Dedicated Team Model

Dedicated teams in software development take on the responsibility of all or one part of a software project. You communicate your specific needs and goals and a dedicated software team will get to work. They have several advantages over hiring in-house, primarily in their flexibility and scalability. Hiring in-house can be slow and expensive. Working with a dedicated software team, however, allows you to bring on more developers with the skills you need as your project’s scope changes.

What is a dedicated team model?

Dedicated teams are for companies that need specific skill sets to bring an app idea to the market. Here you allow developers and other experts to take over the application development lifecycle, which includes planning, design, development, testing and delivery. This will give you a supervisory role over your app’s development, but most of the day to day work is for the team to organize.

A dedicated team model is a great way to scale your business while retaining quality control. It allows you to focus on your business and delegate IT tasks to professional developers. It also means that you can have specialists who are experts in their fields and they can help you build your product efficiently. Building your own software without the help of a dedicated team can be difficult and expensive. You’ll have to keep an eye on everything all at once and you won’t have anyone to lean on if you run into more complex challenges. 

Where the dedicated team model differs from traditional outsourcing is the level of autonomy the team has in development. Most strict outsourcing projects focus on one-off projects that you delegate to the cheapest provider. This route gets varying results and can be more expensive in the long run if you have to fix mistakes later. These also often require a lot of hand holding and waterfall-style briefs. If you want developers to just do exactly what’s in a brief without some critical thinking, this may be the model for you. 

Developers on dedicated teams, however, work with you or a designated product owner to deliver the best product for your specific needs. It’s a more holistic approach with more autonomous decision-making. Software development is a complex process with a lot of moving parts. It’s often difficult to anticipate the kinds of challenges you’ll run into later. Working with a team that has some critical thinking ability as well as the skills to overcome challenges is vital for any successful application. 

Of course, it takes a leap of faith to work with a dedicated team, but with the right partner, you’ll get a high-quality app from far more productive developers. For a checklist on what to look for in an outsourcing partner, and countries to narrow your search, here’s a helpful guide: 10 best countries to outsource software development

Advantages of a dedicated team model

Many of the advantages of dedicated teams contrast with in-house software developers. So most of the sticking points there have to do with finding people with the right skills, employee retention and overhead associated with running an office.

Sourcing experienced developers

IT is a cutthroat field and so finding the right senior developers in your area can be a major challenge. Competitive locations can really constrict hiring and lead to runaway labor costs. By hiring a dedicated team, you’re delegating the time and cost of hiring developers onto your software partner. Many countries have far more plentiful developers at competitive rates so let your software partner do the hard work for you.

Predictable costs

Many software houses bill on retainer or for time and material. Unlike an uncertain local labor market, you’ll rely on your software partner to source developers for the pricing model you agree on. Hiring an external team keeps your overhead low. Without an internal team, you can easily expand and contract as the scope of your project changes. In-house teams are hard to build and also hard to let go, especially if you want to maintain future relationships. A solid software partner can help you set up a custom team for your project and adjust it as you go along.

Retaining employees

Just as tough as it is to find experienced developers, it’s also difficult to keep them long-term. Hiring a dedicated team removes the problem of employee turnover. If developers leave your dedicated team, more will step in to fill the gap. If your software partner wants to keep you as a client, they’ll figure this out. 

Flexibility

You’ll be able to make sure the quality of your product is consistent and is always improving. There’s a lot of flexibility in having a dedicated team to help you with your business. You can scale up and down to meet demand, and you can also work with experts in specific fields.

Disadvantages of a dedicated team model

While there are many advantages to hiring dedicated software teams, there are also a few disadvantages. The cons mostly center around software providers at the low end who may be struggling to handle many clients at once. Some perceived disadvantages actually stem from poor project management or a lack of leadership in the organization.

Asynchronous communication

Communication that’s a little too asynchronous. Your development team may not be under the same roof, so being sure they’re working on what they say they’re working on can be tricky. Hire a company you can trust and who’s open and honest with you throughout the development project. Providers that use the agile scrum methodology tend to behave in a more transparent way due to a built-in meeting schedule, regular check-ins, sprint planning and retrospectives. 

Distracted developers

Dedicated developers who have to juggle several projects at once may find it difficult to devote the right kind of attention to your project. This is really a failure of project management and likely a failure of organizational leadership at the outsourcing company too. Be sure to do your due diligence when you’re looking for a dedicated software team and get references from current and former clients. Steer clear of companies without much history to show or those that hide behind non-disclosure agreements. 

Lack of an office culture

One thing you’ll miss out on if you do decide to outsource your project is that you won’t have a tight-knit group of coworkers. If that’s something you value, maybe an in-house team is a better choice, but be prepared to shoulder the overhead to get it. If COVID-19 has taught us anything an organization does not necessarily need an office.

Why might you need a dedicated team for your app?

Dedicated teams offer companies flexibility and a competitive edge. Rather than pour resources into an in-house team, you can get a ready team to work on your application. If you let a software provider manage your app’s development, you can benefit from their experience on similar projects and save time in the long run.

Software providers often organize a team by experience, seniority and tech stack knowledge. If you’ve got an experience gap in your existing team, you could also build your own custom team to address a specific part of a larger project.

For example, you may only need a team of mobile developers to build a cross-platform app. Or you may need front-end developers to overhaul a dated app. In a dedicated team model, you may have developers and project managers who are responsible for a small part of an application or the entire system. This scalability is one key benefit to this model.

How to choose a dedicated team

After you’ve done your preliminary research on a software provider, it’s vital that you get client references on the quality of work as well as how well the provider communicates. Dedicated teams should be able to clearly explain how they plan to solve your problem and what they’re going to do to solve it. Teams that are open and honest with you about the project and who regularly check in with you on progress create better apps that fit specifications. 

As you search for a dedicated software team, there are a few things you should consider when picking the right team.

• Ask the company how long they have been doing similar projects and how many clients they have worked with. Ask for a list of their clients and contact them to ask them for references. Really dig into communication style, adherence to deadlines and critical thinking. 

• Find the right balance between cost and quality. Don’t go with a provider with the cheapest hourly rates as this code will certainly be more expensive to fix in the long run. Rather, work with a company that takes the time to learn your business and recommend the best way to solve your unique problems.

• When you’re finally choosing a software company to build your app, there are two main things to consider. First, is the price fair? The second is the quality of the work that they are putting out. If there’s a proven track record of those things, you’ve probably found a good partner. 

Your dedicated software team should be made up of people who are passionate about the work they do, who live and breathe your industry, and who really want to build something special. When it comes to hiring a development team, there’s a lot you need to think about. You need to think about time, cost and quality. We’re going to take an in-depth look at what you can do to find the perfect team for your project.

If you’re just starting out, you should choose to work with a team that can help you build the technology from the ground up. While doing it, it’s necessary to follow our guide on top software quality metrics to ensure your final product is high-level. However, if you’re more established, you might want to consider a team that can help you optimise your current technology and grow with your business.

Conclusion

Build a team around you that makes you better and challenges you. Seasoned specialists can work on your software project for less than the cost and hassle of an in-house team. Get the flexibility to change your dedicated team as the needs of your project changes. Of course this model has its pros and cons and it may not be right for every business. But for those on a budget, it’s a great way to get an agile group of senior developers to fill urgent skills gaps. It’s a great way to help you grow your business and create software your users will love.