Software development for US companies or USA market

How to Calculate Software Development Cost: Our Detailed Estimation Process Every project brings unique challenges. Relying solely on the Ballpark Estimation often yields rough, risk-prone estimates. While quick, we steer clear of this method. Why? Our aim is to offer you precise estimations, ensuring you can plan your budget effectively and mitigate project risks. You can contact me directly right now to discuss your project. Step 1: Detailed Requirements Gathering Clear and well-defined requirements are the cornerstone of accurate project costing. Typically, we commence with 1 to 3 complimentary meetings. During these interactions our business analyst (BA) works closely with the customer to grasp the idea and its intended product outcome. From this collaborative dialogue, a Proposal for Discovery Phase, along with estimates, is prepared, highlighting its projected duration. Once the proposal receives approval, we launch the Discovery Phase. Depending on project complexity, this phase usually spans between 40 to 160 hours. Drawing from our vast experience, this timeframe ensures a thorough yet efficient process of gathering. The main goal during this stage is to define the project's scope in detail. The outcome of this effort is that our Business Analyst crafts Vision and Scope document, which sets the stage for accurate cost estimation. Example of a Vision and Scope document Following this, the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is created— a clear, structured table that serves as the blueprint for project cost estimation. An exemplar WBS table derived from the Vision and Scope Step 2: In-Depth Cost Estimation by Senior Specialists Upon gaining a comprehensive understanding of the product vision during the discovery phase, we transition to the cost estimation step led by a specialized team. This team functions like a SWAT unit, comprising senior-level experts. The core of such a SWAT team is a back-end developer with system architect experience and a front-end developer. Depending on the project's nuances, we may also involve a UX/UI designer, project manager, and business analyst. With the groundwork laid by the business analyst during the discovery phase, where the BA aids in risk mitigation, our SWAT team refines and finalizes the hours needed for each feature or piece of functionality. Their calculations draw from extensive experience with projects of similar complexity and scope. Though our methodology finds its origins in the three-point estimation from the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide), it’s been enhanced over nearly two decades of practical experience. We strive for a consistent 20% margin between optimistic and pessimistic cost projections. When risks are higher, this gap may expand. In such cases, we pair the optimistic value with a risk percentage, and the pessimistic value becomes their product. Whenever risks exceed our 20% target, we pinpoint the cause and suggest ways to mitigate it. Throughout this process, the project manager communicates with the client, spotlighting risks and presenting alternative trajectories. This collaborative approach ensures that clients remain informed and can make pivotal decisions with clarity. For clarity, here's a sample cost estimation by a front-end developer based on the WBS This meticulous approach to cost estimation extends to all specialists involved in the project. Step 3: Personal Client Demo To present the cost estimation results, Belitsoft team organizes a video call or a face-to-face meeting, depending on your location and preferences. This direct interaction lets us elucidate the reasoning behind every figure and discuss all associated risks. It also allows you to verify the expertise of our team and assess their grasp of your project. You're placed in the driver's seat from this point onwards. We prioritize clarity over complexity. Instead of inundating clients with intricate formulas, we ensure the entire cost estimation process is transparent and accessible. During the demo, we provide a consolidated table detailing rates and the final cost estimation. We incorporate an 'Agile coefficient,' set at 20%. This coefficient accounts for sprint planning, daily meetings, reporting, presenting demos, and incorporating your feedback. This approach guarantees you remain informed and actively involved, preventing any blind spots regarding the project's progress. The example of a final cost estimation table that includes hours, developers' rates, three-point estimation, and Agile coefficient Navigating High Cost Estimations If our cost projection seems steep, we usually recommend a phased development approach. The MVP Strategy The initiation with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a beneficial method for startups and businesses. We help prioritize MVP features so that in a few months, you have a functional product to present to investors and gather initial user feedback. This approach not only aids in cost management but also provides valuable insights for further development. Learn more about MVP software development in our detailed post, where we explore feature selection and other essential considerations. Risk Management Our primary focus on risk management ensures final project cost aligns with initial optimistic estimates. This commitment reflects our dedication to transparency and trust. A Practical Scenario For instance, if tasked with developing a registration form with SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) and the client suggests an unfamiliar service provider with limited documentation, this raises potential risks. To address these, we propose: Switching to a more cost-effective email-based 2FA, generally more economical than its SMS counterpart. Using Twilio, a platform we're well-acquainted with, which offers comprehensive documentation. Both options are geared towards minimizing risks and delivering value. What You Receive at the Conclusion Comprehensive Documentation. Vision and Scope, as well as Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) documents, meticulously crafted in line with international best practices. Clear Estimations. A detailed breakdown of hours and corresponding USD rates for the project, coupled with a projected development timeline. Strategic Recommendations. Insights on segmenting the project into phases (MVP, 1.0, 2.0, etc.) for optimal execution. Technical Guidance. Expert advice on the ideal tech stack tailored to your project's unique demands. Team Composition. Proposals regarding the optimal size, scope, and roles of the delivery team for efficient project completion. Risk Management. Identification of potential risks, accompanied by actionable strategies to mitigate them. This ensures your budget and timeline remain consistent with initial projections. Our method ensures that its cost estimation will be both accurate and human-centric. Contact me to discuss your project.

