The aim of this post is to build upon your understanding of ‘outsourcing’ and help you see if you would benefit from a software development partner, and what support is best for you!
With outsourcing your software development you typically find there are 3 ways you can do this.
As the name suggests this is based on a project, for example development of a quoting tool on your website. Typically this project will include a ‘scoping’ element to ensure that everyone is involved in the project is clear on what the finished product is and how it works. This is usually agreed very early on.
There is a variation of ways a business will present this partnership, these are often referred to as ‘tactical’ pieces of work.
Support is an on-going relationship to maintain an agreed upon software solution, typically this will be to ensure that the solution is working correctly and any interruptions of services are fixed within a pre-agreed timeline.
Dependent on your partner, development of the software solution can be included as this support this will likely be on a retained basis with your partner of choice working to a set number of hours on a monthly basis.
With team deployment, you have a dedicated headcount that works for you and your business on site, typically working as an agile sprint team, this can be to support on a specific project or to support your business during a rapid growth period or in any way that your business requires.
The best fit solution will very much depend on your business needs, and it may be the case that sitting a with a development agency that is capable of providing support in all of these ways is the best next step. A good agency will take the time to understand what you are trying to achieve and provide you with a couple of options and give you and the business the tools to understand which is the best fit.