Low-Code/No-Code: Empowering Citizen Developers

 The demand for software has never been higher in today’s fast-changing environment. Business leaders began 2021 with concerns about talent shortages, and retaining top technology talent is likely the No. 1 priority for many global organizations. Because many technology organizations are struggling to find adequate developers with so many legacy subject matter experts retiring, the enterprise low-code application platform (LCAP) market is growing rapidly. Low code is about applying automation (visual full-stack development and deploy to any touch point) to software delivery and is a natural evolution of rising abstraction levels in application development. TechTarget defines it as "a visual software development environment that allows citizen developers to drag and drop application components, connect them together and create a mobile or web app."

Data Version Control: The Enabler Of Data Engineering Best Practices

 Data is the backbone of every business organization today, and its importance will only grow in 2023. There have been a lot of discussions lately about adopting version control practices for data. Many engineers believe that data version control is the obvious next step that would transform data pipelines from something that organizations maintain to something they engineer—just like code.

Setting KPIs For Software Development Teams As An Engineering Leader

 It's important to track, measure and assess the performance of your software development teams as an engineering leader. This way, you ensure that you'll come up with the highest quality product. This approach will help your team become more efficient and also help you generate substantial benefits in the long run.

To get the best-intended results from your engineering teams, leaders need to determine some essential KPIs to answer critical questions: How fast is your team moving? And what can you do to improve developer satisfaction and efficiency?

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are just like a map that helps you to determine how far you've come since you started. Having the right KPIs linked to your organizational goals lets you derive your progress within a specific time frame.

You might ask what key performance indicators are and how they can benefit engineering leaders. Please read on to learn every aspect of KPIs. This article will also cover setting KPIs for the software development team as an engineering leader.

What KPIs Are And How To Set Them

KPIs are a set of metrics that allow organizations and businesses to obtain qualifiable measurements over time to accomplish a specific business objective. The prime aim of key performance indicators is to drive engineering teams toward achieving goals and deliver valuable insights to make data-driven decisions for business processes.

Looking to hire skilled software developers? Contact TP&P Technology - Leading Software Outsourcing Company in Vietnam Today

Article resource: https://www.forbes.com/sites/quickerbettertech/2022/11/10/on-crm-what-are-the-most-popular-add-ons-for-crm-applications/?sh=3487e26650f6

Setting KPIs can help engineering teams in the following ways.

• Understand what needs to be improved.

• Define a strict process to ensure consistent progress.

• Minimize the time required to complete a specific development project.

Setting KPIs For Software Development Teams

As a software engineering leader, you can set KPIs in the following ways.

1. Understanding How KPIs Will Be Used

The first step in setting KPIs is understanding how these indicators will be used to track and monitor your team's performance. Additionally, they should be clearly understood by all your team members.

Before setting key performance indicators, discuss the criteria with your teams and equip them with the right tools, knowledge and skills.

2. Linking KPIs To Your Business Goals

Software engineering leaders often adopt vague performance indicators that have no substantial impact. To get the best results, you must link KPIs to your objectives to ensure your team is on the right track.

Additionally, in order to give them the motivation to carry out their duties, your engineering team should also be aware of the organization's main objective.

3. Determining The Effectiveness Of Your Selected KPIs

The next step is identifying your KPIs as "smart" enough to deliver the best outcomes. You can use the SMART formula to check their effectiveness.

• Specific: Your selected KPIs should be focused on a specific objective to help teams develop the finest-quality product.

• Measurable: The performance indicator you select must be measurable and benchmarked against a determined standard.

• Achievable: Your selected KPIs should be well defined and achievable.

• Relevant: As mentioned earlier, your selected KPI should be relevant to your organizational goals.

• Time-Bound: Your key performance indicators should be deliverable and achievable in a set time frame.

4. Auditing KPIs

Make necessary changes depending on your customers' demands and market conditions.

