A dedicated development team, employing agile communication tools for working with dedicated teams, is a collaborative model widely recognized in software development. This approach facilitates efficient remote partnerships with clients, making it an advantageous strategy for a range of businesses, from well-established corporations to growing startups.
What is a Dedicated Team?
As the word suggest there is something to do with dedication and commitment. Therefore, a dedicated team is a group of experts from different regions that a client brings together. This is so that they can work on a given project. During this period the team only focuses on the projects. As a result, one cannot take on other job offers.
For this case it is a group of software developers coming together to work on a development project. A dedicated team is way better when working on complex software. For example, building a custom WordPress Plugin. Moreover, it works best with long-term jobs. Hence, after finishing the project they can choose other projects.
The term dedicated team is closely related to the distributed team. This is used to mean developers and experts working from different locations. In this case, they use special communication tools. A similar concept is useful to get a dedicated development team that will work faster.
What Does the Dedicated Development Team Model?
In the dedicated team model, you partner with an outsourced team of developers for long-term projects. It is a widely chosen model, standing alongside other popular collaboration frameworks like fixed price (FP) and time & material (T&M).
Choosing to work with dedicated teams means you acquire a group of experts, handpicked to align with your business objectives. This model is akin to having an in-house team, fully integrated into your workforce.
The key difference, however, lies in the administrative aspects. A dedicated team relieves you of HR, tax, and benefits management. You can focus on strategic business, leaving operational details to your partners.
In summary, the dedicated team model equips you with a meticulously chosen team committed to your specific project, while also handling all the administrative overhead, leaving you free to concentrate on the bigger picture.
Composition of a Dedicated Team
Your dedicated team is customized to meet your specific business needs. Check the best wordpress plugins for business. Depending on the requirements of your project, your development team can include:
Front-end and back-end developers
UX/UI designers
DevOps engineers
Quality assurance specialists
Business analysts
Product managers
Project managers
Comparing Dedicated Development Team and Fixed Price Models
Comparing Dedicated Development Team and Fixed Price Models, there’s often confusion between the two, though they cater to distinctly different business requirements. Understanding the nuances can be crucial, as elaborated in our article, “Selecting a WordPress Development Team,” which offers insights into choosing the right team under different models.
Read also: Web development pricing
In a fixed price collaboration model, the client pays a predetermined sum, regardless of the actual hours worked or the extent of the job done. This approach is ideal for short-term projects where the requirements and scope of work are precisely defined.
A notable concern with the fixed price model, especially from a cofounder’s viewpoint, is the potential for overpayment. Estimating the exact time and scope of work can be challenging. Consequently, you may find yourself obligated to pay the agreed-upon amount, even if the work isn’t completed to your expectations.
The fixed price model is suitable for:
Projects with set deadlines
This model is ideal for businesses requiring certainty in project completion dates, as it minimizes the risk of delays and ensures timely delivery.
Projects with well-defined specifications
It provides a clear roadmap for developers to follow, reducing ambiguity and the need for frequent changes.
Short-term initiatives
The scope and duration make it easier to plan and execute these projects efficiently, without the complexities of long-term planning and variable costs.
Situations where no changes are anticipated
It eliminates the need for ongoing negotiations and adjustments, allowing both the client and the development team to focus on executing the project as planned without concerns about scope creep or budget overruns.
The goal is to create a functional product with the minimum required features to test the market while keeping the MVP development cost in mind.
Limited Resources
It is ideal for startups or businesses with limited financial resources. With this model, the total cost of the project is agreed upon in advance, providing a clear financial framework.
Comparing Dedicated Team and Time&Material Models
The Time&Material model often finds itself in comparison with the dedicated team approach. In Time&Material, clients pay for the actual hours and effort expended by the team in developing specific features.
Time & Material Model well-suited for:
Projects with Evolving Requirements
It allows for flexibility and adjustments as the project progresses.
Markets That Are Still Being Explored and Understood
This model is well-suited for projects targeting markets that are in the exploration phase, providing the agility needed to adapt to new insights and market dynamics.
Situations Where the Product-Market Fit Is in the Process of Being Established
For projects focused on establishing product-market fit, the Time and Material model offers the necessary leeway to iterate and refine the product based on user feedback and market response.
While Time&Material offers the flexibility needed for thorough research and development, it does not ensure continuity in terms of team composition. Specialists may be reassigned to other projects if they lack sufficient tasks in your project.
In contrast, the strength of the dedicated team model lies in its unwavering focus. Opting for a dedicated development team means securing a group solely committed to your project, without the distraction of other assignments. This exclusive dedication is the defining characteristic of such a team, ensuring consistency and a concentrated effort towards your project’s success.