I’ve been working in an outsourcing software development business from a vendor side for many years and on some projects, I have to be involved in the process of creating remote dedicated software development teams as an account and overall control manager. Usually, this new staff (mostly software programmers) is going to be a part of existing dedicated teams or we plan such programmers to be the core of new teams. My experience is connected with creating/augmentation small/medium sized teams (from 2 to 25 people) where direct project management and technical leads (employees of clients) are sometimes situated overseas. This peculiarity (remote and overseas manager who approves the last candidate in the team), requires a specific approach for the exact hiring process and this article is aimed at providing some tips and tricks on how to organize it effectively. If our internal personnel resources are not enough to satisfy customer’s needs, we usually hire programmers from our job market. To optimize the recruiting process and improve the result, I have divided it into three key parts: Pre-screening and Preparation, Interviewing, and Hiring. Preparation and screening The primary motivation behind the groundwork is to ensure that your outsourcing vendor comprehends the job vacancy clearly, as well as having the capacity to envisage the most qualified individual for the role (under skills and salary package requirements) - this will aid in finding the ideal candidate. In order to increase the number of quality candidates and decrease the number of irrelevant ones, vendor recruiters should prepare the most detailed, attractive (but, of course, honest) description of the vacancy and working conditions. At least the following information should be provided in a clear and obvious way: Information about the vendor, its location; optionally about you as a client. Project details — every project has its own history, perspectives, and advantages. It is important to mention its duration, age, and give some links if possible. Even if it is only supporting the current system (some individuals are content with this kind of work — providing aid and not being interested in more taxing endeavors). Potential candidate’s role and charge at a project – vendors should pay attention to this point. It is crucial to provide true info about the position. It's better to mention if the project assumes any career growth in perspective, business trips or other benefits. Project team – who are they? Great if a newcomer will consider them as a talented team! Benefits and Perks of vendor’s social package. Ideal and must have skills, education, level of English and required years of working experience, etc. Planned budget. If you provide detailed information on each point, you will get a lot of CVs. If you receive a little of CVs, it means that either your recruiting team is not performing well enough or there is required to be fixed in vacancy description (like in the picture below) to attract more candidates: Anyway, with the low or high number of CVs, the next step will be - SCREENING. The major goal of screening is to make sure that your outsourcing vendor doesn’t miss any potentially suitable candidates. Screening a lot of CVs looks like a very simple process, but actually, many people are making mistakes at this most important initial stage. The common mistake is in conclusion for the definition of an “ideal” and “non-perfect” CV of a candidate. "Ideal" CV means the candidate has a lot of required experience, references, text in CV is divided into logical blocks and everything looks perfect. When getting such a CV, you want to hire this person immediately. Please, keep calm, because sometimes it means that either: Candidate used someone who helped him with a fulfilling CV (real programmers care little about formatting text in CV). Or candidate has already visited many companies and is trying to create a better CV to improve his chances at the next interview. Better to double check all skills, experience and career steps mentioned in such CVs. I had an unpleasant experience with candidates with “ideal” CVs, so please pay serious attention to this point. “Non-perfect" CV means the candidate does not provide a lot of details. It is a maximum-page list with a very laconic description of their working career, skills, and experience. Sometimes these CVs do not pass the first recruiter’s filter. Not all talented programmers are good at describing their skills how recruiters like. That’s why you have to pay additional attention to such CVs and if you see the candidate is supposed to be appropriate for your project, do not hesitate to review such CVs more accurately and get more info from this candidate. Believe me, sometimes people with "non-perfect CV" surprise you with their performance. Though some CVs still should be passed on. After your outsourcing vendor has fulfilled Preparation and Screening stages, he definitely has to ask his recruiters to speak with selected candidates over phone/Skype to check: candidate’s communication skills – if required English, as well candidate’s adequateness, personal qualities and motivation candidate’s opinion on the experience of some key technologies used in the project terms of start introductory level of requested salary That is a completing process for two previous steps. All the received info will help your outsourcing vendor to create the initial profile (at least in their mind for each potential candidate and compare how it matches their expectations. According to my practice, if at this stage a candidate complements at least 50% to the "ideal" profile, he (she) can move to the next stage. You can ask "why only 50% of similarity", the answer is simple - the candidate has passed, but the screening process, and you never know how a real person will perform at the following stages and if you find better candidates. The accurate Preparation and Screening processes will definitely increase the chances of getting a lot of quality candidates. Interviewing The principal goal is to make sure that the candidate is fully suitable for your requirements for the project or at least he (she) has the good potentiality to improve required skills in the shortest period. To make the process more effective and less time consuming for our client we use 2 steps of technical interview scenario: First step - all the actions being fulfilled on the outsource Executor side (on our side), such as seeking for people, screening them, preliminary and technical interviewing. Second and final step is done by our client, who receives just A FEW best candidates from tens screened and who can carry out full technical (based on results of the first step) or just general interview (checking some critical things like a degree of matching with the team on client’s side, communication abilities, level of English etc.). Usually, I start the first step after I’ve completed building a candidate’s profile and got all the needed clarifications from recruiters and clients. Time is really important and your vendor shouldn’t wait for CV’s of different candidates. They should work with CVs one by one as they come from recruiters. Before I arrange a technical interview, I call each candidate via Skype or phone to have an “overall discussion”. The main goal of this action is to communicate with a particular candidate, present a company and project to him (her), arouse additional interest and check his (her) adequateness, personal qualities etc. In any case, it is really a friendly gesture when someone from team management (but not recruiters) takes an initiative to talk directly with a candidate informally and candidates appreciate it certainly. Note: ‘It takes some time, but it’s just 15-20 minutes via Skype or phone and the eventual result has a huge effect - it intrigues the candidate much more than from conversations with recruiters and awaits the following steps.’ Next step is the technical interview. Mostly, I prefer to do that in live mode - we invite a candidate to our office, meet and greet him/her with our technical interviewers (they could work together in the future) and examine him/her technically. This approach works perfectly but has an issue negative moment – it takes a lot of time since tens of candidates can be interviewed before we will find one rock star. Note: ‘In order to save time of valuable tech specialists it might be a good idea to arrange a preliminary technical interview (10-15 min) via Skype/phone when we determine if this candidate is worthy of being invited to the office and spend 1 - 2 hours of tech-related talk. If this concern is explained properly, candidates will fully agree with it, because this procedure saves their time also and technical interviewer’s time is really expensive nowadays.’ Keep in mind we hire programmers into your team (as a part of your dedicated team) and a friendly gesture from your outsourcing vendor is to inform you on time about updates on the results achieved. I email to my client presenting only 3 CVs of candidates interviewed and selected by our tech team + brief comments on each candidate. If there are over 3 CVs I prepare an Excel list with pros and cons of the candidates. This informative and clear email will make the choice of who your team interviews, eventually. This meeting will be conducted using Skype, Google Hangout or any other service for voice conferences. Note: ‘It will be a good idea if your overseas technical team will be informed by your vendor what questions (in one page list) the vendor has already asked the candidate and what were the answers (pass or no pass). That will really help you not to check additionally.’ Hiring The main goal here is to make sure that all of the previous efforts lead to the positive final result and you will not lose your “ideal” candidates, otherwise it will take time/effort to find new ones. In case you see that one or a few candidates are suitable for the project, you can ask your vendor to prepare a personal Job Offer. The most important thing is describing calendar terms of Job Offer acceptance (usually it is about 2-3 business days). This moment will discipline candidates on fast responding to Job Offer acceptance or decline. You can ask why the terms of accepting or disclaiming are so short? I insist that in case the candidate you’ve chosen has passed so many steps and he/she is still available, it will be easy for him/her to make the final decision. Also, making a Job offer is significant. It can be a final personal meeting in a relaxing and friendly atmosphere in the vendor’s office where a person who is in charge of this exact position will present the Offer accompanying it with some inspiring message. We send the Offer via email, but you or your vendor should inform your candidate via phone and explain to him/her that he/she was chosen as the best candidate and so on and so forth. Sometimes you like a candidate but you feel that for some reasons he/she will not accept your offer (for example a project is not so suitable for him/her, or proposed salary package is not fully suitable to the candidate’s expectations). Here, you can make a Job offer to several candidates simultaneously and just wait to see who will accept it first - in this case, you need to clarify to the candidates that the offer was made to several people and the best candidate will be selected from those who agree. I can mention that you/your vendor can combine the approaches described according to your wishes. The most important thing here is to have a fast and effective process to hire proper and qualified programmers. And hope your vendor won’t forget to inform the candidates who will not have passed your selection steps. Who knows, probably a couple of weeks/months later, you will interview them for a different project and they will fully suit it. As last words, I wish you all the best when working with outsourcing vendors as like in any business. It is a partnership of 2 companies where both depend on one another in order to achieve their business results goals.

What risks exist for the client using Agile/Scrum? Budget risks It’s sometimes hard to precisely estimate the cost of the development of a new product at its early stages. Agile assumes constant changing of the product according to the customers’ and market needs. So, one day a client may discover that the expenses have overcome the initial level. What we do to prevent the budget risks The best thing we can do here is to propose LEAN development to manage the cost. The team estimates the work step-by-step, module-by-module to make the numbers as accurate as possible. We can also use Rolling Wave Planning. This method implies making the decisions and giving estimations when all the necessary requirements are absolutely clear. To reach this point, we apply best practices in business analysis and teamwork to help clients find the best solutions and estimate the efforts precisely.    Scope creep risk This risk assumes scope changes during the development that lead to shifting timelines, changing deliverables, and budget increases. What we do to prevent the risk of scope creep To avoid scope creep and to meet the deadlines, we usually suggest splitting the development into several phases, like MVP, 1.0, 1.1, etc. It helps to keep the scope for each version more or less stable, though several adjustments can be made. Not sticking to Agile principles This risk is related to applying Agile while sticking to traditional management principles and approaches. What we do to prevent the risk If clients don’t feel confident about understanding Agile/Scrum principles and values we explain them and can teach how to apply them appropriately. At the same time, we monitor how clients apply the principles and may guide them during this process if needed.   Agile is not suitable for a project Agile is not applicable to all kinds of projects. Some of them need a traditional management approach, close to Waterfall. What we do to prevent the risk So, if a client wants to use agile on projects that are not suitable for it because of many reasons (clear scope, clear requirements, fixed budget, etc) we try to persuade them to use another approach that will bring more profit. The recommendations are based on common sense, business needs, and project details. Less predictability Agile implies constant changes and it is hard sometimes to give long-term predictions. It also deals with shifting deadlines and reputational losses for the vendor.  What we do to prevent this risk of less predictability Again, we split a project into smaller phases, clarify requirements in detail, and then give our forecast on delivery. In its turn, it helps us to give forecasts on budget and resources needed so the clients will know when they will receive a new piece of their system and how much it will cost. All these factors help us to keep clients’ satisfaction level at its highest point because deadlines are met, the scope is done according to previous arrangements, and clients receive the product they need. Following these steps helps us to keep the company reputation at a very high level so we can guarantee that clients will receive top-class services and top gear products. What risks exist for the vendor using Agile/Scrum? Lack of Staff Knowledge Agile/Scrum needs qualified team members to run it smoothly. If the dedicated software development team doesn’t understand what Scrum is about, then they might get into trouble during the project progress. Another consideration is the skills each developer possesses. If someone is underqualified and doesn’t get proper training or support it can also destroy all the benefits of using Agile.  What we do to prevent the risk To avoid this situation we always gather a team of skilled developers who understand Scrum and value its principles. If some of the team members don’t have much experience, they can ask for help from their colleagues. We promote and support knowledge sharing and mentoring practices to teach and coach the developers.Constant retrospective meetings help us to keep to Continuous improvements practice. A sudden stop of work This risk might happen when the product doesn’t fit the market anymore or the initial goals were set wrongly. It leads to a sudden stop of work and, as a result, the company and resource managers have to put extra efforts to avoid idle time. What we do to prevent the risk At the very beginning of a project, we conduct a discovery phase to learn more about the product, its purpose, and its functions. Our business analysts try to bring proper ideas and advice to clients on how to improve the product and bring more value to the end-users and market. They stay in close touch with Product Owners during the whole development process and help them to find the best solution if needed. Technical debt Changes in a project cause changes in code and it can lead to technical debt and quality problems, low system performance, etc. What we do to prevent the risk of technical debt Before the project starts we clarify the non-functional requirements related to performance quality etc. After that, we design system architecture in a way that is applicable to these requirements, like modular architecture or microservices.For managing the quality of the final product, each user story or task has its own acceptance criteria and definition of done. For some complex projects, we use several stages, usually close to production one to make sure that the system performance and quality will fit the non-functional requirements agreed upon.  