How to manage dedicated software development teams

Dedicated software development teams are a very popular option for businesses that do not have in-house programmers who can cope with the set tasks. It means that even when a company has a development team, hiring dedicated developers can become a good choice when some additional skills and knowledge are required for project realization.

If you decide to hire a dedicated software development team for the first time, it is very important for you to understand how to establish efficient cooperation with new programmers and how to manage such a team in the most comfortable way for both parties. That’s exactly what we are going to tell in this article.

Dedicated software development teams: basic info

But before we proceed to our practical tips, let’s make sure that you fully understand the concept of a dedicated software development team.

This term is used to describe an approach to building cooperation between a client and an outsourcing agency. This model presupposes hiring a development team that will be created by a services provider in full accordance with the requirements that a client has based on the specificity of the project. All administrative tasks are the responsibility of a service provider which means that clients can save the time and money that traditionally should be allocated for hiring and onboarding processes. At the same time, dedicated software development teams work as separate units and are fully focused on the client’s projects.

Practical tips for managing a dedicated software development team

When you successfully hire a dedicated software development team, it’s only one step to success. Further, you need to organize your collaboration with developers in an efficient and mutually beneficial way. You need to have all your tasks timely fulfilled and developers need to have all the requirements clearly explained. It’s crucial to build this mutual understanding. How is it possible to do it?

• Conduct regular meetings. Many companies prefer to arrange meetings daily. But in some cases, one meeting per week can be enough. It is vital to choose a variant that will suit you. 
• Choose a comfortable form of reporting. The form and time of reporting should be clear to both parties. Find the golden middle between insufficient reporting and its overabundance.
• Use modern tools for working with dedicated software development teams. As you work with your developers in a remote format, it is convenient to use such tools as Jira or Trello for managing tasks, Slack or Zoom for communication, and Google Drive for exchanging documents. Of course, that’s a full list of available options and you can choose other tools that you are accustomed to.
• Do not forget about feedback. Developers should know whether they are on the right way. We recommend you provide your comments in parallel with the development process so that everything can be corrected in time. If you reveal your thoughts only when everything is ready, it can be rather problematic to quickly correct everything.
• Respect dedicated developers as members of your own team. Very often business owners perceive dedicated programmers as external contractors or third-party consultants. However, regardless of your legal status and official relations, do not forget that dedicated software development teams are fully focused on your project and devote all their working hours to building your products. That’s why the opinions and ideas of these professionals should be taken into account.

Dedicated software development team management: tasks and responsibilities

It will be also very useful to know how the responsibilities are divided between a client and a vendor.

Your tasks when you are hiring a dedicated software development team:

• strategy development
• setting business tasks
• planning
• providing requirements
• product development management
• team spirit support
• expanding a team with new team members or making decisions on downscaling

Tasks of an outsourcing agency:

• hiring developers based on client’s needs
• onboarding
• ensuring efficient communication
• accounting and payroll
• providing a social package
• organizational tasks
• providing  a workplace and equipment (if necessary)

As you see, working with dedicated software development teams can be a very comfortable model. You, as a client, can reduce labor costs and have more flexibility. At the same time, you do not need to deal with administrative questions related to hiring and onboarding which means that you can focus more on your core business activities. However, please bear in mind that this cooperation model is a good one for long-term projects, if you need help only for a short period of time or for small tasks, it is recommended to consider other models for working with external specialists.