level of quality. Effective management also helps to build a positive working relationship between the client and outsourcing partner, which can lead to future collaboration and opportunities for growth. Additionally, by working with an outsourced team, the client can take advantage of specialized skills and expertise that may not be available in-house, allowing for more innovative and high-quality software development solutions.
Overall, manage an outsourcing software development services team is essential for ensuring project success, fostering positive relationships with partners, and achieving business goals.
3. Choosing the right outsourcing software development services team
Choosing the right outsourcing software development services team is a critical step in ensuring project success. It requires careful consideration of a range of factors, including the team’s experience, expertise, communication skills, and cultural fit.
Figure 3. Choosing the right outsourcing software development team
To choose the right outsourcing partner, it is important to first define the project’s requirements and goals. This will help to identify the specific skills and expertise needed for the project, as well as the budget and timeline constraints.
Once the project’s requirements have been defined, the client can evaluate potential outsourcing partners based on their experience and expertise in relevant technologies and industries, as well as their track record for delivering high-quality work on time and within budget.
It is also important to assess the outsourcing partner’s communication skills, including their ability to effectively communicate with the client team and their willingness to provide regular updates on project progress. Cultural fit is another important factor to consider, as it can impact the success of the partnership and the ability to collaborate effectively across different time zones and cultural backgrounds.
Overall, choosing the right outsourcing software development services team requires careful consideration and evaluation of a range of factors to ensure a successful partnership and project outcome.
4. How do you manage an outsourcing software development services team?
4.1 Using fast and stable chat tools
Slack and similar chat solutions are excellent for real-time communication and frequent contact, which is frequently required in the early stages of collaboration.
Chat allows all the outsourcing software development services to answer questions as they arise, ensuring that your team is not wasting time reinventing the wheel. You might have insights that will save them hours of work.
If your company uses Slack (or Wrike, Stride, or Skype), you may find it more convenient to keep communication with your outsourced team within the same app as your internal communications. It’s just one method for achieving “remote, but not distant” collaboration.
Figure 4. Fast and stable chat tools help manage to outsource team more easily
Furthermore, chat can assist you in clarifying your member team’s thoughts. When you write your comment down, you have the opportunity to clarify your hazy idea along the way. This frequently assists you in realizing that a seemingly urgent problem you’re describing may be a non-issue.
Chat also clarifies communication on a grammatical and vocabulary level. Everyone has a dictionary built into their web browser or chat client, even if they are not native speakers. Even if you work in a multinational team of experts, you’d be surprised how frequently that comes in handy.
4.2 Frequent visits and face to face meeting
As your relationship with your outsourcing software development services develops, you may want to schedule an on-site meeting to spend some time together offline.
Meeting in person could be costly and time-consuming, depending on your distance from the development team.
However, such a gathering provides numerous opportunities. On the one hand, you can gather your team in a single room to discuss critical aspects of the project, such as a quarterly roadmap.
Figure 5. Face to face meetings not only have better communication, but they can build better relationships too
Meeting in person, on the other hand, can help build trust and rapport on a new level, leading to smoother cooperation in the future.
4.3 Daily catch up calls
For those who may be distracted by constant chat contact, there is the option of scheduling brief catch-up calls daily to stay up to date on progress and discuss any pressing issues. The call is between you (the client) and a representative of the outsourcing software development services, it usually only lasts about 15 minutes.
It is important to note that this daily catch-up differs from the team’s daily stand-up, also known as the daily scrum. Daily scrums allow the team to catch up, discuss the previous day’s work, go over current work, and identify any roadblocks or issues that need to be resolved. It’s best to leave those meetings to the professionals.
4.4 Feedback and reward remote team’s achievements regularly
You must be at ease providing both positive and negative feedback to outsourcing software development services. A good outsource team manager should also understand exactly what you expect of them. It is also important to consider how to avoid mistakes when outsourcing.
There are numerous ways to recognize remote employees’ accomplishments:
- Taking the time to provide feedback
- Sending a text message or a gift card to express your gratitude
- Giving a bonus to employees
- In addition, we will recommend some tools for remote teams to work and manage more efficiently.
4.5 Building and maintaining team morale and culture
Building and maintaining team spirit and culture is crucial in managing an outsourced software development team. A positive work environment should be created, which encourages collaboration and teamwork. Open communication channels should be established to facilitate effective communication and problem-solving.
Figure 6. Building and maintaining team morale and culture
It is important to encourage team members to share their ideas and opinions, and to actively listen to each other. Regular team-building activities can also help to build and maintain team spirit, as well as promote a sense of camaraderie among team members. Providing regular feedback and recognition to team members is also essential to maintain a positive team culture. This helps to motivate team members and build a sense of pride in their work.
In summary, building and maintaining team spirit and culture is important in managing an outsourced software development team, and can be achieved by creating a positive work environment, encouraging collaboration and teamwork, and providing regular feedback and recognition to team members.
4.6 Ensuring quality control
Ensuring quality control is a crucial aspect of managing an outsourced software development team. This ensures that the software products produced meet the customer’s quality, functionality, and performance requirements.
To ensure quality control, appropriate processes and procedures need to be established to ensure that the software products produced meet the quality standards and requirements. Performing regular code checks and testing is the most effective way to ensure that the software products produced meet the quality and functionality standards of customers. By using code checking and software testing tools, errors can be detected and corrected in a timely manner.
Implementing continuous feedback and improvement processes helps to ensure that software products are constantly improved and updated to meet the new needs of customers. In summary, ensuring quality control is extremely important to ensure that software products produced meet the quality, functionality, and performance requirements of customers.
Summary
Hiring outsourcing software development services is a great opportunity to keep costs down. Additionally, this kind of work accesses the best talent and contributes to a healthy change in the work process. Hopefully, with our tips above, you can have the greatest result when using outsourcing services.
Sources: Internet
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Read more: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IN-HOUSE DEVELOPMENT AND OUTSOURCING?