Why Agile Is Good For Customers Image Source: www.prolinxservices.com The essence of Agile approach for customer can be briefly stated as follows: Development is carried out by short cycles (iterations) in 1-4 weeks; Customer gets a valuable software (or part thereof) at the end of each iteration, which can be used in business. I’ll try to look into the following questions: Why are customers so fond of Agile? Why is Agile good? Why is Agile so popular? First, let's leave technical details, and switch to something more important: evident and hidden clients’ expectations. That’s often determining the choice of operation method, rather than rational discussions and accurate calculations. Thus there are 4 main reasons why customers love Agile: Agile is fast Agile-principle speaks about upbuilding some set of functions within each iteration. But in order to be ready within one small iteration these rapid changes shouldn’t be large. Therefore, Agile-approach allows you to: More quickly implement any customers' wishes Launch a product or its new version quickly on the market as there is no need for detailed documentation and planning in the beginning. Agile is cheap No need to spend money on architectural design. For majority of customers, people from business environment, it’s totally unclear and it’s not necessary to spend their time and money on this. It’s better just to start doing something that "works here and right now". No need to spend money on documentation. The developers have special tools for documenting, recording, classification and systematization of all customers' wishes. If customer has a good Agile team then he can be sure that even if he wakes up in the morning and while he is brushing his teeth and sending any ideas via iPhone for developers team, these ideas will be immediately added into the system as stories / issues / requirements / improvements, and they will never be lost as the developers team will take them into account. No need to overpay for development. Agile methodology usually allows to reduce hours on project compared with Fixed Price method as business analyst doesn't include "Fix price risk airbag" as an element of insurance in the budget, because it’s just not necessary since Agile is paid based on hours spent. And of course customer quickly gets a software with minimum investment (or part thereof), which can be used in business. Agile is easy and comfortable For Customers: Agile works as a set of control lights on dashboard. Do you like to drive? Do you like that dashboard allows you to control all car parameters? We think ‘Yes’. For example in our company using Agile methodology we provide "dashboard" of project for the customers where they can answer the following questions: What issues does team have? Who is the executor of a task? How many tasks do developers have currently? What priorities do tasks have? How many tasks have a certain status and priority? What issues or tasks will be launched next sprint? When will a sprint be launched? What tasks have "in progress" status? What tasks were already finished by developers and what tasks have been verified by QA-specialist etc. If project has a problem, then "light flashes" immediately - the team can see it and fix within hour or to the next release (depending on the priorities). We allow our clients sleep well - as we have everything under control! Are you far away from your developers team? Are you in a different time zone? Don't you have clear requirements for the software? Usually if a customer is in a neighboring building he can come to the meeting, clearly represents the final view of his product and describe it to the project team, then any development methodology will work practically. But when you have a distributed team, difference in 3-12 hours with the customer and the project's field is little-known for you and your developers then you are ready for experiments, failures and successes, then Agile is the only way to work in such a complex and uncertain environment, where the main goal is to take on a market and to be competitive on it. For Developers Team: “JIRA” as Tasks & issues tracking system. This is a wonderful helper that allow us to classify all incoming tickets from the customer in a single structured place. Using tasks & issues tracking system is a guarantee that you will not lose any customer's requirements and develop them. Let your customers feel like at home! Put on his comfortable house slippers! “Confluence” as Team Collaboration Software. It’s one place for keeping of all docs, easy and quick search, collaborating on technical documentation, description of API, a manual with project participants, main decisions, meeting results, project files, test cases, final design, shared links, etc. This system makes that easily accessible. Even if tomorrow someone leaves your team, the customer will be sure that new employee will quickly join the team and easily learn the basic aspects of technical description. Let your customer to feel confidence in the future in this very unstable world! “PHPUnit” as PHP Testing Framework, Source code review and refactoring …. Work speed using Agile may entail some mistakes from release to release. Sometimes it’s very difficult to track these bugs so don't lose sight of it. Unit tests allow to check source code quickly for any changes that could lead to regression and mistakes in the already tested parts of software, as well as facilitate detection and elimination of such mistakes. Source code review and refactoring. Periodically Team Leader reviews the source code of all team developers as an independent expert, thus the overall quality of source code increases from iteration to iteration. Use unit tests, source code review and refactoring today and keep your customer’s money tomorrow! Agile is safe Do new requirements in Agile project and a speed of work influence the quality of the product? Customer shouldn’t think about it. He doesn’t need to take responsibility for decisions. Today customer wants one thing, tomorrow – he wants another and that's fine. If the customer will change his mind – it’s not a problem. There are always Team Leader, Senior Developers and guys with a huge work experience in Agile project and they understand the importance to build cross-platform, cross-browser, mobile, easy and scalable solution. There are main principles of our team, which allows our customer to: Make a demand on project: the requirements with any complexity and importance Cancel previously specified requirements and replace them with others. Do it at any project stage For example today the customer wants to do only 10 functional pages, which will be reloaded with page updating. Tomorrow the customer will ask to implement everything using AJAX technology, with the interactive user interface that allows you to receive data from server in a background and update pages without need to refresh it. This feature allows you to make the software faster and more convenient.  No problem! This feature development takes about 5-7% of previous budget as frameworks/CMS/Libraries (Joomla! CMS, Symfony 2, CodeIgniter, YiiFramework, Warp, AngularJS, jQuery, Bootstrap, ...) allow to make it quite quickly. And if something is broken? And if something suddenly stops working? And if there is a conference or a meeting tomorrow and I need to present my product ... What do I need to do? Don’t worry ... There is GIT - distributed management system of files versions. Developers working in a team on Agile projects always keep all releases in a special system, which allows to manage products versions using the above-mentioned PHP and JavaScript Frameworks/CMS/Libraries. This system allows monitoring any source code changes, which have been made by team participants and prevents from accidental overwriting…. It’s cool and safe. Isn’t it? Conclusion Agile works only when it fulfils all certain conditions: Cross-functional team of highly skilled professionals Real customers’ involvement and his constant readiness to work with the team. The main idea of Agile is close communication and cooperation with customer. That means that Agile methods are used for documentation shrinkage and getting high-quality software in a short period of time. It allows paying only for the results, which are worth for business. Actually, if to be honest, most of the projects aren't "pure" Agile. Each project is a collection of iterative processes with their requirements, goals and development approaches. So my team is trying to combine the advantages of different methodologies (including Agile) in software development and thus offers our customers a truly flexible approaches in software development with a reasonable price based on the realities of pricing in Eastern Europe. Dear reader, if you have any questions or you would like to start working with my team, please leave your questions and requirements to the software via our contact form with the mark «For Dmitry Garbar». I will be happy to answer any questions, advise you in the selection of technology and develop comfortable software product for you.

