Startups are choosing to outsource their coding needs to third-party providers, whether it’s React JS Development Services or simple HTML programming. This is because more companies are realizing that it’s easier, cheaper, and more effective to let experts take on programming responsibilities than set up their own teams, as the latter will require training and infrastructure costs that may simply be too high for startups.
But while outsourcing your coding needs is a sound business option, it doesn’t come without risks. Here are some tips to remember if you’ll be handing off your programming functions to a third-party provider:
Communication is Key to Success
Outsourcing business processes –particularly in coding and programming –allows companies to access a pool of experts that they otherwise might not have. However, because these experts are third-party, your biggest hurdle will be clear-cut communication between you and your coding provider.
As with any relationship, communication is key to success, and establishing regular and open channels of communication with your outsource provider will ensure efficient processes.
This means holding regular check-in calls, demanding transparency protocols between developers and your company. With the pandemic of 2020 showing companies around the world that teleconferencing is the new normal, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Make the Scope of Your Project Clear
One big mistake companies and outsource providers make is not being clear about the scope of the project, whether it’s clarifying requirements and deliverables, exact timelines for service delivery, and the overall scope of the project itself. Mitigate this by creating a comprehensive Software Requirements Specification document, or an SRS.
By not establishing these clearly at the onset of the project, companies and third-party providers might find themselves misaligned with their programming development and needs. These issues need to be resolved before the project starts so that the software engineers and coders working on the project can do so in effective silos that can communicate with each other and with their client effectively.
Coding Quality Assurance
For non-tech companies that outsource their coding needs, running Quality Assurance can be difficult, especially if the company doesn’t have any prior knowledge of coding or programming. This fact can be exploited by less-than-scrupulous providers who might deliver coding that seems acceptable on paper, but is, in reality, sub-par when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of the code.
Of course, the term “code quality” is ambiguous because there are no exact or strict definitions of what makes a code high-quality or low-quality. To avoid this, companies need to work with trusted and proven providers to minimize the risk of receiving low-quality-but-overpriced coding. Speaking of overpriced coding…
Only Work with Trusted Providers
While outsourcing your company’s programming needs is still the most economical option for most non-tech startups or companies that can’t afford in-house software engineers, you need to be aware of the kind of provider you’ll be working with.
One of the best ways to see if a provider is legitimate is to check whether a majority of their programmers are employed on a full-time basis. This tells you that the provider has project ownership, an important aspect of any project’s completion. Without project ownership, the coding can be sketchy, and the entire project can end up being a huge waste of time and money.
Do your due diligence and do extensive research on the third-party provider you’ll be working with and ensure that they are reliable, trustworthy, and has a sterling record of high-quality service.
