Here are a few valid reasons to forego staff augmentation as part of your business’s HR policy. Take these concerns into account before deciding on a plan of action for 2017.

Training the New Team Members

While technology professionals acquired on a temporary basis are typically quite skilled in software engineering, database design and more, they still need to come up to speed with how your company works. This requires training in your coding standards, the requirements of a current project, etc. – knowledge which is essentially wasted once they leave. Consider the extra time and resources spent on temp worker training.

Internal Analysis Is Also Required

Even before bringing these temporary employees on board, your current team needs to perform some due diligence and analysis on what internal knowledge, processes and procedures to transfer to the new talent. Is there anything that requires a non-disclosure agreement? What about proprietary knowledge and/or security concerns?

These are questions to be answered before going the staff augmentation route.

Additional Managerial Overhead Is Necessary

Whatever means you use to bring in new IT talent – staff augmentation or permanent hires – additional managerial staff is also needed. This adds overhead and expenses to your company’s financial statement. Make sure this is part of your analysis before finalizing your staffing plan.

There Are No Guarantees When It Comes to Staff Augmentation Talent

Even when considering the lower overall expenses incurred when using staff augmentation workers compared to permanent staff, remember there are no guarantees of a successful project outcome. You are able to mitigate this risk somewhat by choosing a staff augmentation or co-sourcing company with a sterling track record. Still, it is sometimes easier to trust your permanent employees.

Hopefully, analyzing these potential downsides to staff augmentation – along with the numerous positives – helps your organization make a well-considered decision.

Whenever you need some help bringing a great application idea to life, consider the IT co-sourcing experts at SDE. Well versed in state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies, we can help ensure your company’s success. Schedule some time with us at your earliest convenience.

If you are considering the use of a co-sourcing shop on your next software project, let’s take a closer look at Scrum to see if it makes sense as your Agile methodology of choice.

The Nomenclature of Scrum

In Scrum terminology, the person known as a Scrum Master serves a somewhat similar role as the traditional project manager. Instead of the management of each programmer’s task list, however, they operate more as a facilitator; conducting daily meetings and serving as a conduit between the development team and the prime business stakeholder, called the Product Owner. This latter role determines the project’s requirements, their priority, and whether or not each requirement is successfully completed.

The Self-Management of Developers

This Scrum project team structure puts the onus on the development team to manage their workload in addition to any programming tasks. Daily meetings with the Scrum Master confirm sufficient progress is being made, while ensuring any issues or problems are communicated with the Product Owner.

The Scrum Master and Product Owner being on a different continent doesn’t hamper the overall efficiency of the project, provided communication flows openly among all members of the team.

Detailed Planning Is Vital

As with any software development methodology, careful planning when using Scrum helps lead to success. A time interval in an Agile and Scrum project is known as “sprint,” with its project plan being called a Sprint Backlog.

The Product Owner and Scrum Master must work with the development team when planning each sprint to make sure all goals are realistic and achievable – this needs to happen before the current sprint is completed, when possible. The Scrum Master helps ensure no changes are made to the Sprint Backlog while the sprint is in progress.

Communication and Time Management

In addition to daily video or phone conferences with the Scrum Master, the development team benefits from interacting with each other throughout the day. Text messaging helps facilitate the collaboration necessary for a successful project.

Additionally, it is important for each developer to manage their personal time wisely – keeping a consistent effort level is vital in Agile. Trying to complete too much as the end of the sprint approaches usually leads to poor work.

If your organization is interested in leveraging Scrum on your next co-sourced project, talk to the software solutions experts at SDE. Our offshore development team is known for its quality and efficiency. Schedule a meeting with us as soon as possible!

Agile also brings benefits to companies looking to co-source their solution development needs to a third-party provider. Let’s look more closely at some of the ways Agile helps the process of IT co-sourcing. They provide some food for thought on your organization’s next software project.

Faster Software Delivery

The Agile methodology is focused on speed. Co-sourcing your development needs to a development shop experienced in Agile assures an efficient process. Your internal team is able to concentrate on their core business, leaving the software development tasks to the experts.

Agile breaks up the software development lifecycle into smaller chunks compared to older methodologies. The benefit is a faster, more interactive process, ensuring your application is ready for deployment as soon as possible.

Your Business Team Stays Involved Throughout

The business stakeholders from your company play an important role throughout the Agile development lifecycle, ensuring requirements are met and features work as expected. They typically interact with the software engineering team on a daily basis; vetting the application’s functionality and overall quality. This kind of close collaboration is a core principle of Agile.

Last-Minute Changes Won’t Cause the Project to Fail

Agile is designed to handle those dreaded last-minute scope changes without breaking the project’s budget or risking its delivery date. This is one of the main advantages of the granular nature of the shorter development cycles (known as “sprints”) within an Agile project. In fact, one of the principles behind the Agile Manifesto notes the following: “Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.”

Communication and Transparency Are Vital

Deciding to co-source your programming project to a company using an older development methodology keeps you out of the loop until work is completed with the exception of a status update or two. On the other hand, communication and transparency essentially define an Agile project. Expect daily meetings along with regular chances to try out new features and functionality in your application.

The Focus Is on the User

The flexibility of Agile ensures changes and enhancements happen more quickly compared to older methodologies. Once feedback is received after the application is in production, turning any comments and insights into changes in functionality is simple. This user-focused form of development also provides benefits earlier in the process with the business stakeholders serving that same role.

When your organization has a software development co-sourcing need, consider the team at SDE. Our Agile processes ensure a fast, transparent and ultimately successful project – from initiation to delivery. Contact us at your earliest convenience.