Dedicated Development Team: 10 Collaboration Tips

Offshore developers and dedicated development team models in particular still are the answers to many of the modern business challenges. But how to encourage cooperation? Find out 10 useful tips for successful collaboration.

List of the Content

• Tips on building trust
• Tips on gaining the understanding
• Tips for promoting cooperation
• Tips on dealing with difficulties
• Benefits of effective collaboration with  the dedicated development team
• Conclusion

The tough budget, lack of human resources with rare technical skills, or high taxes often force ISVs to apply for dedicated development team services overseas. However, dedicated development brings some issues that can be quite unexpected and tough to address. Some of them include time differences, rare project management tools and techniques, and unfamiliar technologies that make estimation nearly impossible.

Fortunately, after completing dozens of projects involving dedicated development teams, we can say that outsourcing can be even more productive and pleasant if stakeholders stick to a few very simple pieces of advice. When thinking of client-developer relationships that are mutually beneficial, a few things come to mind: understanding, trust, and cooperation. 

Main principles for effective cooperation with the development team

Let’s come up with the following suggestions and learn how to practically incorporate these principles of managing software teams.

DEDICATED DEVELOPMENT TEAM: TRUST

The fundamental principle of efficient collaboration is trust. Make sure your dedicated development team knows you trust them.

Tip 1. Don’t micromanage a dedicated development team to save time

Developers are generally not selected at random. Locating a competent outsourcing provider that adheres to quality standards and shares your principles is troublesome, but once you find such a team, allow them to do what they do best. Ongoing meetings will let you track progress and initiate scheduled updates. Regular interference will slow down the team’s work rate and development process, make the staff nervous, and inevitably make them passive programmers instead of active participants.

Tip 2. Reap the benefits of service packs

Outsourcing companies provide services in packs that include analytics, development tools, quality assurance, and project management features. We suggest using their service packs to reduce expenses instead of neglecting specific services. By refraining from some services, you neglect critical benefits that could lead to negative outcomes for both the client and the dedicated software development team.

DEDICATED DEVELOPMENT TEAM: UNDERSTANDING

Regardless of your team’s experience, every new project, particularly if it is your initial project together, has similarities. As such, during your project’s first stages, it is important to provide the dedicated developers with a comprehensive vision of business objectives and technical duties.

Tip 3. Be prepared to explain your vision to offshore developers

As someone who owns a product and a concept, you understand the product or business better than the dedicated development team you have hired, whether they work on-site or are outsourced. You have likely thought about the project concept for a while before producing the specifications and starting the production process. It makes sense that you’re the one who is most knowledgeable about the project, so be ready to provide answers when a remote team asks key questions.

Tip 4. Be tolerant and patient

If, for instance, you have submitted a project and are awaiting an estimate…but were instead given an intimidating list of queries, don’t lose your cool: questions are encouraging and inevitable. Answering them swiftly will make the project’s estimate more accurate and speed up the implementation process.

Tip 5. Address the project’s business objectives

Ensure that all the members of the dedicated development center know your business logic and objectives. This is critical since their understanding directly impacts a feature’s implementation. The selection of programming platforms, utilities, and approaches might also be affected.

DEDICATED DEVELOPMENT TEAM: COOPERATION

Working together with the development team is the best way to get desired results. Furthermore, surveys show us that the dedicated model is most productive when working in parallel with the person who carries the initial initiative. However, this doesn’t mean you have to track every hour spent in the project management tool and influence the programming tools or methods. Check the following tips.

Tip 6. Participate

It is prudent to calculate how much time you can spend collaborating with an offshore development team prior to giving them a crucial job. Developers generally separate projects into segments and offer weekly updates on their progress, which doesn’t require much time, and their work will be more functional if they obtain quick answers to asked questions. Suppose you believe your timetable will be full. In that case, we highly encourage you to appoint a dedicated project manager to curate the project and be available to handle queries during working hours.

The development team’s project methods will determine how often you have ongoing meetings. The meetings will assure the client and the remote development team that an outsourced project is progressing as planned and that the outcome is adhering to core business goals. At times, it may be evident that the initial approach was completely or partially wrong. Still, if you are a part of the process, scheduled steps and mandatory adjustments can turn a project from a failure into a success.