KPI Vs. OKR

Both of these are agile goal-setting methodologies and are recognized for the profitability, productivity and visibility they offer to companies, but they differ from each other in certain aspects.

Objectives and key results (OKRs) help team leaders set, track and measure time-bound business goals. In contrast, KPIs are specific measures of success that allow engineering leaders to track team performance.

They differ in the following ways:

• KPIs evaluate your team's success, whereas the prime aim of OKRs is to facilitate ambitious goal setting and alignment for businesses.

• KPIs are the larger tracking areas with an extended period, while OKRs typically have quarterly cycles.

• KPIs are static performance indicators, but OKRs are meant to be malleable.

Benefits Of KPIs For Software Development Teams

Clear and well-defined key performance indicators can improve the performance of software development teams in the following ways.

Measuring Progress

Implementing the right KPIs can help engineering leaders track the performance and progress of their teams. Performance indicators also help you determine if the processes and policies are working together to improve operations.

Managing Performance

Setting key performance indicators helps teams and individuals maintain accountability and simplify communication, fostering positive performance. KPIs also encourage transparency by tracking and managing the performance of each team member.

Analyzing Trends

Implementing KPIs allows engineering leaders to identify positive and negative performance trends. It helps you spot the areas of work that require improvement rapidly.

Some KPI Examples For Engineering Leaders

As an engineering leader, you should be aware of the following examples of KPIs.

Cycle Time: Cycle time is a significant metric that indicates how quickly code goes from a developer's workstation to production. Identifying these valuable performance indicators helps engineering leaders accelerate time to market by identifying process bottlenecks.

Measuring cycle time in engineering departments can also help teams innovate faster and improve the sense of ownership.

Project Timeline: This is another valuable key performance indicator that helps you identify how work focuses and volume is modified over time. It also allows leaders to determine how their teams perform compared to market trends.

The Bottom Line

Key performance indicators are essential metrics to track, manage and analyze the performance of software development teams. As an engineering leader, you are responsible for ensuring that the KPI you select is relevant, achievable and measurable in the specific time frame.

Looking to hire skilled software developers? Contact TP&P Technology - Leading Software Outsourcing Company in Vietnam Today

Article resource:https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/05/01/setting-kpis-for-software-development-teams-as-an-engineering-leader/?sh=111f1ac27cef

On CRM: What Are The Most Popular Add-Ons For CRM Applications?

 My company sells and implements five customer relationship management applications and we've been doing this for too long to mention here without depressing myself. We've implemented CRM systems at hundreds of businesses. Many of those also take advantage of the add-ons that their CRM vendor provides, usually through a marketplace or app store. Since most CRM systems moved to the cloud during the past ten years there's been a proliferation of add-on applications to fill the gaps in the features not provided.

So what are the most popular add-ons? Full disclosure: I didn't do this scientifically. But I can easily list out the add-ons that my clients use the most. Here are the top five in no particular order.

How To Set And Manage Key Performance Indicators For Software Engineering Teams

 Organizations use key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure their performance and progress toward specific goals. In software engineering, KPIs can measure the performance and productivity of software engineering teams. Setting and managing KPIs can be challenging for software engineering leaders, as they need to ensure that the metrics they choose are relevant, measurable and actionable.

Rethinking Enterprise Software: Three Features You Should Look For In New Enterprise Applications

 Enterprise technology investments are among the most important infrastructure investments for startups, mid-size companies and large organizations alike. These tools may be used by every employee in the organization and, in many cases, will have a role in integrating and orchestrating myriad other task-specific tools. They're often the platforms upon which all other IT infrastructure is built.

Why Decision Intelligence Is The Next Digital Transformation

 Decision intelligence (DI) is how people make business decisions, regardless of their role or industry. It bridges the gap between analytics-focused data and AI platforms.

4 Steps To Simplify Your Technology Investments In 2023

 In a time when companies are trying to do more with less, there’s one thing that’s not lacking: technology. In fact, businesses have many choices when it comes to deciding what tools and solutions to invest in. It’s not likely to get any easier—there are more than 30,000 SaaS offerings available, and the global enterprise software market is expected to grow at an 11.1% CAGR to $404 billion by 2028.