Time to Hire a Dedicated Development Team
The hire dedicated development team model is exceptionally beneficial. It encompasses diverse projects and organizational contexts where such teams can provide targeted expertise and sustained development support.
Long-Term Development Projects
Projects that require ongoing development.
Scalable Startups
Startups that anticipate rapid growth and need scalable solutions.
Complex Software Solutions
Suitable for projects involving complex software development that requires specialized skills.
Continuous Product Evolution
Beneficial for products that require continuous updates and evolution based on market feedback.
Highly Customized Projects
Well-suited for projects that demand high customization and specific expertise
Global Market Expansion
For businesses looking to expand into new, international markets and needing a diverse skill set.
Startups Lacking Technical Expertise
Lack in-house technical expertise and need a dedicated team to fill this gap.
Enterprise-Level Solutions
Effective for large-scale enterprises requiring extensive and dedicated resources for their software development needs.
Where Avoiding a Dedicated Team Model is More Beneficial
This section identifies specific situations where opting for a dedicated team model may not be the most effective strategy, similar to considerations in “Single Page Website Design vs Multiple-Page Website Design” found on our blog. It serves as a guide for businesses to understand when alternative project management approaches, such as those explored in the linked article, might be more advantageous and aligned with their specific needs.
Short-Term Projects
Not ideal for brief, small-scale projects due to the model’s focus on long-term collaboration.
Limited Budget
Infeasible for projects with very tight budget constraints, as dedicated teams often require a significant investment.
Well-Defined, Unchanging Requirements
Unnecessary for projects with fixed, unchanging requirements where flexibility and adaptability are not needed.
Projects with Infrequent Development Needs
Not suitable for projects that require only intermittent or sporadic development work.
Solo Entrepreneur Ventures
Overly extensive for solo entrepreneurs or very small startups that can manage with a smaller team or individual freelancers.
Rapid Prototyping and MVPs with Limited Scope
Not the best fit for creating MVPs or prototypes that require a quick, lean development process.
Reach out to us today to build your dedicated development team, tailored to meet your project’s unique requirements and drive its success.
Schedule a ConsultationHow to build an Effective dedicated Team?
Software Development is important for businesses and it requires an effective dedicated team. This helps a company to have software working at optimal levels. This software helps a business to perform better in their specific activities. A software is cool for automation, record keeping, performing repetitive activities. Consequently, it plays the role of boosting sales, etc. For such an effective dedicated team is needed. This will ensure it is easier and faster to plan and implement great solutions.
6 Factors for a good dedicated Team
Experience
Experience on similar projects – The team of developers, designers, and the project manager should be experienced. They should have skills in dealing with similar projects. This will ensure they can deliver the best services to the team.
Collaborate
Ability to collaborate with others/Teamwork – All that matters in a dedicated team is the ability of a team member to work with others. Consider how likely a developer or designer is likely to interact with others. Moreover, they should know how to use collaboration tools.
Communication channel
Use of a common communication channel – For an effective dedicated team communication is key. Check these agile communication tools. Here communication is from the client to team members and also among the team members. A good example is a slack channel.
Time zones
Understanding the individual’s time zones – You will be dealing with individuals from different regions. Thus, you need to consider their time zones and check how effective they will be. It’s good to ensure that the decisions made consider all the time zones. This factor can limit hiring in some zones.
Terms of service
Clear terms of service – Terms of service are key in the software development process. This is to guide the service providers and the client. You need to come up with these sets of guidelines.
Project Scope
Elaborate the Project Scope – Having a project scope is one of the essentials for a dedicated team. This allows them to develop software that will benefit the business. Additionally, there are important development policies to ensure successful projects. Thus, a project scope is necessary.
How to build a dedicated development team
When building software, you need the right team to make the project a success. There are many ways to build this dedicated team up and start the production process. In spite of this, not all will be effective. Therefore, it is important to follow a process that will minimize the expenses.
Here is a step-by-step process that will help you get an effective dedicated team.
The reason you need a software development team should be your goal. As a result this goals should help you come up with the requirements. For example, when looking for a team to deal with WordPress outsourcing activities. The requirements are WordPress developers with experience with themes and plugins.
Similarly, consider the business model you use. Check if it a B2B, B2C, or both. Knowing this will help you get the essentials for a dedicated team right. Your company also has its culture and policies. Some of which are vital in the way you do business. You, therefore, want to be sure you choose someone who will fit in.
Some other key requirements to consider are
The level of skill – do you want experts or you can work with beginners
The period you need the team to work.
The goal for the software.
