How to Prep Your Team to Work with an Outsource Dev Team
If you’ve selected an outside development firm to help your internal development team build or enhance your product, there are some key strategies for doing some very intentional preparation for this model, getting buy-in from the in-house team and setting the whole effort up for success.
Here are a few suggestions we’ve seen make a difference:
Ask your in-house team where they really need the most help. It seems obvious, but business leaders may not have the “on the ground” view of where the team needs the most help. Ask them!
Do a trial first – this is one thing that’s just not practical with a new hire. Ask the firm you are considering if you can “test” them in a fixed, short-timeframe project, to get a sense of how you will all work together. If the team isn’t a fit, you find out faster and with a much lower investment.
Clearly delineate roles – Which team members are responsible for which stages in the dev cycle, including, importantly, who will handle QC?
Consider listening to the new team’s ideas – You have hopefully selected an outsource partner with valuable experience and expertise. If they have an idea about how to approach your project more efficiently or deliver better quality, consider hearing them out, even if it’s not your normal way of doing things.
Have teams meet virtually for a kickoff – Put a face to a name, even if it’s over a Skype video call, so that teams can start to build connections that will make the work flow more smoothly.
Work together to determine how to communicate – Email and Slack are common – are there other systems that you’ll expect the outside team to utilize to communicate, such as Project Management systems, document management, or others?
Get clarity in your requirements – This goes without saying regardless of who is doing the heavy lifting. Getting very clear on your project’s goals and scope is the best way to create a foundation for success
How do you know if leveraging an outsource team is right for you?