Sprint Planning Tips And Tricks For Software Development Leaders

 Sprint planning is a critical step in the agile software development process, as it sets the direction and goals for the upcoming sprint. As a software development leader, it is essential to understand the importance of sprint planning and how to plan and execute sprints to achieve success effectively.

Why Sprint Planning Is Efficient

Sprint planning can help the development team stay focused on the project's goals, identify any potential roadblocks or challenges that may arise during the sprint, and develop a plan to address them.

We implemented sprint planning strategies so that we could manage our workflows more efficiently and improve the overall performance of the teams. We found that it also promotes better communication and collaboration among our team members, encouraging everyone to share their ideas, concerns and suggestions. This can lead to a better understanding of the project and a more cohesive team effort.

How Sprint Planning Aligns With The Agile Methodology

Agile methodology values adaptability and encourages teams to respond to change and be open to new ideas. Because feedback is an important part of our sprints, we've found that sprint planning can promote adaptability and determine how receptive our teams are to it. In our sprint review meeting, our teams share feedback, and we find ways to adapt to it.

Prioritizing Customer Needs

Agile methodology prioritizes customer needs and values the input of stakeholders. Sprint planning can help teams review the product backlog (a prioritized list of items that need to be completed for the project) and identify the highest priority items that need to be completed during the upcoming sprint.

Collaboration And Communication

Agile methodology values collaboration and communication among team members and encourages team members to share their ideas, concerns and suggestions—promoting better communication and cooperation among team members.

For us, it doesn't matter how many ceremonies we have; we always try to validate assumptions and communicate as much as possible within the teams. Our daily standups are our way to never make assumptions and to communicate as efficiently as possible.

Continuous Improvement

Agile methodology values continuous improvement. At the end of each sprint, we meet for the sprint review to give feedback and share our successes. This allows us to promote a culture of continuous improvement.

Self-Organization

The agile methodology encourages self-organization, where team members have the autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their work.

Best Practices For Engineering Leaders Regarding Sprint Planning

Define The Sprint Goal

The sprint goal is a clear and concise statement that defines the overall objective of the sprint. It should be specific, measurable and achievable. For example, one of our sprint goals was to speed up the loading time of the app by 50%. To ensure the goal is well understood, we keep the communication going in our teams and use an issue-tracking system to manage our sprints in a flexible platform.

Review The Product Backlog

The product backlog is a prioritized list of items that must be completed for the project. The team should review the backlog and identify the highest-priority items that must be completed during the upcoming sprint. When reviewing our product backlog, we try to determine the most important tasks that add the most value to the customers.

Determine Sprint Capacity

Sprint capacity is the amount of work the team can realistically accomplish during the upcoming sprint. We determine our sprint capacity by analyzing performance over time and finding a way that's the most efficient for our teams. For example, we have alerts set up in case our teams feel the need to work on weekends, allowing us to know if the workload is too heavy.

Review And Adjust The Process

Reviewing the sprint planning process regularly and adjusting as needed can help ensure that the process is efficient and effective and that the team is progressing toward achieving its goals. At the end of each sprint, we check how our team performed in the sprint. The DORA metrics are a good performance indicator: How does the change failure rate look? How about our mean time to recovery? Based on factual data and numbers, we know where to focus and what to improve for the next sprint.

Provide Guidance And Mentorship

Engineering leaders should provide guidance and mentorship to the team members and help them identify and overcome any obstacles they might face during the sprint. Bottlenecks are something usual, and every team encounters them. We try to spot these obstacles and help our teams overcome them quickly. We've found that this can improve velocity as well as the overall developer experience.

Set A Definition Of "Done"

A definition of "done" is a clear and agreed-upon set of criteria to be met for an item to be considered complete. We define "done" by ensuring we have a shared notion of completeness and quality within the team. We have a list of criteria that establishes what "done" means for each user story.

