3 Useful Tips for Working with Developers
Taking the step to outsource your web development can be simple if handed correctly.
Web and Application development are not usually simple processes.
That’s why developers are some of the most in-demand profiles on the job market across the world, and why it is making increasing sense to look to countries with larger pools of developers – and lower labor costs – for companies seeking development talent.
However, that can also involve a range of new challenges and potential costs that many people would prefer to avoid.
The idea of “better the devil you know” is a powerful force in business decisions, but it often ends up leaving certain businesses stuck with processes that are not as productive or cost-effective as they could be.
Deciding to outsource your development does not need to be painful or disruptive. Once you have selected a reliable, verified partner for your development project, they will be able to provide you with a team of capable and efficient developers that will be flexible to your specific situation and management style.
However, no matter what team you end up with, there is always a way to optimize your working relationship. One important component of this is the process of choosing the right team and managing expectations. Another is to approach with a nuanced understanding of foreign business cultures.
However, once you have everything in place, there are always ways to improve the day-to-day communication between you and your offshore development team of developers.
From our experience, here are 3 of the most useful:
1. Make 5-minute conversations a habit
It goes without saying that communication is important. This is equally as relevant if your software developers are sat in the same office as you, or if they are 10,000 km away in Vietnam or Madagascar in case of software development outsourcing.
That being said, communication is a pretty wide concept. What is even more important, is structuring your communication so that it produces the desired results.
These results can be thought of in the following way:
- a. Building rapport
- b. Communicating intended targets
- c. Successfully overcoming challenges
A way to ensure that your communication is achieving these points is to pre-arrange quick daily conversations to ask how the project is going, inquire about any problems, and ask what solutions are required.
This can keep everyone up to speed. And if every day is too often, then you can make it every two days, or even just once a week, so long as everyone is up to date and the project is moving forward as planned like that.
2. View bugs like typos
If you have ever written a document, you’ll know that typos are almost inevitable. Asking a developer why bugs exist is very much the same as asking a writer why there are typos in their work. They are, in most cases, an inevitable mistake that can be expected.
How are typos fixed? Not by asking why they happened, but by putting in place adequate systems and processes to ensure they are identified and filtered out before they are published.
Like any piece of writing will need an editor, a software development will need a Q&A process that tests it. Keep this in mind, and let your developers know that you care about the big picture and final result.
3. Understand that software development is not magic
Development is an amazing process, that has created programs and capabilities that we now take for granted, but which were once thought to be impossible. The power of development is in theory unlimited, but within the scope of individual projects, capabilities need to be understood through a different perspective.
Some ideas simply cannot be realized at the push of a few buttons. It’s fine to ask what is possible from your developers, but be prepared to accept their responses, and don’t expect magic from them.
If you are able to appreciate the complexity of certain processes that developers need to overcome in order to realize some goals, they will appreciate you for it.
Bocasay is specialized in outsourced IT software development and management. Get in touch to find out how we can turn your development idea into a reality.
