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Today, many companies recognize the need to hire a team of professionals to tackle specific tasks that their in-house team cannot handle. Often, employers will contact an outsourcing company to access these professionals. But outsourcing companies offer different business models for outsourcing professionals. So, which model should you use?
For software development, the dedicated team model is the go-to approach for outsourcing work. What is a dedicated team? How does it work, and what does it cost? Most importantly, how does it compare with the other business models? This article is the ultimate guide to dedicated software development teams.
A dedicated team is a business model where an outsourcing company provides a client with a group of IT professionals to complete a specific project. The outsourcing company selects specialists who have the skills to meet the demands of the client. Often, a Dedicated Team model is used for long-term projects where the requirements aren’t clearly defined. During this period, the software developers do not work on anything else; they focus entirely on the client's project. That's where the name "Dedicated Team" comes from.
The developers commit and dedicate themselves to the client's project, almost as though they were in-house team members. There are two ways to manage a dedicated team. Firstly, a client can decide to manage the team him/herself. Even though the developers are technically employees of the outsourcing company, a client may choose to see them as an extension of his team and communicate directly with them. Alternatively, the client can leave the responsibility of team management in the hands of the outsourcing company’s project manager.
The project manager will liaise between the client and the development team to ensure that their expectations are met. While the second method isn't wrong, you'll generally achieve more if you can treat your dedicated team as a natural extension of your in-house team; you can think of them as the remote wing of your team.
Even where a client chooses to manage the team, they will only be managing workflow and assessing the team's performance. All administrative duties still lie with the outsourcing company. This allows you to focus all your attention on the project. In software development, a dedicated team can include any of these roles:
As I mentioned earlier, the makeup of the dedicated team is dependent on the client's needs. So, let's say the client doesn't require a business analyst; there’s no need to include one on the dedicated team.
Before you contact an outsourcing company to hire a dedicated team, you need to know what you're getting into. You need to know what a dedicated team means in terms of scope, time, and cost.
When it comes to scope, there are no fixed requirements. This is because the dedicated team model is the most flexible of all the business models. It’s up to the client to determine which aspects of the project will be handled by the dedicated team and how deeply they will be involved in project matters. This level of flexibility makes it easy to change things during the course of the project without destabilizing the team and their workflow.
Time:
Here, also, the flexibility of a dedicated team becomes apparent. Dedicated teams are hired for specific projects or periods, so there’s no fixed rule regarding how long a dedicated team can stay with a client. It is the client’s prerogative to determine how long he anticipates the project to last. Sometimes, a client may enjoy working with the team so much that they request the same team for future projects.
Cost:
When it comes to pricing, the dedicated team model is very simple and straightforward. Usually, clients will make monthly payments just as they would for their in-house team. The amount comprises the team members' monthly salaries and administrative overheads, which will be paid to the outsourcing company.
We already know what a dedicated team model is. Before we begin to compare the two business models, let's find out a little bit about the time and materials method. The time and materials model is different from the dedicated team model in that the cost is based on the number of resources and the total time that developers invest in your project. It’s the best model to use when you can’t put a fixed price on the effort that will go into the project. It’s relatively flexible because both clients and service providers know that the estimated cost may differ from the actual cost.
The fixed-price model is one where the client and the service provider agree on the scope, time, and cost of the project ahead of time. If you have a project that has a clear goal and an already determined deadline, then the fixed-price model is your best bet.
With three business model options available, you may be confused about using the dedicated team model and when it's advisable to use a different model. Here's a guide to help you know when the dedicated team model is a good choice:
In this article, we have provided the most vital information about dedicated teams in software development. The bottom line is this; dedicated teams are perfect for dynamic projects with changing tasks and requirements. It's an excellent way for companies to make up for the lack of specific skills and expertise in their in-house team.
We are confident that this article has been helpful and informative. Please take a moment to share this post and leave a comment below.
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