Software Development Outsourcing #5: Managing Development Projects

Introduction

In the previous part of the Software Development Outsourcing series, we talked about a list of steps you should take when choosing a software development outsourcing company. Additionally, we also learned about effective steps to build an effective RFP.

Further in this part, we will talk about how to effectively manage an outsourced software development company. We’ll also learn some communication practices as well as learn about the agile methodologies to be used. Lastly, we’ll also cover briefings about how to maintain quality. 

So are you ready to get started?

When you are managing an outsourced software development project, focus on overcoming the challenges of remote team collaboration. These challenges include dealing with time zone differences, cultural differences, and an absence of face-to-face interaction.

Let’s ensure and understand the detailed process of managing a software development outsourcing project smoothly:

Now, let’s understand the first section to be focused on while managing a remote team.

Building Effective Communication Channels & Reducing Cultural Differences

Effective communication is a central strategy for achieving successful software development outsourcing project management, specifically when a team is spread across global boundaries.

The below practices can help you achieve a smoother communication flow.

Tech Tools

Tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams are quite helpful in maintaining real-time communication and building a shared workspace. Moreover, it is advisable to use the right collaborative documents and project management software to maintain the visibility of all the tasks.

Regular Meetings

Maintaining consistency in meetings would not only help you track the progress but would also build a routine and expectation, thus reducing uncertainties. It becomes necessary to have a clear agenda for each meeting and document the outcomes to ensure accountability and clarity.

Time Zones

Being aware of the time zone differences helps you make informed decisions. Rotating meeting times would help you prevent placing the burden on one party consistently by promoting a fair and collaborative environment.

Learning & Respect

Make some time to understand the culture each other as doing this would help you build a harmonious and respectful work environment. This would also include acknowledging national holidays, understanding communication styles, and being familiar with all non-verbal cues.

Open conversations

Build an environment in which questions and constructive feedback are welcomed. Doing this can enhance innovation and problem-solving. Further, it would also help in identifying any misalignments or misunderstandings at an early stage of the development process.

Local leaders

Having someone who knows both the local ways and the company's ways can help everyone get along better and solve problems faster.

Now, let’s understand the second section to be focused on while managing a remote team.

Using Agile & Remote Teams

Agile methods work well when people work closely and can quickly adapt, which might seem hard when teams are not in the same place, but it's still doable.

Online Meetings

Having meetings where everyone can join in and share their thoughts helps all feel involved and responsible. Using different online rooms or tools during these meetings makes them more interactive and fun.

Tools for Visibility

Using online boards and tools where everyone can see what's going on helps the whole team know about the project's progress and what everyone else is doing.

Feedback Loops

Having regular times to talk about how things are going and what could be better helps the team improve over time and fix any problems fast, keeping everyone learning and getting better.

Now, let’s understand the third section to be focused on while managing a remote team.

Focusing on Quality Check

Ensuring a Quality check would be tough when you are managing a remote team as hiring a remote team can limit the control. 

Setting clear standards

Building and communicating the quality benchmarks would help you set expectations and guide the development process. Moreover, it is quite beneficial to involve the team in defining the above standards to ensure buy-in and understanding.

Code Reviewing

Having regular checks of each other's code helps make the code better and also allows team members to learn from each other and help each other grow.

An automated Testing

Automated tests help keep the quality of the work consistent and quickly find problems, which is very important when making frequent updates or changes.

Performance Monitoring

By implementing thorough monitoring and logging you can observe the software in real-world usage by providing insights into its performance to help identify any post-deployment issues.

So, that’s it from this part. We bid you goodbye until the next episode. But, before we leave let’s quickly run a recap of what we learned in this episode.

Wrapping Up!

In the fifth part of the discussion, we learned about how you can manage an outsourced software development project. Moreover, we also learned some communication practices as well as the agile methodologies to be used. Lastly, covered briefings about how to maintain quality.