What Is a Dedicated Software Development Team Model? A dedicated development team is a partnership between a client and outsourced developers. This kind of model works like having your own in-house team, but without the extra hassle, like administrative, HR, tax, and social benefits issues. You can focus on important business tasks while your dedicated development team takes care of the rest. Areas of Responsibility Your Software Development Vendor: hire skilled talents for the software development project build dedicated team for the project plan software development resources and workflow set up an effective communication between the dedicated software development team and you equip and supply infrastructure for the dedicated team seamless transfer knowledge and roles within the project Your Company: approve the members of a dedicated team monitor the product development provide feedback and reviews to the dedicated development team accept the software development results if they meet your expectations Hire dedicated offshore developers from Belitsoft to reveal your full business capacity. Talk directly to our specialist on building a dedicated development team. The Structure of a Dedicated Development Team A highly performing dedicated software development team comprises specialists with strong professional skills, motivation to achieve the goal, transparent communication, and a clear understanding of their roles and duties. The dedicated development team typically includes the roles agreed for a specific project. In practice, this structure may differ. A dedicated team includes: Front-end engineers. Companies hire dedicated front-end developers if they want to get experts who code and test the elements and functionality of the user interface—the “visible” part of the product. Back-end engineers. When you need experts who are to develop the inner part and the background components, you can hire dedicated backend developers. DevOps. If your processes require the involvement of skilled professionals who specialize in coordination of software development, IT operations, and testing, hire dedicated DevOps engineers. UX/UI designers. Specialists who make the user experience simple, intuitive, and engaging. QA engineers. Software product businesses often use a dedicated testing team model to ensure the optimal quality and bug-free functioning of their main assets. Project managers. The team leaders who mitigate risks, plan, manage, track, and optimize the entire development process. Responsible for delivering project requirements to the dedicated team and reporting to the client. Business analysts. The mediator between the development team and the business. They determine requirements, evaluate processes, make reports, and offer suggestions to CEOs, business owners, and other stakeholders. The dedicated development team size varies based on your specific needs. We can start a project with 1-2 specialists, adding more along with the project evolution. We have also built dedicated development teams of 100+ developers and IT experts in an extended period for our clients. Dedicated Development Team Services Custom web and mobile development Testing and QA UX/UI design Data backup and migration services Product engineering services Big Data analytics Remote hosting services for IT infrastructure Maintenance and support for IT infrastructure When You Should Hire Dedicated Development Team Early-stage startups Assemble the required dedicated software team quickly for an early-stage startup with growth aspirations. Hire dedicated developers to save money and speed up the software development process without resorting to full-time in-house developers. Large projects with changing scope To skip a time-consuming recruiting process and build a professional dedicated team quickly, opt to hiring a dedicated software development team for large growing projects. Optimize the working processes by assigning more important, business-oriented tasks to the in-house staff and forward additional work to the remote team. New product launch Hiring a dedicated software development team is an effective way to create and launch a new product. In case your company lacks technical specialists with the enforced skills. So you have to spend a lot of time recruiting. It results in product launch delays. When you decide to work with an outsourcing software development vendor, it speeds the recruitment of a professional dedicated team. Business scaling While your business enlarges, it demands more dedicated developers. Connect to those companies with access to a large pool of proficient engineers. They can supply rapidly extra resources and adjust them to your existing procedures, while offering a thorough experience for every stage of development. Lack of unique skills When there’s a realm that requires specific expertise you don’t have inside your company, or you need to engage specialists who may be limited in your region. With a dedicated development team model, all talents are available to you worldwide. Urgent need for scaling the development capacity An increased scope or unexpected changes to your current development team may cause difficulties with handling the project. Hiring dedicated development teams is an alternative solution, it saves you time and effort on recruitment and HR processes, while providing a functional line-up immediately. When You Should Not Hire Dedicated Development Team Short and middle-term projects If your project is not large and has well-defined requirements, it may not be urgent to hire a dedicated development team. More likely, you need an in-house team to carry out the outlined tasks. For short-term projects, a fixed-price model is suitable, whereas the Time & Material approach is appropriate for medium-term projects. Projects with a full defined scope Projects with well-defined requirements and a rational plan of execution don't demand a dedicated development team. The choice between a fixed-price or Time & Material model should be based on the size and scope of the project. Short overlap time with the vendor Most outsourcing vendors work in different countries. So you need to choose the one that offers convenient working conditions in terms of availability and response time. Agree with your prospective vendor about the minimal overlap period. Otherwise, the working process won’t be smooth. How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Dedicated Development Team? The pricing model in a dedicated development team is quite simple. Every member has a monthly salary. Just as you pay your in-house workforce, you pay remote workers monthly as well. Plus, the vendor’s fee for administrative, overhead, and infrastructure expenses. The total cost of your project depends on the duration and scope. No extra expenses such as renting an office for a dedicated team, purchasing equipment, paying taxes, electricity bills, taking care of sick leaves, etc. Benefits Of Hiring Dedicated Development Team Hiring a dedicated team with Belitsoft ensures you control the development while we guarantee smooth integration with other teams in your company. Access to global talent Hire dedicated developers at Belitsoft and select skilled experts from a wide talent pool. Do not be limited to the experts within your city. Get a wide range of technology expertise. Make your business agile and your products versatile through outsourcing vendors with talents in mobile apps and web