You need to define the requirement for every expert in the team. Have the requirements for the web developers, the project manager, the UI/UX Design
After listing the requirements, you can now start calling for qualified applicants to apply. You can use the company’s website and social media platforms to attract experts. In the job description ensure you include:
- The skill needed for consideration
- The timelines of the projects
- Years of experience
- Skills qualification that you are looking for
- Salary ranges
- The documents you need from the applicant e.g. CV and Portfolio etc.
It may not be wise to start with the actual salary but, you can work with the range. This will give the applicants an estimate of your budget. This is better to avoid overspending.
When calling for applicants you can also use freelancing sites, job boards, and professional sites. This will accelerate the number of applicants. You want many people to apply so that you can choose the best. Moreover, you can come up with an ad to attract more customers. After getting the targeted number of applications, you can restrict additional applications.
Typically to get the right team members you need to do some rounds of interviews. In the Interview, sessions consider the applicants that followed the application instructions. You can send an email scheduling them for an interview. Thanks to virtual platforms like Zoom you can schedule meetings faster.
HR Managers are the people to conduct these interviews, but this does not limit people like the IT Manager or Project Manager from taking part. During the interviews, you need to make it clear that the experts will be working on a dedicated software development model. Meaning they will not be at a point to take on other projects during the period.
Getting the right dedicated software team may call for sample tests. This is to guarantee that the developers are experienced. Also, you need to explain any important information.
After doing some rounds of interviews you will now have an effective dedicated development team. The next step is to start preparing the team for the project. Set up all that is needed for the team to start working.
Set up the communication tools and the process for the team to work on their roles. Assign members with corporate emails for easier delivery of the work. You can use sites WordPress and GitHub for submitting the projects.
Then Launch the team and you should probably do a virtual onboarding session. Then introduce the projects to the team players. Ensure they all understand their role. After explaining and setting up everything, schedule the start date for the project.
To have an effective dedicated development team you need to monitor their progress. Be friendly and correct them at any point they make a mistake. You can also consider improving the project delivery during this phase. It is expected the team members should update their progress frequently.
The Human Resource Manager should work with these teams closely to ensure they build great software. They should also work as a team by asking questions through the communication channels. You need to ensure all this is done and monitor all other needs till the project is done.
Why Choose Web Help Agency for Your Dedicated Development Team?
At Web Help Agency, our extensive experience in collaborating with clients under dedicated development team contracts sets us apart. Annually, about 15% of our projects commence with this model, and interestingly, another 35% of projects initially begin with different models but eventually transition to a dedicated team approach.
100+ Enterprise Projects Completed
4.9 Rating on Clutch
Cost-Effective, Risk-Free Process
Trusted by Fortune 500 and StartupsProcess of Dedicated Development Collaboration with Web Help Agency
When you engage Web Help Agency as your dedicated development team, here’s how we proceed:
Scope Estimation
In this initial phase, we assess the expected workload and determine the required team size.
Our business analysts engage with you to understand your needs and objectives. This dialogue helps us define the project requirements and establish its scope.
Scope determination can follow two paths:
- If you have a pre-defined scope, we’ll collaborate to align the budget with your priorities and timeframes.
- If the scope is unclear, we initiate a discovery stage, formulating hypotheses and validating them through prototyping. We continuously refine our approach based on test outcomes until we accurately capture the required scope.
Talent Selection
We then assemble a team of skilled and motivated professionals, tailored to your project. Our selection criteria include:
- Profitability: Estimated ROI for the project.
- Quality & Service: Assurance of high-quality output based on our team’s expertise.
- Skills Development: Opportunities for team members to enhance their skills through the project.
- Morale & Motivation: Ensuring optimal psychological conditions for team engagement.
Scope Call
In this discussion, we outline the objectives, milestones, and priorities for the initial sprint of your project.
Proposition Call
Here, we present our proposed solution, anticipated team composition, timelines, budget, and plan any further research activities if needed.
Kick-Off Call
This marks the official start of our collaboration. The call’s aim is to introduce the teams, define roles, grant access to development tools, align project and business priorities, and schedule regular check-ins.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, a dedicated team emerges as the ideal choice for projects characterized by uncertain requirements, particularly for ambitious startups and technology businesses in a state of evolution. For these enterprises, aiming for sustained collaboration, the dedicated model stands out as the most fitting in terms of cost-effectiveness and having a team of carefully chosen professionals. With this perspective, you can determine if hiring a dedicated development team aligns with your needs.
However, if uncertainties persist regarding the most suitable collaboration model for your project, don’t hesitate to contact us. We are here to guide you toward an approach that perfectly aligns with your specific requirements.