Conclusion

Sprint planning is a crucial step in the software development process, and it is essential for software development leaders to plan and execute sprints to achieve success effectively. By going through the steps mentioned earlier, software development leaders can ensure that their team stays focused on the essential tasks and is working on items that will have the greatest impact on the project.

Looking to hire skilled software developers? Contact TP&P Technology - Leading Software Outsourcing Company in Vietnam Today

Article resource: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/03/01/sprint-planning-tips-and-tricks-for-software-development-leaders/?sh=55b3ae073349

What QA Teams Should Know About Machine Learning For Software Testing

 Talk to any industry insider, and they’ll tell you that the landscape of software testing is undergoing a paradigm shift that’s rendering many existing practices inadequate. The pace of software delivery is unrecognizable from only a few years ago as tech companies release products at breakneck speed, driving quality assurance (QA) teams to expand their toolkit in order to remain competitive.

How To Manage Software Developers Who Moonlight?

 With a booming technology industry comes the potential for software developers to engage in moonlighting—working on multiple projects and earning additional income in the process. While this can be a lucrative opportunity for software developers, it can pose significant risks to employers. So, how can employers effectively manage their software developers who moonlight?

As with any business challenge, the first step is to understand why software developers engage in moonlighting in the first place. Taking on additional work can provide a significant boost to their income. Additionally, the tech industry's remote working environment makes moonlighting even more attractive, as developers can work from anywhere and still receive a paycheck.

Why User Feedback Is So Important For Software Development

 How often are you taking the time to collect user base feedback? When you’re developing a new app or software, it’s highly beneficial to learn from your user base. After all, they’re the ones who will be purchasing and using the product. You need to get to know your customers’ pain points and needs before you can figure out how to solve them. This is the only way to create something that will actually be adopted.

To do this, you need to create a more collaborative process that involves your customers every step of the way. In doing so, your user-based feedback can improve the development process, allow you to create better applications and help you grow. Here's a more detailed look at the benefits you could see when you properly leverage feedback from users.

Reduced Risk

Without getting user-based feedback early and often, you run the risk of wasting your time and money developing something that doesn’t address a genuine customer need. Instead, you need to prioritize finding out what your customers do and don’t want. That will guarantee that you’re always spending time on something that is both valuable and useful to your user base. You can dramatically reduce risk and cost as a result.

Balancing Speed With Quality

In the past, it was standard to take years to push out new software or large updates. But now, people are used to speed. They might be willing to wait weeks or perhaps even months for a new feature, but they certainly won’t be around for any longer than that. Someone else will jump in to provide what they’re looking for if you’re too slow. You can leverage user feedback to eliminate wasted time and focus on what your customers want—when they want it. As a result, you’ll speed up the process while maintaining quality.

Greater Agility

When you’re basing your software development cycle on user feedback, you’ll inherently become more agile. This is essential in today’s world of software and application development. If you’re consistently listening to customers and making user-feedback-based decisions at every stage, you can quickly adapt, even if the market is changing at breakneck speed. And when you can ensure the scope and specifications of your project are on target, you’ll be able to figure out your top priorities and thus make better business decisions.

Ensuring You Have The Correct Audience

Your test group should represent all the different types of users you want to target. For example, if you’re creating a program geared toward real estate owners, it might be essential to find people with varied real estate holdings and varying technological skills. This way, you can ensure that you’re not alienating any of your desired customer bases and that you’re meeting everyone’s needs.

Improved User Experience

In addition to helping you determine your priorities, user-based feedback can help you with design and thus improve the final product. Improving the usability of your software is essential to long-term success, and it should never be an afterthought.

