Your offshore software development venture’s success is premised on your ability to scout, identify, and select the top offshore software developers with the best talents and experience to bring your ideas to fruition. But how do you get the right talents? How do you determine that they have the necessary competencies to execute your project per your unique specifications?
Here, Saigon Technology has compiled a few tips to guide you through a successful hiring process.
Approaches to offshore development
While the concept of offshore development is often associated with offshore teams handling all elements of a project from start to finish, that is not necessarily the case. There are different approaches to offshore development to consider. These include:
- Complete offshore development: This is where the offshore development team takes overall project modules, from design through development, testing, and support services post-deployment.
- Outsourcing specific modules – In this case, the offshore development teams only execute specific project elements, e.g., testing, maintenance, or upgrades.
- Hiring dedicated offshore teams: Here, you hire a team of developers and manage them independently through your project’s lifetime.
Regardless of your preferred approach, these tips apply if you are to get the top talent.
How to hire the best offshore developers for your project
1. Be clear with your objectives and needs
Before you start scouting for an offshore software development team, you should clearly define your business objectives and how they link to the project. Additionally, you should be discrete with the unique requirements the offshore development team has to fulfill to qualify to handle your project.
Clearly outlining your needs and your venture’s objectives will help guide you to the right talent that fits best with the unique specifications and demands of your project.
2. Beyond experience, find developers who match your needs
Experience is important. Your team of software developers should demonstrate their experience handling and executing projects of a similar nature to yours with uttermost efficiency while producing quality output. Additionally, the experience is demonstrated by the ability to utilize their skills and knowledge to transform ideas into innovative and effective software products.
But beyond looking for experience, an excellent offshore software development team is one whose skill set matches your needs. This underscores the importance of clearly defining your objectives. Their tools, programming languages, and engagement model should align with your objectives and quality standards. It is often easier to work with experienced developers with vast skill sets and experience working with projects of varied natures. This dynamism adds creativity and increases the quality of output.
3. Check team’s portfolio and customer testimonials
This is a good way to get an initial understanding of what to expect from the offshore software development team. You want to know whether the team can do what they list as their competencies. A strong portfolio demonstrates the quality of their output and their experience working on projects similar to yours. Customer testimonials, on the other hand, help demonstrate their project management skills. They are also helpful in preempting their level of professionalism and customer satisfaction.
4. Evaluate cost-effectiveness
The allure of offshore software development lies in the relatively low-cost implications. It is, therefore, important that you make an objective assessment of the cost-quality ratio. Often people fall into the trap of low prices and end up compromising the quality of their project.
Of course, various factors come to play which determine the cost, including the outsourcing destination of choice, the scope of your project, and your approach to offshore development, among others.
The rule of thumb is to consider offshore developers offering competitive prices. This demands that you invest sufficient time in understanding industry prices within the country where the developers are located. The ideal team offers competitive prices and while maintaining the highest quality standards.
5. Get the contracting right
The contracting stage is where most companies find a challenge. Negotiating a win-win contract can be a tedious process, especially for those trying out outsourcing for the first time. A contract dictates how you will engage with your offshore software development team through your project lifetime.
There are three main contract types, namely:
- Fixed-price contracts – suitable for small and medium-sized projects.
- Time and material model – which works best for projects that need expert input.
A dedicated team of developers – where a team of offshore developers dedicates itself wholly to your project.
- The varying types of contracts offer varying levels of flexibility. Overall, it is important to ensure your contract is comprehensive, addressing all obligatory requirements and standard elements required in a software development project, including defining timelines, liability clauses, data protection rules, etc.
Conclusion
When handled effectively, offshore development could be the stepping stone that elevates your business to a new height. However, it ought to be handled effectively from the onset. Hopefully, this article has provided you with a basic assessment of navigating and selecting the best offshore software development team for your project.
