Top 8 Tips for A Successful Offshore Software Outsourcing Management
It is a much harder process to make ideas a reality even though you already have a great idea and despite the fact that you already complete hiring dedicated apps developers for your software development project. It is the management of project that contributes to the success of various software projects including custom web app development or custom mobile app development.
The following tips from successful software development companies would help you and your team succeed in managing your offshore software projects.
1. Document requirements and functions appropriately
This is a crucial step but is usually intentionally skipped in many software development projects. Especially when the company employs agile development methodology.
However, leading software development companies strongly advise that you should take this step seriously no matter what methods you are using. Collaborating carefully during this step would save you a huge amount of time and budget because all the functions of your app as well as the way your application function would thoroughly be comprehended. Then, you are positive to hope that your final product would meet most or even all the needs after the least number of sprints.
In case you are new to software development, you might think of employing a third-party professional to take this step for you. He or she should play a role or an “interpreter” who would interpret your language to the one that is understood by developers in the way it should be.
So, you could stay away from all the ambiguities the might happen during the communication process. In addition, if your project is big enough and could become valuable upon release, an NDA should be taken into consideration in this step.
2. Work with Lead Developer and/or Project manager
Project managers are specialists in project management. They are responsible for all the stages of a certain project from planning, implementing, and monitoring to finalizing. They are also the first authority ones to communicate with for any occurrence before it would have proceeded to higher authority penal. They will, on behalf of you, interact with the development team, usually the technical leader, during the stages of the project to make sure that your project is on track and the possible risks are under control.
A lead developer is the one who leads the development team. This one is always available in software development companies. But in case you want to double-check to technical aspects and specifications, then you could think of an independent technical lead to interact with your partner in-house team. This key figure will not participate in coding your app, but he is the one to communicate your requirements with the developers and make sure that they are adequately addressed technically.
As mentioned above, you could hire either of them if you have a strong grasp of the other field. This may cost you a bit more but would guarantee your project is on its way to success.
3. Choose to work with specialists
When working with any project regardless of the industry, you always want to work with the specialists rather than Mr-know-all. Some technical people know a lot about various fields but he lacks in-depth knowledge in any specific one. There is always exceptions, but for most of the cases and for your best outcome, it’s still more favorable to work with those who are expert the one field they are working. Evaluating this requires a technical guy and your third-party technical leader would play this role for you.
Working with a specialist team could cost you more. But you then you could be sure that your product is being taken care of by the right guys with deep understanding in the field using the cutting-edge technology.
4. Work on Software development method
We have various development processes or methods to choose from. Examples are Agile, Waterfall, Rapid application, and DevOps. Each one contains both up and downsides and suitable for different scales of projects.
Agile method, for example, is most suitable for small-scale projects in which you could frequently change your requirements. The product on the finish could be much different from that from the initial stage. Also, as the requirement changes many times, you are required to collaborate closely with the development team. This would cost you a lot of time and to some extent requires certain background knowledge about the field. This method now stands out as a favorable one among developers.
You might be interested in: http://www.tpptechnology.com/agile-mobile-development-methodology-what-why-how
The waterfall method, meanwhile, still works well with larger-scale projects. Your project workflow is much clearer and easier to follow. You, however, just can see your product once it is finished. This would require much more effort and cost to repeat the whole development process if the final product does not meet the initial requirements.
You are advised to work with a technical leader to discuss which method to choose. He would help estimate your project base on your requirement then give you the appropriate method to work with.
5. Be determined on the Scope of the project
Determining a clear project scope also helps avoid miscommunications or project failure due to disagreements on what work should be done for the specific cost and deadline. The scope of the project helps determine the objective of the app, also what the app owner could expect when finish, the functions should be covered, and the cost should be expected.
For its importance, this should be clearly and thoroughly discussed from the very beginning of the project. An official agreement should be signed by both parties prior to initiating coding.
6. Keep Periodic reports
The product from initiation to finish requires time depending on the scale of the project. But it is obvious that you could not expect to have your complete app after some weeks. Moreover, some changes made during the process could also create modifications to the whole work. Weekly or bi-weekly or even monthly reports could, therefore, provide an overview of the current status of the whole process. This helps to recognize possible newly emerge problems and find out the appropriate solution in a timely manner. The implementation of fixing procedure is, hence, less costly and time-consuming.
7. Use Project Management Platforms
This is optional. However, if you want to keep track of all the communications during the process of software development among various parties in a systematic and chronicle way, then you should choose communication platforms to utilize.
These platforms all allow you to follow up all the conversations between you and the project manager as well as between the manager with the technical leader, and all the parties that involve. The workflow and communication could be made more transparent to everyone. You, as the app owner, could raise your voice anytime time you find something that needs modifying.
8. Pay enough consideration on software testing
Any successful software project needs testing. This is the key step to guarantee that the final product is the best version of itself and that end-users would have the most satisfying experience using the app. The more rigorous the testing procedure is, the better your app is upon release. Then, you could save a lot of time to modify and fix the flaws reported by users.
As a developing team, Quality Control or Testing team is required to be specialists. Their expertise could ensure that all the aspects of your app have been covered and tested from the perspective of the most demanding users. And again, your technical lead developer has to get involve.
Conclusion:
These are not the only but most crucial advice from successful custom software development companies that one should follow to achieve the fruitful outcome of his software development projects. Clear goal, specialist team, professional assistant, thorough communication, and rigorous testing procedure are key points to your software success.
Should you initiate an idea to have your own custom apps, contact TP&P Technology - Leading Software Development Company in Vietnam today so that you can get a comprehensive consultant and receive top services.
