Avoid These 5 Common Mistakes During Outsourcing Software Development

The software development team is a crucial part of any business. With the increase in a crowd of online businesses, outsourcing software development has become a necessity as it helps ineffective management of the daily chores without any unwanted technical problem. Even, if in the worst-case scenario, any issue occurs, the team is there for the speedy redressal of the matter. Hence, there is no reason why a company shouldn't outsource software development as a tool for their business growth.

What is Outsourcing?

Outsourcing is not a very old concept. It came into existence along with the introduction of the concept of online business. This is a method by which any company or group of companies hires a third party to get their internal work done. Outsourcing services are available in a wide range of variety like network services, content creation, disaster recovery, IT function, etc.

The reason behind the increasing demand for outsourcing today is its countless benefits, to name a few:

1. Highly Cost-Effective

2. Saves time for the company

3. It increases the efficiency of work

4. Outsourcing companies provide a wide range of potential representatives. This allows the hiring company to hire persons of varied skill sets.

How Does Outsourcing Work?

Apart from outsourcing development, the common method of hiring IT or software professionals is recruitment. The conventional method of recruitment is gradually becoming outdated in this fast-pacing world. Also, it requires a lot of effort and headache from the side of the hiring company. Firstly, they need to set up a different recruiting department in their own company, responsible for scrutinizing and bringing qualified professionals. The candidates must meet the necessary eligibility criteria to join the company as full-time employees. All this is a very long process and consumes a lot of time and investment.

Whereas outsourcing saves us from the majority portion of this chaos. A particular outsourcing company only has qualified professionals, and it manages according to their time and commitment. When an IT company contacts the outsourcing brand, they help them get the desired in a matter of hours. The hiring company even has the chance to compare the resume and background of the candidate before hiring them. Another great thing is that there is no restriction involved from either side. This strategy is an outstanding way to increase the productivity and profit ratio.

Five Common Mistakes During Outsourcing Software Development

Big companies commit some common mistakes during their outsourcing software development. These mistakes lead to huge business-related blunders. So now let us know about these mistakes and how they deliberately become a reason for failure. It is also pertinent to note what can be done to avoid these mistakes.

1.  Treating The Outsourcing Team as an Outsider-

This is one of the most common mistakes committed by software companies which leads to heavy losses in the future. Understand that an outsourcing team is investing their time and efforts to give you the best results. Their aim is to build a long-term relationship with your banner. Hence, they will give their best performance in order to impress you with their work. Thus, it is essential to reciprocate the same amount of trust and dedication to fetch desired results. There must be a proper communication channel. Everything related to the company which will contribute to the project in some or another way must be communicated openly to the outsourcing company.

There have been several instances where it was noticed that in lack of faith of the core company, the outsourcing members tend to get demotivated. This impacts their work results of software development outsourcing. This is the reason why it is strongly recommended to treat them in a manner like a permanent employee. The team leader must remain in continuous touch with the client and keep him updated about the everyday progress of the project. Make sure to answer all the queries honestly and with patience. A physical visit is also suggested so that the work momentum is maintained and your seriousness towards the project is conveyed.

2.  Preferring Cost Over Value-

Of course, money is the core component of every business deal. But giving it more importance than it actually deserves is a big mistake. Everybody wants an affordable service but compromising the value of the project for that is not good. Outsourcing companies hire freelancers based on their work potential and pay them accordingly. In this situation, if you fixate over the point of the bargain too much, then they might end up assigning a low-paid candidate. Now, this is not their mistake as there is a certain limit up to which outsourcing deals can be negotiated, but after that, there are not many options left. Apart from their own expenses, they need to pay the freelancers as well and hence if the company is stubborn only on the point of cost, then it has to lower down the level of value.

An IT company must be firm over the point that what does it wants from an outsourcing team. The parameters must be strong and fixed. They should make up their mind as to what suits them more- a cheap product or a value-adding product. Some companies are popular for giving out the best level of work. Their portfolio also suggests their expertise in the field, but the charges are high. Now, this might annoy the customer at first but looking at the success graph, and this should not be a very tough decision. Also, higher rates often reflect good quality and timely submissions.

In the business world, this dilemma is often solved using the three magical Es.

1. Economic
2. Effective
3. Efficient

Economic says that the cost of the project must agree with the present market situation. Not too high, neither too low is the golden rule.

