Dedicated development team model is a type of outsourced development when a company hires a whole team to build their product. It implies a long-term partnership, where a dedicated software development team may not only deliver a product from end to end but as well have it on support, and implement new features further. In this article, we'll primarily focus on how to manage dedicated teams and evaluate the effectiveness of outsourcing product development. We'll also discuss the pros and cons of dedicated development and explore the best practices for such partnerships. Let's begin by distinguishing this approach from others.

To hire dedicated software development teams is the way of outsourcing the whole project. Other ways to get access to specialized expertise include staff augmentation and extended team.

The first approach helps companies that lack a particular expert in their existing team to hire developer for the project without the need to handle all the processes associated with recruitment and HR, as it is managed by the vendor.

The extended team model suits those who want to partner with outsourced workers on a long-term basis, expecting them to engage in multiple projects in close collaboration with an in-house team.

As opposed to other options, the main advantage of choosing to hire dedicated development team is to get a full team which is exclusively committed to the project's development. The team usually not only consists of skilled developers but, depending on the project goals, might also include a UI/UX designer, a QA engineer, a DevOps engineer, a project manager, and other necessary roles.

There are more advantages to name, let's proceed to describing them.

Pros and cons of dedicated development team services

The benefits of dedicated development stay relevant throughout the time and keep the service demanded. Let's walk through them:

Pros:

Cost efficiency: Typically, outsourcing is more cost-effective than hiring in-house. Countries with lower development rates, such as India, Vietnam, and Eastern European nations, offer attractive dedicated development team costs.

Focused approach: The development team works exclusively on a client's project, thereby offering more commitment and productivity than other outsourcing development models.

Flexibility: Dedicated team's ability to adapt to changing or vague project requirements is ideal for companies with evolving scopes or discovery phases.

Transparent project management: Normally, a dedicated software development team provides access to their time tracking, task management, and communication tools, which makes the development process and collaboration transparent.

Relevant expertise: Teams are hand-picked with experience relevant to the project, providing valuable insights and smoother workflows.

Faster time-to-market: Dedicated focus of the hired software development team accelerates development and product launch.

Cons:

Potential challenges include managing dedicated team through remote communication and keeping on track with business goals, which require effective management practices we'll discuss below. Here are the cons of dedicated team model summed up:

Costlier than staff-augmentation: Hiring dedicated software engineers, UX/UI designers, and managers all together, may come with higher initial costs compared to other outsourcing models. The dedicated team model might not be feasible for projects with limited budgets. However, a good vendor will offer budget-friendly solutions suitable for startups, helping save money on improvements and maintenance in the long run.

Communication challenges: If the team is located in a different time zone or has language differences, communication barriers might take place. This can affect the collaboration between dedicated developers and in-house staff, including product managers and other stakeholders.

Integration issues: Integrating dedicated software developers seamlessly with existing in-house teams can be challenging. Differences in work culture, approach to development process, and tools can lead to integration issues, affecting the overall project workflow and efficiency.

Dependency risks: Relying heavily on a dedicated team's specialized expertise for critical parts of your project can increase dependency risks. If the relationship with the team or provider changes, it might impact the continuity and progress of your project, as transferring knowledge and responsibility to a new team can be time-consuming and disruptive.

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How to manage a dedicated development team

To effectively manage a dedicated team, especially in contexts like software development or remote collaboration, several key strategies and best practices emerge:

Setting project goals

It's important to define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals to provide clear direction and purpose for the outsourced team. Establish a robust project charter or roadmap that outlines essential objectives and anticipated results, allowing some flexibility for adjustments as the project evolves. Even though the main operational work is done on the vendor's side, for a client, it's still useful to break down large goals into manageable milestones to track progress.

Building communication

Unless a company proposes regular demos on their side, develop structured communication protocols with regular updates in the form of daily scrums, weekly check-ins, or strategy sessions to keep everyone aligned and informed. Make sure the outsourced team uses appropriate communication and project management tools like Zoom, Slack, Trello, or Asana that support seamless interaction across locations and time zones. Encourage open communication channels where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas, feedback, and concerns, and practice active listening to build trust and cohesion. One more word about demos — you should be suspicious if a development team tells you everything is on track but doesn't want to show the results. It's a good sign that you should consider changing providers.

Preventing risks

There are various risks associated with dedicated development: the application being built might contain sensitive information, and the client might plan long-term projects and fear that the partnership will end unexpectedly and unfavorably for them. To prevent data breach a dedicated development team should use the least privilege approach and fine-grained access control, which means that even team members do not have full access to all parts of the project. Regarding the terms of cooperation, make sure that the contract gives you the right to download all designs and the codebase of your product at any time in case the collaboration does not succeed.

Measuring effectiveness

Both qualitative and quantitative metrics are important in this case. Qualitative criteria include factors such as:

Clear communication: Regular and transparent communication between the dedicated development team and the client so that all parties would be aligned and any issues are promptly addressed.

Project management effectiveness: The ability of the dedicated team leaders and a project manager to resolve issues swiftly, provide timely updates, and maintain project momentum.

Cultural fit: The team's understanding and embodiment of the client's values and culture, which provides a comfortable collaboration and shared vision.

Quantitative metrics, on the other hand, provide measurable data points that help estimate performance more objectively. These may include:

Project delivery timeliness: Percentage of projects or milestones delivered on time, which reflects the dedicated team's efficiency in meeting deadlines. Thus, if 18 out of 20 projects were delivered on time, the rate is (18/20)×100=90%.

