Dedicated Development Team: The Ultimate Guide to Building Your Dream Party

Picture this, you're a start-up firm who can't afford the risk of hiring the wrong staff. Or maybe you've been in the business for years, but your own team lacks the skill you need to finish a project you have a goal for. Perhaps you simply do not want to spend the time and funds required to conduct a hiring process. The issue may be different in each case, but the solution is universally simple: hiring a dedicated development team to help your company meet its business goals.

What Is a Dedicated Development Team?

A dedicated development team is an outsourced group composed of various specialists in a partnership with an organization. Think of it as a team extension of your current in-house teams. Except, this approach is different from hiring regular employees for a few reasons. These are remote professionals which are solely focused on your company’s project, and who you don’t need to source one by one through an HR team. It’s a cost-effective solution to a myriad of problems you may face through the course of your company, no matter how well established it is. 

This form of teamwork will be invaluable to you because they bring all the key aspects of a team by using an effective strategy of collaboration. A dedicated development team is focused on your project and nothing else, hence the term “dedicated”.

How Are Dedicated Development Teams Structured?

When outsourcing a dedicated development team, the final group can and will look different depending on the client's project. Your development team may consist of all the following, or maybe only a few:

• Front-End Developer
  • These specialists are in charge of building the “visible” component of the project, coding, and testing user interface elements and functionality.
• Back-End Developer
  • These are the professionals that develop and preserve the technologies that allow webpages to analyze data and act as a facilitator. Essentially, they concentrate on the necessary base and supporting components. Their work is not visible to a regular user's eye as it is focused on the server side of things.
• Full-Stack Engineer
  • Full-stack developers are those that integrate front-end and back-end development tasks. In short, they are software engineers who work on the design, testing, internal databases, and launch of software applications.
• DevOps Engineer
  • These are experts who play a collaborative role and are well-versed in programming, network maintenance, automation, CI/CD processing, administration, and DevOps toolchains.
• Mobile Developer
  • Individuals with knowledge of software development who create, develop, and execute mobile applications such as iOS, Android, and hybrids.
• Quality Assurance Engineer
  • These individuals are in charge of the overall quality of the development process.  They verify not only that the product is bug-free, but also that the techniques utilized to produce it are of the highest quality.
• UI/UX Designer
  • They are in charge of ensuring that the user experience is straightforward, natural, and appealing.
• Product Manager
  • The person who identifies the clients’ desires and the overall company targets that a product or feature will achieve, conveys what success for this product looks like, and transforms that concept into a reality.
• Project Manager
  • They initiate, organize, plan, implement, and oversee the whole development process as the development team's leaders.
• Business Analyst
  • They serve as mediators between the IT side and the business, assessing systems, establishing objectives, providing recommendations, and reporting to executives.

These are the positions that make up most dedicated development team models. Depending on your specific project, the members of your outsourced team may vary and include more than what was mentioned.

Why Should You Look into Hiring a Dedicated Team?

Your current pool of employees may lack the specific hard and soft skills you are looking for. According to TalentCards, 72% of the surveyed organizations stated they have unfilled job vacancies due to a lack of competent candidates. By hiring experienced developers, you immediately save on extra employee expenses, while still retaining complete control over the dedicated software development team as well as the development process on the project. You also have an incredible amount of flexibility if changes need to be done along the way. None of which impacts your in-house staff which gives them the ability to work on their own projects without worry of dividing their daily tasks with skills they may not possess. You also only need to pay for the work performed. There are no additional costs such as renting an office for a team, purchasing equipment, paying taxes, paying electrical bills, and so forth.

Regardless, the dedicated software development team approach may provide businesses with much more than just cost savings. If you are considering IT staff augmentation or hiring dedicated software development teams, there are several benefits that your company can take advantage of.

How Does Hiring a Dedicated Development Team Benefit You?

We already know that hiring dedicated development teams is a fair penny saved for you, but what other benefits await you? 

Those are the benefits for you and your in-house team members, but what are the benefits for those in the dedicated team you hire? Employees and those who work remotely are estimated to save between $600 and $6,000 annually. The compiled estimate was based on transportation, meal, parking, and energy expenses. With less time spent sitting in traffic, workers also reported that they now have a better work-life balance, which has boosted their project and time management skills.

Overview of Engagement Models

There are three main engagement models when it comes to software development outsourcing — Dedicated Development Team Model, Time & Materials Model, and Fixed Price Model.

Dedicated Development Team Model

This approach is typically utilized for long-term projects with ambiguous requirements and anticipated scope modifications. It's also common when the client lacks the requisite abilities to complete the assignment. The price mechanism in dedicated teams are standard monthly payments, dependent on the size of the team.

Pros:

The dedicated team model is a much more affordable choice compared to employing in-house staff. You will have access to dedicated software development specialists that are devoted solely to your project and nothing else. Because of this, they are extremely adaptable to your company's demands, whether they be for growth, investments and amalgamation, digitization, or any other need.

Cons:

However, this choice is only efficient for long-term projects, and you would need to take a closer look at the fixed price model if your timeline is short. Also, because of the lengthy timeline, you as the project manager have less influence over the development team and its management.

Time & Materials Model

With this model, you as the client only pay for the time and labor the development team provides. This is a versatile method that is regarded as one of the most practical and efficient because you only pay for services directly accomplished within a specified term. This could mean daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or whatever other agreement of payment you decide on.

Pros:

This is by far one of the more popular models when looking into a dedicated software development team. The reason is that the time and materials model is a flexible development strategy that allows for evolving objectives. Because of this, your team will be highly responsive to changing demand and potentially new objectives. With the company only paying for the direct amount of work produced, there is a flexibility within the budget, which prompts efficient time management.

