Outsourcing product development is effective for attaining strategic business goals for many companies. In order for product development to go well, your organization needs to have a strategy that involves good design, reasonable action plan, and well-charted stages of development. Offshoring is simply the process of hiring a foreign business to perform some essential business action of yours. An offshore company should be seen as an extension of your internal team. Having a development plan that can easily be shared and communicated helps to keep everyone on the same page work towards the same goal. It is also important to have a timeline in mind.
Software Development Life Cycle
The software development lifecycle is a structured sequence of stages used in software engineering to develop the intended product. The framework includes:
- Communication – user initiates request for desired software
- Requirement gathering – information is gathered from stakeholders, users, and others on the requirements
- Feasibility study – the team comes up with a rough plan and analyzing whether the software meets requirements
- System analysis – developers decide the roadmap of the plan and analyze the product model for any limitations or problems
- Software design – developers take inputs for gathering stage and based on this information output the logical and physical design
- Coding – programming stage where implementation of design begins in terms of writing code and developing executable programs
- Testing – different levels of testing begin and are ongoing
- Integration – software may need to be integrated with databases, other programs, and libraries
- Implementation – installing software on user machines and testing for portability and adaptability and solving any integration issues
- Operations and maintenance – updates and codes as needed
- Disposition – may involve eventual termination of program once it is past its prime and ability for updates
There are several process models that are used to help developers select a strategy complete with tools, methods and procedures, and defined development life cycle. When working with an offshore software product development partner, it is wise to discuss life cycles, process models, and timelines. You want to make sure you are aware of what to expect at every stage.
Reasons to Consider Offshoring
Finding the right development partner is a major decision for you and many companies. You are trusting this partner with taking your idea and turning it into reality. There are many good reasons to consider an offshore software development company as the world becomes more globalized. The trend to outsource to foreign countries started mainly due to cost savings but these days there are additional benefits including efficiency and effectiveness.
The low cost is the largest attraction for most companies when it comes to choosing a product development partner located overseas. Despite this, you should always keep quality in mind. Offshore companies make having a flexible staff easy. Whether you need 2 or 20 people for a project, your partner can provide you with who you need when you need them. You have access to key talent all the time without the overhead of an in-house staff.
If you choose your partner well, you have the opportunity to work with experts in the industry. Take the time to find a development team that works for you. Offshore teams often have extensive experience in their field. Oftentimes, they have worked on similar apps or projects and can offer insights into problems that might arise. To ensure you are working with experts, review a company’s portfolio before hiring them.
You can save a lot of recruiting time by partnering with an offshore team of developers. You have the opportunity to hit the ground running on a software development project, and in a digital world, speed is an advantage. Not only do you have access to a ready-made team, but that team has experience working together already. They know what they are doing and have the tools to accomplish the task and develop a quality product. You have access to all of these benefits while still maintaining some control.
Outsourcing to foreign companies is more than what it used to be. Most companies would outsource to save costs often sacrificing quality in the process. Today, you can work with experienced professionals at a reasonable price, and you don’t have to sacrifice quality. The key is to partner with an offshore company you can trust. This involves doing research and
knowing what to expect. Have a clear vision of the product you want and take the time to review the portfolios of potential development companies.