Improved Quality Of The Final Product

When you collaborate with your user base, you can generate a wider range of ideas. You can give more time and effort to ideas that get the most positive feedback and change (or scrap) ideas that are generating mostly negative feedback. If a certain tool is going completely unused in the prototype, you’ll know ahead of time that it isn’t working and you can make decisions accordingly. Features that you hadn’t even thought of might become the top priority, depending on what your customers need.

Retaining Customers

If you want to keep your customers around for the long haul, you’ll need to incorporate their feedback into your decisions from day one. Your user base wants to know you value them, understand their needs and are on their side. Collaborating with your users by gathering and incorporating their feedback is often an effective way to build customer retention.

The time is now to start incorporating more user-based feedback into your agile software development process. Don’t wait until your application is almost completed. With consistent user feedback from the beginning to the end, you can improve both the process and the product.

Looking to hire skilled software developers? Contact TP&P Technology - Leading Software Outsourcing Company in Vietnam Today

Article resource: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/05/31/why-user-feedback-is-so-important-for-software-development/?sh=5bfd5f6533f1

How Outsourcing Helps Tech Businesses Thrive In Times Of Economic Uncertainty

 The American economy has seen quite a bit of turbulence this year. It makes sense that, between inflation, supply chain issues and falling stocks, many are worried that our economy is on the brink of a recession. In response to these concerns, many technology leaders have cut headcounts, scaled back operations and focused on paring down line items to make weathering the expected economic downturn more manageable.

These are understandable approaches that can certainly help leaders meet goals in the short term. However, taking this route could come at the expense of larger business objectives as it may lower quality, stifle plans for growth or lead to overworked teams that are unable to contribute their best to the company.

Opting to outsource certain areas, rather than downsizing or eliminating their function, can help up-and-comers and established technology vendors meet quarterly goals while staying on track to meet long-term goals. In times of economic trouble, allowing experts to take the lead where possible can help ensure the continued quality of a company’s products and services while helping to lighten the load on internal teams.

The Perks Of Partnership

Opting to outsource in times of economic uncertainty can help software and other tech companies open new doors and streamline operations. It also allows leaders to meet budgetary goals by doing the following:

1. Tapping Into New Labor Markets

As inflation rises, wage increases follow close behind. Outsourcing certain processes and business functions—like customer service, bill processing or records management—opens more affordable labor pools, which can help keep costs low.

While hiring outside help may feel counterintuitive when trying to cut back on costs, it’s actually far less expensive when you compare rates. For example, if a tech start-up operates in a high-cost American city—like New York or Los Angeles—engaging customer service representatives in a market with a lower cost of living can help reduce costs significantly. By tapping into labor markets in more rural areas, either domestically or abroad, managers can cut labor spending without running on skeleton crews.

Furthermore, the return can be even more significant when working with an outsourcing partner that has an international presence. In fact, a business process outsourcer (BPO) with operations in emerging regions can help cut costs significantly while extending their partners’ global reach and bringing lucrative work opportunities to underserved regions.

2. Reducing Risk

In uncertain economies, removing risk can also help tech leaders find more peace of mind. Building new facilities or hiring seasonal workers to meet spiking demand are risky endeavors, especially in times of belt-tightening and cost-cutting. There’s always the chance that it won’t pay off or go as planned.

Outsourcing these and other functions can help mitigate that risk. Most companies that offer outsourcing services become responsible for the financial risk associated with staffing, managing teams, opening new locations, onboarding and more.

Even though adding another entity into the mix can feel like a risky choice, doing so ultimately helps start-ups and legacy institutions operate with more confidence, so employers are able to get back to running the ship without all the added stress.

3. Increasing Flexibility To Facilitate Scalability

Outsourcing certain teams to specialized partners can help tech companies increase their flexibility and scalability, which is incredibly important when navigating a tumultuous economy. It allows companies that specialize in emerging tech to streamline their operations, offering the agility to pivot or scale offerings at the drop of a hat.

Companies that outsource customer service, for example, will be better positioned to accommodate spikes in demand as their service partner has the resources to reallocate labor, train any new workers and oversee progress to ensure quality service despite changes in volume. If demand drops, the BPO can take the lead when restructuring teams, re-strategizing or suggesting alternative methods that may drive better results.