Cons:

Although a great option, every model has its minor drawbacks, and this one is no exception. Due to the flexibility in the project budget and timeline, it is difficult to correctly predict the time necessary to complete the job. Also, because you will need to keep a close eye on the project's scope, you will be less available to focus on other business company responsibilities. On the other hand, if there is deliberate lack of client involvement, this can lead to issues in defining a completion date; which may result in unexpected and otherwise unnecessary costs.

Fixed Price Model

The fixed price model occurs when the client and the development team reach an agreement on a set cost for the whole project. That is, if you choose this model, you will pay only the predetermined price, regardless of how much time or resources the firm requires to finish the job. It is typically used for short-term initiatives, particularly those of a small or medium size with a narrow scope.

Pros:

There are no surprises and little client participation because the final cost is agreed upon before development begins. The workflow has been set and acknowledged by all sides; so there should be no problems completing the project by the deadline.

Cons:

With short-term projects, there are always more risks associated with this model; due to less client management and difficulties in observing performance with the desired outcome. Communication between the client and the development team is limited due to the short timeline. It may also happen that you will have to postpone the work until you all define the objectives and process in their entirety.

To clear up any confusion, we’ve provided a chart down below that summarizes everything up for you.

Who Should Hire a Dedicated Developer Team?

1. Startups

If you’ve ever had a startup business or looked into establishing one, you know all the potential risks associated with it. They face a small budget, lack of internal skills and perhaps no physical location at all. If your startup is 100% sure to hire developers via outsourcing, a dedicated team will save your startup on multiple fronts as well as provide them with a high quality dedicated team structure.

2. Companies with a Limited Budget

Not every company has the budget to have an entire team just for one specific niche, such as IT or app development. This is a better option than to spend the company allowance on an internal hiring process. With the power to hire a remote offshore dedicated development team, this can greatly save on expenses including hiring, benefits for in-house employees, office space, and more. By having an extended team, the company can solely focus on spending their finances exactly where it is needed with assured quality.

3. Fast-Growing Organizations 

Any rapidly expanding organization requires an adequate amount of leadership and a strong work ethic from employees. This enables businesses to maintain good service quality while growing in new areas or increasing the volume of requests. By hiring dedicated software development teams, they can free up their current employees' plate while still producing professional work. 

4. Companies that Require a Specific Niche/Skill

Rather than burdening your in-house staff with the task of learning a new skill they have no prior experience with, leave that to dedicated development. You free up internal resources and have potentially more money allocated to training them all over again.

5. Projects with Unclear Objectives

When a software development project lacks any solid ground, a specialized team is your best choice. When you outsource dedicated software development teams, it will provide the resources needed to focus on the research phase. This stage is extremely important for any project you may be developing, as it serves as the foundation for the entire development process.

6. Long-Term Projects

The dedicated team model is ideal for complex long-term projects that may potentially evolve beyond the expected/predetermined project scope. This could perhaps be a startup that has progressed beyond the funding stage faster than expected and now requires rapid expansion. Hiring a dedicated software development team will help them to save money by bypassing the recruiting process and the time they would have spent on it. With such a team, they can expand quickly and with superior quality.  

Which Engagement Model Should You Choose?

Before selecting or even beginning the process of seeking dedicated software development teams, the company must establish its: goals, needs, the overall cost, budget, and resources needed. Once everything is clearly defined, you can then select which dedicated project team structure is right for your company objectives.

FAQ: All about Dedicated Development Teams

1. What does it mean to be a dedicated team member?

This is an individual who works as an independent contractor on a project, using their specific skills and resources to work in an outsourced team.

2. How do I choose a dedicated development team?

You should choose a dedicated team model based on where your company is, what your project requirements are as well as the budget and timeline.

3. How does a dedicated project team work?

It starts with a company outsourcing the best team model based on its requirements and the skill set required. From that point, the team works to bring the organization’s vision into reality according to the project scope and budget.

4. What is a dedicated development team?

Simply put, a dedicated development team is an outsourced group of professionals with varying skills working together on a project. 

5. What are the benefits of hiring a dedicated development team?

The key benefits of outsourcing a dedicated development team model are cost-efficiency, direct communication, in-house team benefits, time efficiency, and high-value resources.

6. Who is a dedicated developer?

A dedicated developer is a person who operates as an independent individual working on a project for a specified period of time.

7. What does a team of developers consist of?

Inside a team of developers, you have professionals hired for your specific project needs. This could consist of some or all of the following positions: front-end developer, back-end developer, full-stack engineer, DevOps engineer, mobile developer, quality assurance engineer, UI/UX designer, product manager, project manager, and business analyst. 

8. Is there any difference between outsourcing and dedicated development?

Although both dedicated development and outsorcing presuppose the involvement of third-party specialists in your project, there is a difference between the models. When hiring dedicated developers, you get full-time experts completely integrated into your project, i.e., they do not simultaneously work on other products. On the contrary, outsourced developers can handle other tasks while pooling their efforts around your solution (e.g., 4 hours a day they build your product, and the rest of the time they dedicate to other projects).

Put Your Mind at Ease!

Dedicated software development teams are there for you to develop your dreams into reality! Whether you require a dedicated app development team, a dedicated back-end development team, or maybe even a dedicated PHP development team, they can make it happen. So go tell your employees they can stop learning Java and go back to drinking it because you’re on your way to success when you hire dedicated developers.

If you’re ready to go for outsourcing software development to a dedicated team, contact us today! Qulix experts will be more than happy to guide you through all the stages of creating your own dream team.