According to Grandview Research, the global software development market is expected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% from 2022 to 2028, generating nearly US$91.6 billion in revenue in just six years. That encourages many business people worldwide to begin thinking about developing their own software. There are many options to get software for your company—order turnkey development, buy a ready-to-use solution, or assemble it on a constructor. One of the options is hiring a team of specialists who will take over product development.
However, the development process usually involves specialists with different profiles. Typically, these professionals demonstrate the highest work efficiency if they are physically in the same workspace. That is why many market participants prefer not to hire coders or designers individually via IT outsourcing to work remotely with a dedicated team.
This article explains the model and its advantages to help you decide whether a dedicated team is right for you.
Dedicated Team Model Definition
A dedicated team is a model of cooperation with a digital service provider where the client is provided with long-term software specialists. The team members are selected based on their experiences and skills. Development management and coordination of the communication process can remain the implementer’s responsibility. The team usually works from the service provider’s office. The dedicated development team understands the project’s purpose through effective collaboration. These characteristics define how the dedicated team model typically works:
- The customer must have an idea of precisely what they want. They determine the number of employees required for the project and what technical skills they should have.
- The contractor hires or organizes a team that meets the project’s requirements. The team and the customer agree on the project’s workload and conditions for a specified time.
- Specialists begin work during their regular working hours.
- The customer has complete control over the dedicated project and the team, while the team focuses on ensuring the best possible results.
What You Should Know Before Hiring a Dedicated Team
1. Starting a Collaboration
This model takes a little less time to develop a project. However, there is a risk that the client may not be able to accurately determine the candidate profiles, skills, and technical experiences needed for the project and, therefore, will have to hire an expert either internally or from an outsourcing company.
2. Team Flexibility
In the work process, the customer can increase or decrease the staff depending on their needs. Specialization and the number of employees may vary depending on the needs and tasks. For example, if one project needs project managers, backend developers, and a designer who is only required from time to time, in this case, it would be irrational to include a designer on the team. But one of the convenient options is to pay his hours separately.
3. Scope of Work
If you are considering hiring a dedicated team, you should first understand the project’s scope. It should be at least 160 hours, so the load is sufficient for at least one specialist, and it will be economically profitable for the project. So it is good if there is a product backlog. Then, for example, the specialist can start working on secondary tasks while waiting for feedback or decisions on the main ones.
4. Employee Vacation
In case of a vacation, the project loses a specialist for some time, but finding an employee of the same level as a substitute is not a problem. However, customers usually do not want to bring in a new person, realizing that the immersion process will take a long time. It demonstrates that clients feel the benefits of the dedicated business model when the same professionals are constantly engaged in the project.
5. Communication with the In-House Team
When specialists work on only one project, they become part of the client’s team. In this case, developers communicate not only with the client but also with other departments. Such a systematic, comprehensive approach and immersion help to better understand the project. Also, in this case, the customer can solve all issues directly with the team, and employees also promptly report problems to the client or voice new ideas.
Top 5 Reasons to Choose a Dedicated Team
1. Transparent Management and Communication
Again, a dedicated team is similar to an in-house team that works in a separate office. You manage them directly, and that involves a lot of daily communication. In addition, you always know what your team is doing and where they are now on the progress scale.
2. Less Cost for Recruitment and Administration
Hiring specialists on staff is expensive but also more complex. It takes time to find the necessary employee, which increases the timing of the project. With a dedicated team, you don’t waste time. Specialists have the required knowledge in the subject area. In addition, the team uses their experience with other projects, further strengthening their expertise.
3. Ideas and Knowledge
With a dedicated team, a software outsourcing company establishes a close relationship that allows you to handle your needs individually. Developers have a more significant opportunity to dig deeper into your business and learn about your actual needs. Also, you will not have to explain the workflow and save money on training because specialists already know how to work remotely.
4. Speed Up Your Project Launch
Regardless of the complexity and timing of the project, you can quickly build a team of motivated professionals ideally suited to the needs of your web project.
5. Manage the Project in Your Way
Clients control the selection and management of the project team they hire. The client company will handle the allocated team and customize the workflow. Clients have full authority to evaluate performance, manage tasks, communicate, and track progress. Hiring a team gives the same control as hiring employees from your own company.
Disadvantages of the Dedicated Team Model
Despite its many advantages, the dedicated development team model also has some pitfalls. Enterprises and startups must understand the disadvantages of this model before using it in their work.
1. Unsuitable for a Short-Term Project
It is more efficient to hire a dedicated developer for large projects that are constantly evolving, with flexible and frequently changing requirements. Theoretically, dedicated teams can be used for short-term projects. However, in this case, their efficiency leaves much to be desired.
2. Different Time Zones
Time zone issues can arise when your in-house team needs to communicate directly with a dedicated team. This requires either finding the best time to suit both parties or hiring a team in the same time zone as you.
3. More Complicated Onboarding
Building an exceptional team tailored to the needs of your project takes much more time than hiring people for the near term. First, staffing requires as much involvement as possible to ensure you’re employing the right people. Otherwise, you may regret some decisions, and fixing them will disrupt your project timeline.
Conclusion
To summarize, a dedicated team is a good option for projects with many uncertain requirements—startups or long-term projects. The main idea of a dedicated team is that the company hires a group of professionals who will be able to complete the task clearly and on time. Usually, the company looking for help agrees and employs a team of IT specialists, quality assurance (QA) engineers, user experience/user interface (UX/UI) designers, project managers, business developers, and other specialists to perform the entire product development cycle. It also means that the team will work exclusively on the client’s project, just like the in-house team. The dedicated team focuses entirely on the IT solution, while the client controls the workflow and gets the opportunity to shift attention to high-level tasks. It is essential that the team understands your mission and helps move the company toward a common goal.