4. Boosting Efficiency With Expertise

Finally, expertise is crucial in times of uncertainty—and BPOs offer just that. Whether it’s a software company looking to get help producing content or running communications or a start-up looking for guidance on developing new internal processes or managing customer service teams at scale, working with an experienced partner can streamline the experience.

They’re experts at delivering top-quality work and alleviating growing pains. BPOs invest in the latest technology, have tried-and-true strategies for success and cultivate teams that are highly skilled at delivering excellence in their fields. The result? Fewer mistakes, more unique ideas, better execution and, ultimately, more satisfied clients and customers.

The Power Of Outsourcing In A Down Economy

While adding something new to the budget may seem counterintuitive in turbulent economic times, it’s imperative that leaders take a step back and consider the big picture. Being cost-efficient isn’t just about slashing line items, it’s about creating more streamlined and productive teams and processes.

Leaders looking into next steps for outsourcing should determine their organizational needs and weigh them across several BPO offerings, clearly communicate their budgets and outcome expectations for the partnership and set up trainings for internal and external partners to understand the evolving roles within their customer service systems.

Companies that decide to outsource often get a significant return on their investments. The expanded access to talent, reduced risk, increased flexibility and boosted efficiency outsourcing can help tech leaders build more agile, confident and productive businesses. In today’s unstable market, that is the key to ongoing success.

Looking to hire skilled software developers? Contact TP&P Technology - Leading Software Outsourcing Company in Vietnam Today

Article resource:https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/01/13/how-outsourcing-helps-tech-businesses-thrive-in-times-of-economic-uncertainty/?sh=12ea43012bd2

Four Things To Consider When Joining A Software Development Outsourcing Tender

Large-scale industries and governmental organizations are constantly searching for new vendors and partners. And many organizations find fitting service providers through tendering. At the same time, by joining a tender, a service provider gets the chance to win a contract for an innovative or challenging project.

Though tendering may seem challenging and daunting for software outsourcing companies who have never dealt with it, winning the right bid can transform your emerging business.

In this article, I want to share my company’s experience participating in software development tenders hosted by various organizations.

How You Can Take Part In A Tender

There are several ways an IT outsourcing company can take part in a tender.

• Receive a request for proposal (RFP) directly from a company seeking vendors or from a partnership program that assists such companies

• Establish contacts with procurement consultants who deal with organizations of interest

• Search for RFPs for large projects from major market players on online bid posting platforms

• Visit official websites of government institutions that open tenders within the procurement procedure

Requests for proposals can be public, private or closed, depending on the organization posting them.

Government organizations are a subject of public procurement practices, so they issue public RFPs. Public entities usually have requirements and limitations regarding the providers they can cooperate with, so it’s best to consult tender advisors who are familiar with them. For instance, a public company may require service providers to be located in a particular area or possess specific certifications.

Private businesses and non-public organizations may place closed RFPs on their websites or social media profiles (rarely on bid platforms), or they might not post their RFPs at all. They may prefer sending a call for bids to a procurement company or directly to a selected group of potential vendors.

Private organizations also have their requirements for suppliers. For instance, to submit a proposal to a large company, you usually need to spend some time registering with the company’s procurement managers to be verified and added to the approved supplier list. Midsized companies may have simplified tendering procedures, allowing you to arrange meetings to provide project evaluations, such as for the budget and timeline.

What To Consider When Participating In A Tender

With more than 20 years of experience with various tenders, my company has come up with several principles we always follow when taking part in a tender

• Provide the exact information you are asked for.

For vendors, strictly meeting tender requirements is a must. Find out precisely what information you have to provide and how it should be provided. Usually, you have to fill out a standard request form, but make sure to check for additional documents and conditions. Make a presentation about your company if it’s required. But if tender rules ask for a three-year project plan, work on project estimation first. Then, you can attach a presentation with additional information about your company.