apps, blockchain, IoT, and AI. Time & resources savings on hiring Collaborating with outsourcing vendors, you skip the expensive recruitment process. Bring in talents hand-picked on your requirements for your particular project. The dedicated development team model implies your participation in hiring as well. Your role is to select the best candidates from the shortlist suggested by the vendor. Benefit from a quick and simple software development staff augmentation. Transparent and effective management Effective communication is key to the success of an outsourcing model. With tools such as Skype, Basecamp, JIRA, and GoToMeeting, you keep informed and in control of the project's progress. Regular communication and collaboration between the client and the development team ensure transparency, boost productivity, and create a smooth workflow. Flexibility in time, materials, and scalability With a dedicated development team model, you get the best of all the engagement models. You earn flexibility in time and material along with predictability in cost. Cost-efficiency in comparison with in-house models There are no single statistics, but the average outsourcing rate is much lower compared to the average in-house rate. Sometimes, the difference in the rates is not so large. But such vendors usually offer the top efficiency that could hardly be reached with the in-house workforce. Cut extra expenses and resources on equipment, office and infrastructure. Apart from arrangement activities, release more time and resources for important business processes such as competitor analysis and technology research. Dedicated team scalability Access the flexibility to determine the size of the dedicated team on their project. Throughout the development process, you can increase or decrease the team as required. Quality infrastructure Setting up a full IT department is expensive for startups and mid-sized companies. Hiring a dedicated development team offers a cost-effective solution for creating complex tech products with the best resources without additional investments. A software development vendor is already well-equipped to handle projects of varying sizes or complexities, and deliver optimal results. Continuous integration Ongoing evolution and enhancement are crucial for large project success. A dedicated team model is effective for projects that need growth and evolution. Keeping the dedicated team intact avoids the need to expand or set up a new one. What Are the Challenges When Hiring Dedicated Development Teams? Finding remote developers matching company values Finding a development team that aligns with your company's values and approach to software creation can sometimes pose a challenge. While industry standards and recommended methods are widely known, not all practitioners follow them. Setting up effective communication Commonly, dedicated development teams are composed of remote workers who may be co-in a shared office, but not necessarily at your physical location. As a result, managing remote teams presents typical challenges such as maintaining effective communication and keeping dedicated team members motivated. Fortunately, these difficulties are less pronounced when you hire remote dedicated development team with a higher level of experience. Ensuring high level of security For security considerations, especially during the early stages of working with a specific development team, we advise to keep critical projects and software development processes in-house. Over time, as you build a relationship and gain a deeper understanding of the team's capabilities, you can determine the extent to which you can rely on outsourcing. How to Build a Dedicated Development Team? Define requirements and estimate the scope Although changes during the development process are inevitable, it's important to have a well-defined framework in place. It may include the type of solution you need (such as web or mobile), the problem that this solution should solve, and the timeline. To ensure they meet the requirements, the software development vendor needs to understand clearly the tasks and the specialists required. A business analyst works with the clients to determine their needs, and then define the project requests and scope. There are two potential scenarios in determining the project scope: The client has a predefined scope. Here the budget is discussed with the client, considering the priorities and estimated or given timelines. The client does not understand precisely the exact scope. Then, a discovery stage may be conducted to make hypotheses and test them through prototypes. Based on the test results, they analyze the existing scope to determine if it meets the objectives. If not, they conduct further discovery and research, until they identify the needed scope. Choosing a reliable software development vendor We recommend you to pay attention to 3 important aspects, like experience, portfolio, and level of communication. But there are so many results that you definitely need to narrow down the search. And here are great ways to do this: Searching in Google works the best, B2B portals such as Clutch, References from other clients. Find outsourcing vendors with pricing, descriptions, and real reviews from other clients. It facilitates your choice. Searching and interviewing team members The software provider selects suitable candidates for every needed role and interviews. It gives you the option to take part in the interviewing process, providing a valuable opportunity to clarify expectations for the project goals and each development team member's role and responsibilities. By being involved in the hiring process, you can select dedicated software developers who not only possess the technical expertise, but also align with the company culture and exhibit strong soft skills. The goal of this stage is to build a team of highly skilled and motivated professionals to work on your project. Before you hire a dedicated team Before hiring a dedicated team, it's important to agree on the responsibility distribution. Clearly understand the development process and determine in advance who will be responsible for each task to avoid conflicts during critical moments of the project. At this step, the outsourcing vendor deals with the legal nuances of your cooperation. The set of documents usually includes: Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). A dedicated team works with sensitive internal information. That’s why such cooperation normally starts with signing an NDA. The document outlines what material and knowledge should be confidential and what the penalty for its disclosure will be. Master Services Agreement (MSA). It’s a contract specifying most of the terms of the cooperation. Usually, it covers payment terms, protocols for invoicing & payment, dispute resolution, available volume discounts, product warranties, credit limits and credit periods, intellectual property ownership, and liabilities. And the critical thing to mention. To grant all the rights for the developed product to you and your company, it shall clearly state this condition in the MSA.  