5 Best Practices for Successful Outsourcing Software Development

5 Best Practices for Successful Outsourcing Software Development

Looking for a software development outsourcing company? You are in luck as there has been a massive rise in software outsourcing companies in various countries, thus widening your options and giving you the opportunity to look for the best suited IT outsourcing company for your business. The IT Outsourcing industry is considered to be one of the largest in today’s world with a net value of a whopping $88.9 billion, as per reports from Statista and it is only going to get bigger in the next couple of years. Why? Because startups in countries like US and the UK prefer to use offshore software development servicesdue to the number of benefits that it offers including the cost factor.

Due to startups handing over the mighty responsibility of developing software to a bespoke software development company, the industry has evolved immensely. However, due to the high increase of software development outsourcing companies in the industry, it is quite a task to choose one that will be profitable for your business. However, once you choose a partner, if you follow some practises religiously, it can assure a successful software development project.

What are the best practices to be followed for successful outsourcing software development?

1. Define your goals: In order to realise the project goals, you must also have clear and actionable goals set for your employees. Without the necessary direction, the team will find itself lost and unsupported. In fact, this could lead to poor results, loss of productivity and of course, lesser profits. Having defined goals is indispensable when you are working with an offshore software development team. All your goals must be S.M.A.R.T.- Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely.
2. Choose the right team: This goes without saying but has to be highlighted again due to its high importance. A good team lays out a good foundation for the business. Even if it takes extra time to find the right software Development company, take that time instead of being hasty and choosing one that will only fail in its duties, pulling you back to square one after having wasted a good amount of money. Choose an outsourcing partner not only based on skills and the size of the company but also if their style is what you are looking for.
3. Hands-on management: Even though your software development team will be in a remote location, you will still have to dedicate time and effort to ensure that your local team is working well with the offshore partners. Here is where the compatible timezone is crucial. It is better to have a single point of contact that acts as the bridge between the two sides and the teams must feel like they can approach the other if in case there is a need for clarification or discussions. Moreover, thanks to technology, it is quite a piece of cake to stay connected.
4. Go Agile: Agile software development is being adopted by more businesses today due to its effectiveness. Since you are working in a different timezone than your development team you need to validate their work and provide the necessary resources and feedback to ensure that they are on the right track. You can plan sprints and increase the importance of constant testing, thus promoting more communication within the project.
5. Stay in the loop: Always remember that even if you have handed over the task to a Bespoke software development company, it is still your project and you must handle it that same way as you do with work done in-house, with some modifications, of course. Keep yourself updated with everything that is happening, make calls regularly, have follow-ups, use collaborative tools and make sure that they are on-track and the deliverables are as per your brief. However, avoid micromanaging as that will waste your time and make the outsourcing partner uneasy.

There are many software outsourcing companies that you can reach out to to get the job done, but you also need to realise that your involvement in the software development can really go a long way in ensuring the success in achieving business goals and staying on track and in budget. Moreover, when you are following the above mentioned practises to the T, you are also ensuring that the work is being done according to your wishes and not just out of the team’s perception of what you want. Therefore, it makes more sense for you to stay as close to the software development life cycle as possible, helping the team with your feedback, inputs and suggestions to do a much better job, thus, requiring less iterations and much faster task completions.

At RSK Business Solutions, we adopt an agile approach to ensure that our clients are always a part of the software development journey. Find out more here.