Well, you want to create an app or website to address business-specific challenges. Aiming to access the field-specific expertise of engineers and reduce costs, you are going to outsource software development. However, every C-level executive and business owner have common worries when delegating projects to third-party contractors located abroad.
How will I control the process of building a software project if the vendor’s team works abroad? How do I establish close collaboration with an IT service provider? In this article, we will play down seven fears that companies often have when outsourcing IT-related tasks.
Playing down 7 fears when outsourcing software development
1. I don’t have a clear understanding of how I will control the software development process
Before outsourcing software development activities, you should find out how an IT service vendor allows customers to manage their project. Assure the company provides daily and weekly reports that contain information about completed and planned tasks, deadlines, technical challenges resolved by the team.
Ask an IT firm to give you access to a time tracking system to estimate the number of spent hours and ensure correspondence with deadlines.
Hold video and in-person meetings with an IT partner. With daily project discussions, you will be able to quickly address arising issues and monitor the team’s progress. Validate the outcome of each software development stage to make sure a digital product is being created according to the requirements.
At Arateg custom mobile and web development company, we provide you with access to AraIS, our task reporting and project management system. AraIS contains information about task statuses, delivered functionality, planned activities, and deadlines. The system also creates a report for the customer each week.
Find out more on how the company ensures the transparency of a software development process.
2. I’m afraid it will be difficult to communicate with the team due to different time zones
You are not limited to a region when choosing a software development outsourcing company. Therefore, you can hire an IT service vendor with a suitable time difference.
In most cases, Eastern Europe is the golden mean in IT outsourcing due to its convenient location. For instance, Belarus offers a 1-3 hour time difference with Europe. It is also comfortable to hold in-person meetings as there is just a 2-3 hours flight away from European capitals. Unfortunately, now most IT firms worldwide can’t conduct business trips because of Covid-19.
Although a time difference of over 5 hours may seem to be inconvenient, Arateg’s experience in cooperating with American organisations shows that the main point is to find a few hours (e.g. 3-4) per day when the client and its outsourcing team are both available for discussing the necessary issues.
3. I don’t have a technical background to write a software requirements document
A software requirements specification (SRS) is a document that describes how the future system should look and behave, how it will add value, how many users it is intended to have. These documents can include the requirements to the product functionality, software architecture, the number of screens or web pages. You should prepare an SRS to explain to an IT service vendor your project goals and result expectations.
If you don’t have a technical background, a software development outsourcing company can write a technical specification itself. At Arateg, we collect requirements by asking you to fill out a detailed brief.
Holding video or in-person meetings, our experts ask clarification questions to obtain a deep understanding of your challenges. After auditing your business needs, we prepare an SRS and show it to you.
4. I can’t check out the product quality
It is a common situation when the client doesn’t have in-house employees to review the code and test the delivered solution. To build a quality software product, you need to hire a trusted IT outsourcing company with solid experience.
The vendor will provide you with the team of developers who focus on code readability and maintainability. Quality assurance engineers will test the system for bugs and errors, security vulnerabilities, compliance with a technical specification, etc., as well as make sure the app/website looks great on all devices.
Depending on your business needs, you can specify requirements such as performance, scalability, and high availability.
In addition, you should participate in the testing process to estimate intermediate results. By engaging potential customers to a digital solution, you will collect their feedback and learn what should be improved regarding user experience, interface, etc.
5. What will I do if something fails after the product release?
Even if you partner with a trustworthy IT outsourcing company that delivers a great product, unexpected issues (e.g. app errors during heavy loads, lower page load speed) may arise after release. How will you resolve them if you don’t have in-house software engineers?
When looking for an IT outsourcing service provider, choose the vendor offering post-launch project support and maintenance. Through continuous monitoring of the system performance, the team will quickly identify and fix technical issues.
6. How can I verify the qualification of an IT outsourcing service provider?
As a business owner who is going to invest in custom software development, you want to find qualified and reliable specialists. To verify the qualification of an IT service provider, you should find the following information:
- Years of experience
- Completed projects
- Achievements
- Specialisation
- Client testimonials
In order to conduct this research, you should use the vendor’s website that generally includes the first three points from the list. Visit the company’s profiles on platforms such as Clutch.co, GoodFirms, DesignRush, etc. that contain client reviews, the overall rating, and lists of the best firms in different categories.
When an IT outsourcing service provider assembles a team for your project, ask resumes of all members to verify their qualification.
7. It is difficult to communicate with an IT outsourcing team with no English proficiency
Language barriers may become an obstacle to successful collaboration with a software development partner. To avoid this problem, you should check out English proficiency of an IT outsourcing company.
Before hiring the team, conduct a few audio or video meetings to describe your project needs, estimate timeline and budget, etc. This is much more convenient than email communications.
First, both sides save their time. Second, you can verify the language skills of a potential vendor. Third, you can see whether you feel comfortable discussing various issues or not. It would be also reasonable to ask if all specialists in an IT firm can speak fluent English.
At Arateg company, we believe that quality of services is as important as quality of code. To ensure fast and convenient communication, we invest in training, involving not only development but English, too. As a result, our team members can easily discuss project issues with you.
Why should you choose Arateg?
Arateg is a trusted software development company that helps customers address business-specific challenges using blockchain, artificial intelligence, CRM systems, web and mobile apps. Since 2014, we have built over 50+ projects to industries such as healthcare, insurance, finance, e-commerce, hospitality, and entertainment.
“Our approach is based on three pillars: Agile, Security, and Transparency. Following the Agile methodology, we deliver new features every 2-4 weeks while improving product quality.” – Andrew Volchek, Co-founder and CEO at Arateg.
Software experts at Arateg create digital solutions with security in mind, safeguarding sensitive data from hacker attacks, unauthorised access, malware, viruses, and other threats while protecting your intellectual property.
If you have a project idea or business challenge, you are welcome to contact Arateg team to get a free consultation.