• Focusing on the value you can deliver increases your chances of making a winning proposal.

Tender initiators have different criteria for vendors. Some are limited in budget and look for the best proposal at the best price. Others strive to solve challenging tasks, so your first step to winning the bid would be presenting the most relevant solution. In any case, when my company works on a proposal, we always focus on how we can help our future partner improve their business value. This approach allows us to meet clients’ requirements while avoiding budget overruns.

• Information about your company is equally as important as your proposal.

Make a well-prepared company profile to prove your reliability. Be ready to provide data on your company’s structure or business activity, including financial reports. Verify that all your certifications are valid at the time of sending the tender proposal. A competent outsourcing provider has a stable company structure, a transparent financial history and its own mature development processes.

• Let your experts dedicate enough time for tender participation.

Participating in a tender is a tedious and time-consuming process requiring the utmost attention. Allocate a separate expert team that can dedicate all their time and efforts to preparing and submitting the proposal and other documents by the required deadline. Also, only the availability of mature and sufficient expertise on the project’s subject can ensure an outsourcing provider will deliver the best quality of services. That’s why, when taking part in tenders, we always involve our software development experts either in creating the project solution or evaluating the project.

Tenders can be great stimulators for your business. Winning a bid can bring you a stable partnership and business growth. Losing a bid can be a chance for your business to revise its bidding strategy and improve. Either way, remember that this is a long game into which you need to invest much time and many resources before reaping the fruits of victory.

Looking to hire skilled software developers? Contact TP&P Technology - Leading Software Outsourcing Company in Vietnam Today

Article resource: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/01/02/four-things-to-consider-when-joining-a-software-development-outsourcing-tender/?sh=13dbf7a75818

Top Three Mistakes Clients Make When Hiring A Dedicated Software Development Team

 In recent years, businesses operating in many industries have been embracing the technological revolution and welcoming digital transformation. But software development, while highly demanded, is a niche industry that comes with its own set of required knowledge, expertise and skills.

Not every business, technologically inclined or otherwise, has the capacity to hire in-house software teams. A lot of startups often do not have the funds. Larger businesses may not want to go through the hassle of permanent, long-term recruitment.

This is where outsourcing comes in. While there are countless upsides to outsourcing software teams, such engagements can often easily go wrong.

Why Businesses Outsource Software Development

Outsourcing software development teams allows companies to hire professionals based precisely on what they need. They can choose which roles they need and which ones they could do without. Any budgetary constraints can also be easily accommodated. Here are a few other benefits that outsourcing has compared to hiring a team that works in-house:

• Controlled costs

• Lower risk

• Improved efficiencies

• Faster results

• Controlled costs

• Lower risk

• Improved efficiencies

• Faster results

Three Mistakes To Avoid When Outsourcing

While hiring an external third party for any purpose seems like an easy task, you must exercise some caution. Based on my experience, here are three mistakes that many businesses make that can result in regrettable experiences with their outsourcing partners:

1. Not Having A Proper Plan Ready

In order to succeed, you need a solid strategy. As a buyer, you will not be able to develop a powerful strategy to meet your end goals if you do not know what those goals are. Therefore, problem definition is a crucial phase of the software development process.

The process of searching for a software partner involves reaching out to multiple vendors and shortlisting the best after a detailed comparison. If you do not know and understand your requirements, you will have a hard time speaking with the vendors.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself at this stage:

• What are my requirements for the project?

• What do I want the software to do?

• Who will be using this software?

• Designers, developers, QA engineers, managers—which roles do I need on my team?

• When do I need the software to be ready?

• Could cost difference be a dealbreaker?

You do not have to prepare extensive answers to all of these questions, but it is always a good idea to write down whatever you can in the form of an outline or brief. This can help effectively gather your thoughts as well as avoid possible confusion, miscommunication and misinterpretation. Some clients go one step further by using basic sketches as visual aids in initial meetings.