Statement of work (SOW). This document describes and defines all terms and conditions of your project. It clarifies deliverables, timeline, costs, project conditions, and special requirements. It’s essential to make the SOW clear to every party, which will help avoid misunderstanding and disputes. The development team is given the go-ahead, and the collaboration begins with a call to meet the team, discuss responsibilities, receive access to development tools, align project and business priorities, and establish regular check-ins. Managing the development team To ensure a successful development process with your dedicated team, it's important to stay involved and maintain open communication. Some actions you may take for that include: Holding regular online meetings to review progress and address any issues. Encouraging development team members to ask questions and provide feedback. Staying in touch with the vendor's project manager to ensure everything is on track. Consider holding an offline meeting with the dedicated team to build personal relationships and foster a positive work environment. By actively participating and being available to the team, you can help ensure a successful outcome and build a positive reputation as a supportive client. Why Hire a Dedicated Development Team from Belitsoft? Tangible cost reduction Hiring dedicated developers with Belitsoft allows you to cut your software development costs due to lower rates compared to the US, UK, Israel, and many other countries. You also save on creating IT infrastructure, as well as hiring and onboarding costs. Faster time-to-market Belitsoft’s ability to create a dedicated development team within a shorter timeframe and scale it up promptly afterwards helps reduce your solution’s time-to-market. Team scaling speed and capacity In a matter of weeks, we can assemble a top-notch, multidisciplinary team of 6–8 dedicated software developers and other specialists to work on your project. To get things started quickly, we can even provide you with 1–2 developers right away. For example, in one of our major long-term projects, we have started by providing the enterprise with a dedicated team of 5 specialists, and then gradually expanded the team up to 100+ software developers and QA testers. Multidisciplinary & cross-domain expertise We have created Dedicated Teams for startups, well-established clients, and projects that aimed to merge multiple other standalone projects. Our dedicated development teams comprise skilled professionals in a variety of technologies, including Java developers, .NET developers, including those proficient in SharePoint development, Python developers, PHP developers, C++ developers, and more. As for domains, our team has strong expertise in eLearning, Healthcare, Business Intelligence, Insurance, Logistics, etc. Great flexibility Wherever our clients are located, we make our schedule with at least several hours of time overlap. When you require closer collaboration, our dedicated teams adjust their working hours bound to your schedule. Effective management and regular communication Our dedicated teams are self-sufficient and expertly led by experienced Project Managers with years of managing expertise. By assigning a dedicated project manager to oversee the day-to-day operations and workflows, we ensure that the project is transparent and aligned with your goals. The project manager will keep in regular contact with your in-house project manager or product owner to keep you informed. This allows you to focus on the key aspects of the project while still retaining full technical ownership. Gain access to our company's best practices and the project artifacts and knowledge accumulated during the project. Control the results without spending time on daily management. Quick start To assemble a tailored dedicated development team for you promptly, we refer to the extensive pool of over 400 in-house Developers, Product Managers, and Business Analysts. This vast network and access to top talent from major software development hubs also helps us create dedicated teams that meet your specific needs. Efficient recruitment processes and fast turnaround times allow us to quickly add more skilled developers to your team as on demand. Most times, we can provide an additional 1-2 software developers almost immediately. Years of hands-on expertise Belitsoft has been in software development and IT consulting for 17 years. We’ve received experience in various business scenarios and environments, including mergers and acquisitions, project recovery, and collaboration with both in-house and third-party development teams, among others. These experts have honed their skills in overcoming challenges and delivering successful outcomes. Reliable support Our dedicated development teams provide support services during and after product implementation. You get technical support and backups for your product. This ensures exceptional customer service in the long run. Total security and compliance All the dedicated teams at Belitsoft have a proven track record of delivering successful projects that meet the needs of our clients. Now that we use our ISO 9001 certified quality management system, we ensure that projects are executed with a focus on meeting our customers' expectations for quality, time, and budget. Additionally, Belitsoft provides assurance that our customers' data is protected and secure. Invest in a dedicated development team with us for a smart and profitable solution and get top-notch results at a fair price. Let’s talk. 5 Factors That Make Dedicated Development Team Work Define requirements and goals Before assembling a dedicated development team or outsourcing to a third-party provider, it's crucial to take the time to assess your business needs. From there, establish well-defined goals based on these requirements, including the project's scope, desired outcomes, and potential benefits. Do your own research Before hiring a dedicated development team, it's crucial to conduct a thorough background check. This includes reviewing references, experiences, portfolios, and client testimonials. Assess the team's expertise in handling projects similar to yours, including the number of projects they have completed, the types of clients they have worked with, and the technology they use. With this information you have a better understanding of the development team's ability to meet your expectations. When it comes to long-term projects, consider conducting interviews and skill assessments for each dedicated team member to ensure they are the right fit for the job. Maintain transparent communication Effective communication is crucial for the success of your project and outsourcing relationships. Before deciding, consider the cultural differences, common language, and time zone differences. For example, if you are based in the US and looking to hire a dedicated development team based in India, these factors can greatly affect the outcome of the project. Misalignment in these areas can lead to difficulties in feedback and communication, thus hindering the progress of the project. Build trust To ensure the success of remote projects, establishing trust is essential. Building trust is a gradual process and requires continuous effort from both parties. One way to foster trust is by offering flexible work arrangements, clearly communicating project expectations, being transparent in payment processes, and avoiding changes in project requirements without proper compensation. By making credit a priority, you can ensure a strong and productive relationship with your dedicated development team. Start small To get initiated with hiring a dedicated development team, set up with a small project. This allows you to assess the viability of this model for your