Tip 7. Set reasonable deadlines

ASAP is the most frequently used word to define a deadline and is also the most ungainly one for both customers and developers. Developers would benefit from knowing which tasks are legitimately ASAP and which ones aren’t as much of a priority. Offshore developers can establish practical deadlines when they address key points.

For clients, establishing ASAP deadlines during a project may result in a pair of undesired outcomes: (1) an ASAP task no longer becomes a priority and instead becomes just a REGULAR one, and (2) there will be a decline in quality as the developers get stressed out.

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Tip 8. Undergo software testing

Testing ensures that the software or developed application meets the required quality standards. It helps to catch and fix any issues or bugs before they reach the end-users, thus ensuring the product is reliable and meets the client’s expectations. Software testing provides a common language and creates a feedback loop between the involved parties. This helps to identify any issues or bugs early in the development process, which can be addressed quickly, leading to better collaboration and faster delivery of the final product.

DEDICATED DEVELOPMENT TEAM: DEALING WITH DIFFICULTIES

While all teams strive for a smooth development process, many issues can still arise during the project’s implementation.

Tip 9. Take the first problem as a test for the whole dedicated development model and yourself

Regarding missed deadlines and budget overruns, teams that respond well under pressure will strengthen the connections between developers and customers and produce an even better outcome or product. Problems can reveal a dedicated development team’s potential and tell you whether you have competent staff on your hands.

Tip 10. Give top priority to the quality

Correct and accurate estimation is the first thing that makes any development project successful. Deadlines are the key factors that push the project forward. Unfortunately, it is a pretty common situation when an estimated release date can’t be achieved by any means. When developers claim that they can not meet the deadlines, investing some extra time in development and testing is much better than sticking to the previously established time frames.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION WITH THE DEDICATED DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Following these simple tips allows businesses to cover all the benefits of effective collaboration with a development team:

Faster project completion: When team members collaborate effectively, they can share their work and knowledge, leading to faster project completion times. They can work together to identify the most efficient methods and tools and share the workload based on each team member’s strengths and abilities. For example, a front-end developer can work alongside a back-end developer to build an application faster and more efficiently than if they worked separately.

Improved communication: Effective collaboration requires constant communication between team members. They must be able to share ideas, feedback, and updates in a timely and concise manner. When communication is open and clear, team members are less likely to make mistakes or misunderstand each other. This can help avoid costly delays or rework caused by miscommunication.

Better quality products: Collaboration allows team members to share their expertise and work together to identify potential issues early on. By doing so, they can resolve issues before they become larger problems. For example, a designer may spot a usability issue that a developer may not have noticed and can work together to address it before the application is released. This results in higher-quality products that meet customer needs and expectations.

Increased innovation: Effective collaboration can foster creativity and innovation. When team members from different backgrounds and disciplines work together, they bring diverse perspectives and ideas to the table. This can lead to new and innovative solutions to problems that may not have been possible without collaboration. For example, a developer may come up with an innovative solution to a technical challenge that a designer would never have thought of on their own.

Reduced project costs: Collaboration can help identify cost reduction and process improvement opportunities. For example, team members can work together to streamline workflows, identify and eliminate redundant tasks, and reduce waste. By doing so, they can reduce project costs and increase efficiency, which can lead to more profitable outcomes.

Improved employee satisfaction: Effective collaboration can foster a sense of teamwork and collective achievement. When team members work together to accomplish a shared goal, they feel a sense of ownership and pride in their work. This can lead to higher employee morale and job satisfaction, which ultimately leads to better performance and outcomes.

In summary, effective collaboration with a dedicated development team can lead to faster project completion, improved communication, better quality products, increased innovation, reduced project costs, and improved employee satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

Collaboration with a dedicated development team is essential to software development projects. Effective collaboration can lead to successful outcomes and ensure that projects are completed within the given timeline and budget. Embracing the core principles of collaborating can be easily achieved and implemented by taking reasonable steps. We hope you’ve found these handy tips in our article and can follow them in your projects.