Companies are more and more embracing the strategy of outsourcing software development to meet their technology needs. Certainly, such a strategy will enable the companies to have access to specialized skills, scale their projects efficiently, and economize both time and costs. However, outsourced software development management can be quite complicated and involve lots of challenges if it is not implemented properly. Indeed, potential pitfalls range from communication breakdowns to different expectations.
In this article, we are going to walk you through the ups and downs of outsourcing software development and give you some practical tips on how to make this process seamless. We will look at different principal strategies for managing outsourced software development and give actionable tips that will help you keep your project on track.
Why Outsource Software Development?
But before going into the details of how to manage an outsourced project, it is very important first to understand why companies are into outsourcing more and more. Outsourcing brings into business a global talent pool, adding expertise not available within the company. It also offers flexibility, enabling companies to scale up or down depending on the needs of a project.
It’s also much cheaper, particularly for companies operating in regions where software development talents come at high costs. Software outsourcing allows these companies to free up more resources and energy, hence focus on their key competencies and innovate faster.
Setting Clear Objectives
The key to successful management of outsourced software development is setting objectives. Even before you onboard an external team, you should have clear goals, scope, and timeline regarding the project. Unclear requirements or shifting goals will send your project off track before it starts. Make sure a plan exists, outlining each and every aspect of the project, including milestones and deliverables.
It’s all about communication at this stage. Detailed project documentation will come in handy for your outsourcing partner, so explain to him your business goals so that they can align their work accordingly. Success can be expected when both parties are on the same platform right from the beginning.
Choosing the Correct Outsourcing Partner
A correct outsourcing partner will guarantee the success of your project. Not all vendors are created equal; you need to find a partner with the right skill set, experience, and cultural fit. Do your due diligence-check references, review portfolios, and verify the experience of team members.
A good outsourcing partner will be able to deliver a proven history of projects executed similarly to yours. Moreover, they should be able to communicate perfectly and feel comfortable working within the given methodologies applied by you, whether Agile, Scrum, or Waterfall. They also need to understand the particularities of your industry to give the best results.
Open Channels of Communication
Some of the biggest challenges of outsourcing involve making sure the communications between your internal and external teams just run well. Poor communication or a lack of proper feedback may lead to delays and poor results. Set clear lines of communication at the very outset.
Regularly scheduled check-ins, progress updates, and feedback loops are essential for keeping your project on track. Also, use project management tools to get visibility over all tasks and milestones. Make relevant resources, internal knowledge, and stakeholders available for the outsourced team to clear their doubts as fast as possible.
If you’re working on a large project, or you have several moving parts, it is good to have a project manager who can ensure smooth communication between teams. Sometimes, a step-by-step guide to managing outsourced software development might help shed some light on best practices and specific tools to help with communication and efficiency in management.
Testing and Quality Assurance
QA should not be an afterthought. Rigorous testing of your software in the course of development allows you to find problems before they grow into bigger, uncontrollable ones. Test, test, test continuous unit testing, integration testing, and user acceptance testing will help you catch bugs early to reduce costly reworks down the line.
Equally important is to make sure that the outsourced team will indeed follow the best QA practices. Embed QA right at the core of your project plan, establishing checkpoints at each stage in development.
Conclusion
The outsourcing of software development comes with all sorts of benefits, from cost savings to the world’s best talent. Yet, outsourced software development also requires clear planning, effective communication, and finding the right partner. Establishing objectives, bridging expectations, and quality throughout the process will make it so that your project will reach its goals in a really effective way.