Effective, it reflects the chances of successful project submission within the said deadline. It can be measured based on the criteria decided according to the project's demand.

Efficient- This is the most important aspect to analyze your project's quality. It must be completed in a manner that proves to be efficient to market demand. You should get your investments along with a good profit margin back. Even if the project is not up to the mark, it must be good enough to get back the investment amount.

3.  Inadequate Handling of Contract-

An outsourcing deal is a kind of legal contract. Any related to the law must be dealt with in a very careful manner. Otherwise, it will surely backfire. The same is the case here. Before finalizing the deal, there must be a legal agreement between the two parties in writing. This arises from certain obligations that are to be fulfilled by both sides of the parties. In the absence of proper compliance, it will result in legal action. But, for this, it is essential to remain aware and attentive in the beginning. Every detail of the deal must be in writing in the form of a contract. The drafting of the contract must be done by or under the guidance of a legal representative. There must not be any single area left that is not mentioned in that particular contract. Because if, in any case, some dishonor of contract happens, either side can sue the defaulter and get its consideration back.

The technological world is running very fast, and there are changes being introduced every day.  Hence, it is very necessary to keep updating the contract terms in the presence of both the parties only if it is a long-term deal. Remember that in the absence of adequate handling of a contract, there are high chances of post-contract problems. The companies will be obliged to face a complex transition period and expensive redressal mechanism.

4. Putting Unreasonable Pressure Over The Outsourcing Team-

Know that there is no cleverness in assigning false deadlines to freelancers. It not only puts them under extra pressure but also makes a very bad impact on the output they produce. Projects like software development require flexible deadlines so that the person working on it can make the best use of his skills and creativity. This is also necessary so that he can ensure the least errors in the final submission. Technical stuff like this requires thorough checks before getting finalized. Thus, if the initial deadline is too hectic, then there are no chances of it being revised. The hiring companies need to realize that setting unreasonable deadlines for software outsourcing companies just to get their work done on a priority basis may attract many issues like-

• The outsourcing head might cancel the order in the non-availability of developers on his own.
• The desired results will not be produced.
• High chances of encountering bugs and glitches at a later stage.

This is why it is recommended to decide timelines after a proper exchange of words among the developer, head, and hiring company. The deadline must be suitable for all three of them. This is extremely important because if, unfortunately, any unprecedented challenge arises, it could be tackled within a proper timeframe and efficiently.

5. The Credibility of The Senior Management Must Be Ensured-

The person assigning the task and the person executing it are both junior-level workers. But eventually, they are not directly responsible for any problem arising from either side. The people of senior management are the main parties. They hold the responsibility to establish a proper communication channel. Senior management is the one that guides the under-level workers in the successful execution of their projects. But what if the senior management in itself is insufficient and incredible? The company is the one that is eventually going to suffer. Therefore, it is very important to be confident about the credibility of the head representatives of an organization. This is an important step from both sides.

Any freelancer is not supposed to work against the policies or guidelines given by their head. They will not take any major unless and until there are orders from above. In simple words, we can relate it to an example of a cricket team. During a match, a player is not supposed to step into the field for batting unless and until he is directed by the captain to do so. It does not matter even if the player thinks or knows that he can control the situation on-field. This example indicates how the competency of a captain directly impacts the performance of his team. The same is the case with team heads, and if they are not capable enough to properly communicate the requirements of the client, then in all cases, the client is only going to leave dissatisfied.

There must be proper research and development by both sides before fixing the deal. Also, there should be proper consultation in regards to any minor and major changes in the project.

Conclusion

Outsourcing software development is an emerging trend. It is performing exceptionally well in the market only because of the extraordinary benefits offered by the process to the companies. According to the field experts, outsourcing is here to stay for a long time. It can even replace the conventional recruitment method to a huge extent. But this requires time and patience. Both sides must be sane and sincere enough to understand the value of time and money. The freelancers working with the outsourcing companies are also investing their valuable time to generate good revenue and attain powerful skills. Any sort of mistake as mentioned above committed by any side can kill the purpose of the entire project for all the bodies associated with it.

This is the reason why keeping these mistakes in mind while dealing is very important. Other than being an effective method, outsourcing is more of a relationship, and thus it must be embraced like one. Sure, there will be challenges in the path, but consider the quality and value of the result, they must be overcome with great zeal and enthusiasm.