Guarantee Success During Software Development Outsourcing with These 3 Tips

Here’s a secret that you don’t hear often: without proper outsourcing, you can’t succeed as a business owner. There’s simply not enough time in a day to do everything by yourself or in-house, and if you try to, you’ll either face cost-overruns from hiring so many people or you’ll work yourself half to death to keep up. There’s a reason why the typical CEO works more than 12 hours a day.

You don’t want that to be your fate. You should be able to outsource projects successfully and ensure the quality and timeliness of them consistently. This is a one-way ticket to success.

And, one of the most important types of projects you need to learn how to outsource is software development projects. Most businesses don’t have a software developer in-house, and due to how vital technology has become, they regularly need to outsource these tasks.

In this article, we’ll go over a few tips that increase your likelihood of getting everything you want out of software development outsourcing and more. So read on!

#1 Make Sure Your Communication is Clear and Written

Any communication that’s not written is largely useless when you are delegating to outside firms. You want to make sure the terms of the partnership are clear and everything is laid down in precise terms. Stormotion, a live video app development agency, does this well by creating many guides on their blog on how they plan and develop their clients apps.

When there’s ambiguity, a lot of firms try to bend the amount of responsibility they have, disagree on the particulars of the project, or deny blame for clear miscommunications on their part. When they understand you’re explicit and clear about what you clearly want, they’ll be more careful and provide a better service.

This is a double-edged sword, however. Since many businessmen and CEOs don’t have an idea of what they clearly want when they try to delegate a project. You need to make sure you completely understand the specifications of the software project, the goals you want to attain from it, and the technologies you want to use in it before you delegate the work. It is your responsibility as much as it is theirs to minimise miscommunication.

#2 Be Involved in the Development Process: Ask for Regular Deliverables

Don’t get us wrong, you’re delegating for a reason. It would be nonsensical to keep track of each step of the development process and it would completely negate the benefits of delegation. But a lot of businessmen and CEOs go to the other extreme

end, and they think they have to be completely laissez-faire when they delegate and only send a small email after the deadline to inquire about the state of the project.

Both extremes are bad here. To make sure the development goes smoothly and you course-correct if something unexpected happened, make sure you check on the progress of the project semi-regularly. Weekly or bi-weekly is enough — it can be a simple email.

Aside from constant check-ups, however, make sure you ask for specific deliverables to mark the end of each development phase. This mostly applies to larger projects, but it can also work when you’re delegating smaller projects as well. It depends on you to clearly define deliverables, set deadlines for them, and hold the firm accountable.

#3 Try to Establish Long-term Relationships with Outsourcing Firms You Can Trust

The business world is built on relationships, both formal and informal. And you’ll be doing yourself and your company a disservice if you don’t try to build long-term relationships with outsourcing firms you can trust.

Finding an outsourcing firm that’s timely, reliable, and capable can be extremely difficult, so you definitely shouldn’t let it go once you’ve found it. There’s no reason to try your luck with new firms and expose your company to unnecessary risk — if you are already familiar with a software house that can take care of the project properly, you preferably should go with them over a firm you have no experience with.