Outsourcing web development project: How to assemble the right team?
When outsourcing a web development project, a company usually face with the two options of either employing a full-stack web developer or outsourcing to a team of specialists. It may seem like a good strategy to hire a full-stack developer for your web application development and let this developer single-handedly carry out the project from the early planning stages to deployment. This would result in lower development costs and is suitable for simple project at small scale.
However, in order to develop a high quality, enterprise web application with scalability requirement, companies are recommended to outsource the project to a team of specialists to work on it. This is because web app development involves so many different and complex tasks that it’s practically impossible to allow a single developer to perform each, and every one of them at a professional level. A successful web app development project needs an expert team made up of specialists who are highly experienced each in their own field.
In this article, we outline the different roles, skill sets and expertise that are usually required of a good web development team.
Web developers
Developing a web application usually consists of at least two components – a front end and a back end – web developers are therefore categorised into front-end and back-end developers, respectively responsible for each of the components.
Front-end developers work on the layouts provided to them by UI designers and help transform those static interface images into a fully functional web app client-side. Front-end developers usually work with web technology such as HTML5, CSS, JavaScript as well as front-end libraries and frameworks (e.g. Bootstrap, Semantic UI, Angular, React JS, etc.).
Back-end developers are tasked with the responsibility creating the server side of a web app. They are usually highly experienced in at least one or several of the back-end programming languages including PHP, C#, Java, .NET, or JS etc. as well as able to use all the tools and web app frameworks associated. In a web development project, the main task of these back-end developers is to ensure that the back end efficiently handles the data it receives and sends back to the front end in a correct, secure and stable way.
Besides, an enterprise web app usually cater to large number of users which will require a complex database. Database developers might also need to be employed to assist with the development process. However, the tasks of database developers in web app development are usually performed by back-end developers, as database is also a part of the server-side. When outsourcing enterprise web app development, companies should make sure the back-end developers in the team know how to work with database as well.
UI/UX designers
Traditionally, when carrying out a web app development project, a user experience research needs to be carefully performed in order for the software outsourcing company to understand the specifications and requirement of the future web app used by the target audience. Without a thorough research, a web app might not be able to adequately address all the needs required by its users. Based on such research input, the design of a web app is first manifested in layouts and wireframes and then implemented in code by front-end developers.
Usually, there will be a few variants of the designs to choose from instead of just one version at the beginning. It is rarely ever finalized from the first few attempts. The designs will be improved and optimized with every review session, and finally choosing the most successful one – this is what a typical process is like for most UI/UX designers in a web app development project.
When outsourcing a web development project, company should look for people who would fit for the job by focusing firstly on graphic design skills as well as analytical and psychological skills, open-mindedness (a willingness to consider the constructive feedbacks from others). Do not expect good UI/UX designers to also be front-end developers. Although interconnected, UI/UX design and its implementation are different tasks that require different skills.
Project manager
A project manager will assume the responsibility for keeping track of the project status as well as leading the team providing support and coordination. In a typical web development team, project manager is responsible for the important task of employing a management system in order to manage all the processes throughout the entire project ensuring delivery requirement. Other than that, project manager might help to provide (technical) direction to team members as needed to get the project move forward according to schedule. Their job descriptions usually entails:
- Work with a customer to identify specifications and requirement.
- Providing schedule and project timelines, estimates based on expected delivery.
- Assign and allocate tasks to members for efficient HR resources usage.
- Coordination etc.
When choosing a project manager, the ideal candidate should be great at communications (since project manager’s duties heavily involved human to human interaction) as well as experienced with managing skills.
QA/QC and Tester
As mentioned in a previous post, software testing and QA is highly essential for enterprise system development. In a web app development project, testing process is done to ensure that the web application is performed at the required high level and complying with the necessary security regulation as well as other conditions. After this, it will be concluded whether the product is ready to be presented to client and safely launched into market.
The responsibility of web QA is to ensure that a systematic approach to QA implemented during the entire development process, it’s important to integrate QA processes in the planning stage of the project. Testing, on the other hand, is more closely related to the product itself, so it makes sense to begin the testing process once the very first versions of the front end becomes available.
Project architect
As there are various types of web apps with different architecture, it is necessary to define the kind of a web app that is going to be developed in the beginning stage of the development process.
The role of a project architect is to work with a customer to gather the information needed so they can decide on the architecture that is most suitable according to a company's business requirements. In an outsourcing project, the project architect does not need to be employed full time but should be involved in overseeing the technical implementation of the project.
Conclusion
Choosing a good team of specialists is important when outsourcing a web development project. Led by an experienced project manager, an ideal team should be made up of UI/UX designers, front-end and back-end developers, QA engineers and a project architect. By ensuring each stage of a web app development project is carried out responsibly by a respective experienced specialist, companies improve the chances of justifying their investment and get delivered with a quality web app that meet all of expectations.
Get in touch with us today if your company is facing web development challenges – our experienced team of business analysts and web developers will consult to provide you the solution fulfilling all of your business needs.
