Increased IT staff or delivery teams? Compare these models to choose the best approach for your project, balancing control, expertise, and scalability.
Software outsourcing has cultivated a well-deserved reputation as an incredible tool for overworked managers seeking to produce the best possible software for their end users while effectively managing their employees and maintaining healthy relationships with their most important customers.
By working with an outsourcing partner to complement a company's current capabilities, managers can ensure their next software development project is successful and prepare their company for future prosperity. Two of the most popular outsourcing models in use today are staff augmentation and autonomous delivery teams. Read on to learn how each of these software outsourcing models is used by successful executives today.
| Staff increase | Delivery teams | |
|---|---|---|
| Popularity | Popular for companies needing temporary skilled workers or dealing with short-term projects. | Common for companies that want to deliver all project development and delivery. |
| Forms | Ideal for companies that want to maintain control over their projects and need temporary skills improvement. | Ideal for companies that want to focus on their core competencies and at the same time have a dedicated team managing the project. |
| Main advantages |
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| Main disadvantages |
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| Cost benefit | It may be cost-effective for short-term needs, but long-term costs can add up. | Predictable costs based on agreed terms; may be more profitable in the long term. |
| The infrastructure | Requires existing infrastructure as an increased team will utilize your company's resources. | The infrastructure can be provided by the company that offers the delivery team, reducing indirect costs for your business. |
| Training | May require some initial guidance or training. | Minimum to no training is required as the delivery team must have the necessary skills and knowledge. |
| Communication | Communication can be seamless as an augmented team works directly with their teams. | Regular communication updates and meetings will be scheduled, with the delivery team managing the majority of project communication. |
| Flexibility | High as you can size the team according to the project requirements. | Less flexibility; Changes can affect the project schedule and cost. |
| Security | Medium to High; you have control over the data, but increased staff access needs to be managed. Explain: You will have to ensure that the augmented team follows your safety protocols. | High; delivery teams must follow strict safety protocols. Explain: The service provider is responsible for security and must adhere to agreed standards. |
| Tools and Processes | Follow the tools and processes established in your company. | The delivery team will be able to use their own tools and processes, ensuring they are aligned with your business needs. |
| Agreements | Short-term or project-based, can be extended as needed. | Often long-term, with clearly defined scope, schedule and results. |
Delivery teams
One of the most useful software outsourcing models in use today is the autonomous delivery team. The external teams provided by managed IT services typically consist of an experienced project manager, a series of software engineers and software developer engineers who specialize in testing, and manual testers to help during the quality assurance phase of the project. The main benefit associated with this outsourcing model is that it allows executives to conceptualize a software and leave the tedious development process to an external team of specialized programmers. They can complete the process with little need for help or supervision.
Pros
Quick answer
The best feature provided by these autonomous delivery teams is that they allow managers to quickly respond to market developments and quickly create customized software that meets customer demands. The average time to hire in the technology industry is over a month, which means that a company looking to launch a large-scale software development project must first conceptualize its software and plan the process – only to spend the next month or so more getting an experience. -hired and integrated house team. End-to-end delivery teams help managers avoid this frustration and begin the development process immediately by providing an experienced development team ready to start a project at the right time.
Reduce manager burden
Two major disadvantages associated with in-house software development are the enormous supervisory burden that the process imposes on management and the way this burden prevents key personnel from focusing on the company's core business. One of the ways autonomous delivery teams help companies is by putting the project management part of development in the hands of an experienced leader who thrives in a volatile, high-pressure environment. Additionally, the best software management services will establish clear communication channels from the beginning and integrate checkpoints into the software development cycle, allowing managers to quickly assess progress whenever necessary.
Reduce the risk
Perhaps the most challenging part of the software development cycle is getting stakeholders and key employees to assume the risk associated with creating custom software from scratch. Such a process involves months of planning, a series of development experts and a large amount of financial capital. It is important to highlight that all these investments involve a huge risk, since much of the software developed today is unable to return a profit . Working with an external delivery team helps reduce risk in several ways. 1) These teams are made up of ultra-specialized engineers with extensive related experience, which allows them to overcome challenges with ease. And 2) contracts with the best managed software services will typically make final payment dependent on successful software delivery, meaning the software outsourcing company has its own financial stake in the success of your work.
Cons
Loss of control
The main negative associated with outsourced delivery teams is the lack of control managers have over daily development tasks. While this feature is built into this outsourcing method and allows managers to focus on their core responsibilities and customers, the lack of control can be extremely frustrating for hands-on managers. The best way to mitigate this problem is to establish clear lines of communication from the beginning of the project and ensure that regular updates are provided to key supervisors during each crucial step of the development cycle.
Finding the Right Delivery Team
Another challenge associated with autonomous delivery teams is finding a quality outsourcing partner to work with. The intense nature of this project, combined with the independent arrangement enjoyed by the delivery team, means that companies must have great confidence in their outsourcing partner. A poor delivery team is likely to produce an inferior product that doesn't meet customer needs, has bugs or compromises customer data, or costs much more to develop than initially estimated. Managers must perform due diligence before signing a contract, which means thoroughly researching the outsourcing company's reputation in the industry, examining their past projects for quality of work, and determining whether or not they are producing insightful and original content that demonstrates their experience.
Staff increase
Another well-known and highly useful software outsourcing model is staff augmentation services, which involve supplementing a permanent in-house team with experienced external service providers who can contribute their expertise during key stages of the software development cycle. . By hiring these ultra-specialized software engineers during the busiest parts of the process, managers provide help to their employees when they need it most, saving valuable time and money.
Pros
Access best talent
Given the current shortage of technology talent in the United States and the ever-increasing demand for these talented software engineers, the ability to find highly qualified programmers outside of a company's urban area is a tremendous advantage. This is even more important when looking for hyper-specialized programmers with hard-to-find skill sets. In today's ultra-connected business world, companies located in New York City can augment their team with an expert engineer located in Bogotá, Colombia without hindering their internal team's ability to function or communicate with their new addition.
Long-term flexibility
One of the most important concepts developed in the world of technology, the Lean approach to business, has now become ubiquitous across the world. the entire business community . Managers across all sectors of the economy now recognize how important it is to remain lean and ready to respond to new market developments in the future. One result of this move is a new focus on maintaining a lean and agile internal team while outsourcing crucial functions to experienced service providers as needed.
Staff growth provides much-needed long-term flexibility, allowing managers to hire well-paid specialists on a part-time basis and without a long-term employment commitment. This helps companies keep staffing budgets low and ensure they are prepared to launch their next big project with the resources and staffing flexibility needed to succeed.
Cons
Manager Responsibilities
The main disadvantage associated with staff augmentation, compared to more extensive software outsourcing such as standalone delivery teams, is the enormous amount of project management responsibilities such a project entails. With augmented employees, internal managers will be responsible for managing their permanent employees, supervising their external augmented staff, and still executing their core responsibilities every day. This is why managers with little interest in project management so often turn to services like autonomous delivery teams.
