Guest post 2019-01-25 Human Resources, Technologies.

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Offshore software development is an attractive way for companies that require high-skilled tech specialists or attempt to find a cost-effective way to solve a problem. At the same time, there are some risks while working with outsourcing software development. However, the migration of software development outsourcing risks will provide you with information on how to find partners you can rely on.

Preparation for the project

There are three stages of outsourcing:

• Preparation: you define what you need and demand
• Selection: you choose a dependable partner
• Cooperation: you work with a partner during the development stage

Web development services allow us to create responsive web applications and sites to help you boost your business. Obviously that it’s not enough for you to have only an idea. You need to outsource everything from design to development. Setting the right goals and objectives and focusing on the right things will help you minimize software outsourcing risks. The last step of the preparation part is documenting everything.

Steps to minimize software development outsourcing risks

1. Check the reliability of a vendor

• Find out how much time a company is on the market: it’s possible to seek for this information on a company’s website or social network page.
• Estimate the company’s size: it’s easy to check its LinkedIn profile and look through pages of the company’s workers (social media activity is usually important for showing reliability).
• Monitor the company’s ranking: it’s recommended to use websites like Clutch. It also shows reviews, so you can find out if any previous  negative issues have occurred.

2. Choose a vendor with relevant expertise

• Case studies: check through articles that show how the vendor developed other projects, solved different problems, etc.
• Testimonials: real customers can write reviews that are a good opportunity to find out an independent meaning.
• Portfolio: investigate previous projects of the company.

3. Confirm that your requirements are clear

Software development cannot be done if there are some misunderstandings. For example, a company should have some specialists who ask for customer’s expectations, deadlines, etc.

4. Communicate with a team

It’s a wonderful idea to build a communication channel, e.g. emails, messengers, real-time video chats, etc. You need to be online all the time.

5. Regulate the management process

This step is firstly for customers who hire a dedicated team. Agile methodology is commonly used in such situations since it gives the customer a chance to communicate with the whole team and minimize risks.

6. Resolve the location-related issues

Nowadays it’s quite popular to choose Eastern European outsourcing companies as offshoring destinations because they provide low prices, a lot of experienced specialists, and there is no language barrier. However, there are some issues that are necessary to think about:

• Time zone: make sure that you and your vendor are able to cover the time zone difference.
• Travel infrastructure: ask about the possibility to visit your partner’s headquarter.
• Laws and regulations: learn whether the vendor's country government supports the IT sector or not.

7. Choose a cooperation model

• Fixed price: it works quite well if you know the scope of your project and have a deadline or budget, however this model isn’t very flexible.
• Time & material: a pay-as-you-go model goes well for projects without strict requirements and is quite flexible.
• Dedicated team: this model provides control over the projects and is the most flexible.

Collaborating with a company

If you follow all seven steps mentioned above, you will definitely find a partner you can rely on. Nevertheless, the most complicated part of your work is still ahead. To make it easy there are some pieces of advice for you and your outsourcer: communicate with your team regularly and track progress.

Good luck!

About Author

Nataliia Kharchenko is a Technical Writer at Cleveroad. It is a web and mobile app development company in Ukraine. We are focused on helping startups, small, and medium businesses create competitive and winning software. I enjoy bringing a digital world closer to people and writing about technology, mobile apps, innovations, and progressive management models.