With the growing popularity of software development services outsourcing, we can observe how the range of available models of business cooperation is expanding and today hiring dedicated development team is not the only option that is available. That’s why a question about how to hire software developers may look quite challenging and confusing for companies that have never dealt with remote programmers and outsourcing services before.
We’ve prepared this article that will help you to understand whether you should hire dedicated development team for the needs of your project or whether it will be more sensible and feasible for you to choose another business model.
Actually, there are three key options for those companies that are going to work with third-party developers: to choose a fixed price model, to work in accordance with the principles of Time & Materials, or to hire dedicated development teams.
Let’s closely consider each of these variants.
Fixed price: What is it?
As you can guess from its name, this model presupposes that you set the price before your developers begin their work on your product, and this price won’t change during the process. This model can be a very good option (especially from the customer’s perspective) when all the project requirements are determined and all parties are sure that they know what result will be received in the end.
In such a case, a budget will be defined and there won’t be any possibility to change the final amount even if developers spend much more time creating your app than it was initially planned. Any side costs that appear within the development process will be the responsibility of a vendor.
This model can become a good choice when you have a small project with clear requirements. But if you have a long-term project and you can’t guarantee that you won’t need to change anything during the development process, it’s better to avoid this model as it will be ineffective.
Even if the work is not finished (for example, if you decide to stop the project), you will still have to pay the amount indicated in the contract.
Moreover, your involvement in the project will be minimal. That’s why if you like (or need) to control every step of the development, track the progress, provide recommendations and share your vision, that’s not the best option for you.
Time & Materials: When to choose this model?
Unlike the previously described model, this one can be a perfect choice when you have very little understanding of how much time you may need for your project, how many people will be involved and what resources will be used. When you prefer this option, your project development will be divided into several iterations with a set duration. After each of these iterations, you will have a previously agreed version of your solution.
On one hand, this model may seem rather comfortable as you will have the possibility to influence the development process and introduce changes. But on the other hand, you should realize that in this case you do not have any set time frames and the final cost may unpleasantly surprise you as there is no set budget either.
Hiring dedicated development team: Is it a universal choice?
When you hire dedicated development team, you get a group of professionals that will be fully focused on your task, and, actually, we can say they will become a part of your company, though they will work remotely and will be officially hired by an outsourcing agency.
Here, you will pay depending on the size of your team. Each position will have its rate and you will know beforehand how much you will need to pay every month. If you don’t change the composition of your team, you will have to pay the same amount. When you need to add new specialists or reduce the team size, the cost will change, which is quite logical.
This model offers you a lot of flexibility, lack of strict requirements is not a problem at all. That’s why companies usually hire dedicated development teams when they have long-term projects. Moreover, when you work with dedicated developers you can closely interact with them, share your feedback and make sure that you are on the same page. Your comments are highly appreciated in such a case as thanks to them programmers can adjust the product to your needs without the necessity to re-write the entire code when everything is ready.
Instead of a closing word
So, we’ve just described the peculiarities of the most popular outsourcing models. Let us summarize the key ideas.
- The fixed price model is a good option when you have a small project and your requirements are set from the very beginning. The budget will be determined.
- Time & materials can be an appropriate choice when you do not have clear requirements and you know that they can change after the beginning of the project. Nevertheless, here you do not have any set time frames and budget and the final amount can become a real disappointment.
- A dedicated development team created in accordance with your requirements will suit you if you have a long-term project and you want to have the possibility to control the development process. There are no hidden costs and you always know how much and for what resources you will need to pay.
Though all models have their pluses and minuses, we recommend you choose the one that provides you with more flexibility in your situation and will allow you to avoid unnecessary expenses.