needs and determine if you can form a long-lasting relationship with the dedicated team. Starting small reduces risks and helps manage costs effectively, which is beneficial for startups, as well as small and mid-sized businesses. Dedicated Development Team VS Fixed Price Model A fixed-price model is a cooperation based on a fixed budget for the project, regardless of the time and resources needed to complete the project. It means that you and the software vendor agree on the price, deadline, project scope, technologies, and detailed product requirements in advance. However, the vendor needs more time to prepare the detailed specifications. The key favor of a fixed-price is skipping budget-related surprises. The major disadvantage—you cannot make changes in the workflow. Actually, you can work it out, but be ready for extra pay and moving the deadline. The fixed price will work for: MVP development Short-term projects Projects with clear deadlines Projects with determined specifications Dedicated Team VS Time & Material Model The time & material model means that the client pays only for time and resources spent on the project. The leading improvement of the time & material model is the freedom in changing project requirements and scope of work alongside the development. While the key obstacle is the difficulty in planning and controlling the budget because of such changes. This engagement model is suitable for: Projects where requirements can change The market is not thoroughly explored Product market fit is yet to be determined Belitsoft's Engagement Models to Choose From Belitsoft offers several engagement models that ensure an efficient solution to your software development needs, whether it's to expand your in-house team, acquire specialized technical knowledge, or speed up the development process. The Dedicated Team model provides access to Belitsoft's top-notch software development professionals on a long-term basis. The Team Extension model ensures you receive a highly skilled software development team that aligns with the required expertise and cultural fit for your project. The Project-based model offers a dependable collaboration between you and Belitsoft specialists who are focused on delivering specific project objectives. Ready to work with a dedicated team? No need to spend your valuable time searching for a reliable and experienced partner. At Belitsoft we offer top technical talents and 10+ years of expertise. With us, you will reduce costs of software development by over 40%. Need assistance?

Our strategy Our company implements all processes to provide our customers with a full control of the project management, ensuring transparency and effective use of the customer’s budget and risks minimization. To choose an approach or a technique for managing a project we analyze ultimate goals and project implementation conditions of our customers. Depending on the project goals we can choose the following methods: Iterative method Flexible development techniques / Agile Waterfall Rational Unified Process (RUP) It is worth mentioning that in most cases our company does not rely on just one method, but instead uses their combination, depending on a specific situation. For example, in its pure form Agile (whether it is Kanban or Scrum) is more suitable for product teams (in our understanding). The most widespread method which we use while developing projects is the following: The first stage - or preparation: Waterfall/Rup – gathering requirements, preparation of documentation, rough estimate, search of possibilities to reduce development costs. The second stage – or an iterative development: Creation of USER stories based on requirements, prioritization and division of the entire project into small Sprints (so that each of them would result in some finished module or functional). Thus in general development goes in the versioning way, Sprints can be allocated in Epics if necessary. On most projects, the project management team at Belitsoft consists of: Project manager Business analyst Account Manager Technical expert(s) The aims at carrying out integrated management of requirements, all necessary documentation and development cycles in order to ensure professional development and implementation. Process provision To ensure the processes and development itself, Belitsoft can provide its own instruments or work with those of the customer. As of 2015 we are familiar with the following tools (major tools are listed only): Issue tracking and Project management tools - JIRA /  MS Project / Base Camp /  RedMine, Mantis Documentation and Collaboration - Confluence  / OneNote / Google Drive / Dropbox Version control platforms - Git / GitHub / BitBucket / SVN Continuous Integration and Deployment – TimCity / Bamboo / Jenkins Building Tools – Maven / Ant / NAnt / CppAnt Automated testing - Selenium / Mercury / PHPUnit / Hivelocity Performance Testing – Apache JMetter / Mercury Interactive / LoadRunner PAAS – CloudFoundry Requirements management Effective requirements management when developing IT projects is an essential component of the entire development process. It implies gathering of requirements, prioritization, as well as management of changes throughout full life cycle of the project. From our side we guarantee that we can work at different levels: Top level business requirements; Functional requirements; Nonfunctional requirements (technological, architectural, etc.). Transparent reporting and control Despite the fact that different methods of project management and levels of customer involvement into development processes imply different approaches to documentation, reporting and control, Belitsoft can assure absolute transparency by providing the following documents: Main stages of the project and intermediate delivery terms; Resources and terms for achievement of verified results; Quality control procedures; Frequency and structure of the reports on implemented works; Project risks and ways of their minimization. Communication and knowledge management One of the most important components of successful project development is proper communication, and for this reason Belitsoft pays much attention to it. At various levels of collaboration this means avoiding collision of conflicting priorities, coordinating, timely updating and reporting. One of our solutions is a reduction of information omissions by assigning a personal Account manager. However, that does not exclude the need of contact at other, lower levels (technical experts, PM, BA) and here we seek to ensure free communication among all project’s participants. In the sphere of knowledge management Belitsoft company applies a number of means to reduce the risks communication ruptures and loss of information, as well as to speed up reaction time to changes: Elaborate documentation strategy; Well-proven system of incident escalation; Use of control tasks systems; Use of the centralized storage of project documentation; At our customers’ disposal there is a full range of instruments for the most effective interaction and comfortable communication: E-mail and instant messaging such as Skype; Video-conferences; Online access to the control system of the project, tracking of defects and documentation; Periodic meetings at the premises of the customer or at Belitsoft. Belitsoft can provide a permanent presence of the project manager / coordinator on the customer’s premises if that is required by project’s specifics.