2. Failing To Review Candidates' Previous Work

These days, for even the smallest purchase, most buyers make sure to quickly scan reviews of past customers to authenticate the seller’s credibility. Bigger investments, such as custom software development, warrant more extensive research.

For this reason, platforms such as Clutch and GoodFirms exist. These are review sites that work much like online business directories in that they list different software companies from all over the world. However, they take it one step further by posting verified testimonials from vendors’ past clients, along with star ratings out of five.

Another reason why it is important to check out potential vendors’ past work is so that you can make sure they have relevant experience. If your chosen vendor has previously worked in your domain or industry, they are more likely to be able to understand the product, its purpose and its users.

3. Not Discussing Communication And Collaboration Channels

Like any other partnership, a business relationship also requires effective communication. Therefore, right from the beginning, you need to set some ground rules for yourself and for the team. Asking the following questions can help:

• How involved do I want to be throughout the development process?

• How often do I want to be updated?

• Which team member(s) would I like as my point(s) of contact?

• Am I more comfortable with Zoom meetings, Skype calls, emails or text messages?

Another great mindset to have is to think of the team as working with you instead of working for you. Encourage open communication so that you and your dedicated team are always on the same page. Make sure to not be too overbearing with status updates or other forms of micromanagement. It is important to have faith in the team and trust the process.

Wrapping Up

From cost savings to greater availability of talent, outsourcing software development carries a horde of advantages. It is important, however, to not get carried away when making the crucial decision to hire a dedicated team. Ensuring you don’t make the same mistakes that many other clients do will not only help you find the right fit for your company but also help avoid irrecoverable losses.

Looking to hire skilled software developers? Contact TP&P Technology - Leading Software Outsourcing Company in Vietnam Today

Article resource: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/12/02/software-development-time-estimation-how-long-should-it-take-to-develop-a-product/?sh=4a2370e76cee

The High Cost of Ignoring Your Software Developers' Experience in the Workplace

I've observed an odd trend in company board meetings. Marketing and sales vice presidents will come in with charts, reports and finely-tuned data. The CFO will fire up a dashboard detailing every penny of revenue and expense. The HR chief will share hiring metrics down to the last employee. But when it comes to engineering, the lifeblood of any modern company, there's little data — just a vague sense of what's working and what's not.

Understanding the Software Development Life Cycle

The Software Development Life Cycle (commonly known as SDLC) is the process used to explain how software is delivered to customers in a series of steps or phases. It’s the backbone of modern software development and is vital to a software developer’s success.

A software development company uses this process not only to make sure that a product is developed properly but also that it’s completed as cost-effectively as possible while improving quality and reducing the required time.

What transformational leaders too often overlook

You can’t innovate without a strong foundation. That’s why it’s vital to think strategically about IT infrastructure — and to get your C-suite colleagues and board members too as well.

High-performing CIOs know that digital mastery depends on a strong foundation of rock-solid infrastructure, information security, enterprise data management, and sound IT governance. But for all the emphasis on cutting-edge technology for business transformation, IT infrastructure too often gets short shrift.

AI research suggests B2B businesses better believe the hype

Venture capital is flowing into the enterprise artificial intelligence space, but just a fifth of companies are ready to make full use of AI opportunities

Artificial intelligence (AI) is still more hype than reality in the enterprise, but AI investment is growing rapidly, and nearly all technology providers accept it is critical for gaining market share and building customer loyalty, according to new research. However, only about 20% of companies have the technology infrastructure in place to fully exploit AI’s potential.

4 Truths Of Digital Transformation: Keeping CX At The Center Of Your Digital Strategy

 Everyone wants to be able to interact seamlessly and digitally with their favorite brands, and these days, we’re all programmed to expect it. New technologies have made it easier than ever for companies—big and small—to digitize nearly every facet of CX. But if you’ve ever found yourself on hold for customer service, then you already know there’s nothing quite like a human touch.