5 Tips To Successfully Outsource Your Mobile App Development
June 7, 2019Kirithiga SIT Outsource Standard
Know your requirements
Requirement understanding is not a petty activity, although many of us treat it as one. When your IT vendor questions about your requirements, you need to be clear to state him about what you want your app to do for your business, to your end-users and functional requirements.
A clear outline that lists all the mobile app covering from the functional to non-functional attributes will tell about your core purpose of the application. If you have the core purpose of the app, you can now learn about the essential features that will require achieving the MVP of the product under the minimal budget.
If you cannot differentiate your non-functional requirements to that of functional requirements, it will drain your efforts and money on attributes that don’t pay off your investment.
When you know everything about your application, you can narrow down the essential features that are core purpose, eliminate the ones that will not serve to your app’s functionality.
This task will help you plan your budget, letting you know where you have to spend more and where to cut down the costs. Doing your homework on groundwork lays a solid foundation and gives you full control in steering the project in the right direction.
Related – 8 tips to make your mobile application better
Look for Relevant Experience
The outsourcing industry is huge and the gig economy is continuing to rise. Among the many outs there, not everybody will fit with your project. Finding the right ones may be overwhelming. Outsourcing comes in three options,- Free-lancer
- Agencies
- IT companies
Freelancers
Free-lancers are found in many B2B portals where they showcase their work experience and are the cheapest way for small businesses. However independent developers will not have much marketing research and business strategy -knowledge of the app development purpose.Agencies
Agencies are the BPO firms, who can find you an IT team with a developer, designer, and a business strategist who will work collectively as a team to gear up app development in coordination with the market standards. This is suitable for large enterprises. But you will not be having transparency in this kind of outsourcing, because the BPO agency will be your first point of contact. Many of them restrict you from contacting the development team directly. Many of the business owners have faced communication issues that resulted in a delay, increased the cost of expenses.IT companies
Outsourcing to an IT company eliminates the middle-man — BPO Agency — and the cost paid to them. This option is affordable for all kinds of businesses. Establishing direct contact with the company will give you transparency in the project, develop a harmonious relationship, a team that understands your marketing strategy and business goals, and also become a long-term partner. It is similar to having an in-house IT team at a lesser cost. The only con is the distance is too high, but we are in an advanced world where communication is made in seconds now. Once you choose the option on outsourcing, check their portfolio. The portfolio will tell so much about their development experience and style. Check for mobile application projects similar to that of yours. If the idea is on eCommerce development, considering a team that has hands-on practice with e-commerce development is a good choice. When the developer has experience in your industry, the app development process speeds up due to their expert knowledge.Ask Questions to Set Proposition
Remember you are outsourcing your project, so don’t hesitate to ask any questions. When your team is in the offshore, communication doesn’t happen naturally. Initiate the flow by asking questions to your development team. Don’t be afraid to ask about their experience. You can also talk about their portfolio and their reviews from previous clients too if you can see them also. When you ask questions, look for someone who is responsive and open to communication. By asking questions, you create a space for the development team to know about your expectations. With this two-way channel communication, you can set clear propositions of your mobile application. Unclear expectations lead to always chaos, ugly issues, and blunders. You cannot afford to have confusion over payment terms, revisions, requirements, development schedule and many more. Ask questions to your offshore team and let them ask you about your expectations. Set up the important propositions clearly before you move into the execution phase.Request a Project Plan
A clear project plan is helpful to make everybody stay on the same page. Request for the project plan that includes a clear state about each stage of the development phase, design phase and testing phase. Including milestones in the project-plan advises on the goals to be achieved at each stage of the project.
Use the derived project plan to check if the progression is going as per the plan. It is better to check if your team is completing the stages in the planned order. The irregular completion of the stages will result in a waste of time and effort. The project plan also helps to manage the payment schedule.
Remember: Communication is Key
Collaborate with your IT vendor with a good communication channel. Don’t let the distance to forge any misunderstandings between you and your offshore team. The importance given to the communication will determine the smoothness of your development process. When you don’t communicate to your developer often, increased revisions, costs, mistakes, and delayed module delivery. Avoid using multiples channels for communication. Try to have a unified communication channel. What channel will the offshore team use to deliver modules? What mode of the channel will you use for daily communication to brainstorm ideas? It is a small difference between being proactive and annoying. Sometimes both the client and developer wait for the other person to initiate the conversation. This could lead to only dragging the time around without any purpose. If you are the vendor, anticipate any potential confusion and try to address that them to the client before they even ask. Don’t just order around your offshore IT team. An interactive communication channel is bound to create great projects. Treat your IT team just like your in-house IT team. After all, communication is the key to establish a harmonious long lasting relationship.Conclusion
How do you make the most out of outsourcing your mobile app development? Some key tips include knowing your requirements, weighing the pros and cons of different app development options, asking the right questions, setting clear expectations, and always communicating effectively and timely. These tips and tricks are guaranteed to help you make better decisions when outsourcing your app development, but they are just the start. Every business comes with its own set of challenges and requirements, and you need to figure out the solutions that work best for you. Sign up for your next awesome mobile app project(Visited 167 times, 1 visits today)