Code quality metrics: Metrics such as defect density (number of defects per thousand lines of code), cyclomatic complexity, and code churn rate, which help assess the quality and maintainability of the code developed. If there are 50 defects in 5,000 lines of code, defect density = 50/5000×1000=10 defects per KLOC.

Productivity levels: Measures such as the number of features developed or completed story points in relation to the time spent, offering insights into the team's output. You can measure output relative to time, for example, features developed or story points completed per unit time. In general, when it comes to measuring software development process productivity, DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) metrics are used.

Client satisfaction scores: Surveys or net promoter scores (NPS) that estimate the client's satisfaction with the dedicated team's performance and deliverables. The calculation takes into account the number of satisfied or very satisfied customers (CSAT) or likelihood to recommend the services (NPS).

Budget adherence: Tracking whether projects are completed within the allocated budget, evaluating the dedicated team's effectiveness in resource management and cost control. A good value should result in 100% or a number close to it.

Key criteria in choosing the right dedicated software development team

Searching for a company with the perfect time zone, culture fit, technical expertise, etc., all for a good price, might be a challenging task. The actual search usually requires a reality check on what you are and are not ready to deal with. Here's how to handle it based on the criteria:

Relevant experience that matches core project needs

The truth is, most dedicated development teams won't have perfect experience in the exact niche. So, instead of searching for a specific experience, it's better to look for dedicated teams with similar projects or transferable skills. For example, if you need a fintech app and a dedicated team has experience in developing secure transaction systems or banking software, that's what constitutes a good fit.

How to check?

Monitoring review platforms can be of great help. Thus, Clutch allows reviewers to indicate what industries they are coming from, thereby helping others to check the similar projects of the vendor. In a communication with a dedicated development team provider, you can request a brief technical call to discuss how they see project challenges and outline the project scope.

Communication that goes beyond fluent English

Finding a dedicated development team that provides cost-effectiveness, perfect English communication, and no time zone difference might seem impossible. So what to look for in a dedicated development team? Prioritize responsiveness, clarity, and willingness to adapt over perfect language skills. A team that replies promptly and asks clarifying questions is more valuable than one with flawless grammar but slow responses.

How to check?

In addition to reviews, a video call will show the team's communication style and cultural fit. Later on, during the evaluation phase, you should keep an eye on how quickly they reply to emails and messages.

Stable core team despite some turnover

Turnover is a normal thing every company faces. Of course, it's suspicious when its rate is enormous, however, some turnover is inevitable. Focus on whether the key players (team lead, architect, PM) are stable and committed. Junior developers and designers can rotate, but continuity in leadership matters most.

How to check?

Ask how long the core team members have worked together and request a plan for knowledge transfer in case someone leaves mid-project. Additionally, you can check the leaders' social media profiles to learn about their professional journeys and find any mentions in open sources.

Budget transparency and realistic pricing

Low bids often mean corners will be cut; high bids don't guarantee quality. Look for a vendor who clearly explains what's included in pricing and how changes affect costs. Avoid surprises by agreeing on a buffer for scope changes.

How to check?

Request a cost breakdown, including hours per role and expected deliverables, and clarify payment terms and policies for additional work. Our company provides project estimates twice: initially before the design phase and then before transitioning to the software development process. The first estimate is less precise, while the second is more refined. This allows us to continuously consult with clients about the project budget and costs. We calculate hours needed for each feature, such as onboarding, and provide costs for design, software development, and management when offering dedicated team services.

Work ethic over perfect “match”

You won't find a team that mirrors your culture exactly. Instead, look for shared values we mentioned like transparency, accountability, and a proactive attitude rather than trying to find a “clone” of the internal team. Diverse perspectives can drive innovation and problem-solving, and teams with varied backgrounds often bring new and valuable insights to the table.

How to check?

When assessing potential teams, conduct interviews and discussions with key members to evaluate their approach to work and collaboration. Ask questions about how they handle challenges, communicate with clients, and prioritize tasks. Review case studies or projects they've previously worked on to see examples of their work ethic in action.

Examples of successful collaboration with a dedicated development team: Ronas IT case studies

Instead of revisiting how big companies outsourced projects in the 2000s, we want to highlight recent projects where our clients selected Ronas IT as their dedicated software development team. These examples showcase our expertise, as we helped them bring their apps from design to launch, while also offering insight into the current state of the software development market.

Noah: Farmer marketplace app

In 2019, Ronas IT teamed up with a Swedish entrepreneur to launch Noah, a marketplace app linking local food producers with consumers, reducing reliance on foreign suppliers. Our committed developers delivered consumer apps for iOS and Android, a farmer app, and a web admin panel in four months, aligning with the harvest season.

The design provided a clean UI with a neutral palette and orange accents, ensuring a cohesive look across platforms. For mobile app development, we used Swift and Kotlin, and we built the web panel with Angular and Laravel. Integrations with Google Maps SDK, Stripe SDK, and Firebase ensured smooth functionality.

Noah launched ahead of the harvest season and quickly turned a profit. The client continued working with us for further improvements, demonstrating our ability to deliver impactful and timely app development solutions.

Docky: Berths rent for yacht owners

Ronas IT collaborated with Maltese entrepreneurs to create Docky, an innovative marketplace app for booking yacht berths, addressing a significant gap in Malta's yachting industry. We met the tight deadline with a complete software solution, covering both a web app for berth owners and a mobile app for yacht owners. Using React Native and Next.js sped up the software development process, while integrations like Stripe and Google Maps ensured a smooth user experience.

The project involved crafting a marine-themed design and establishing a strong brand identity. Even though the project scope expanded during software development, our adaptable approach allowed for timely adjustments. The MVP was ready in three months, followed by a refined product that met the client's needs.

Docky is currently in internal testing, with ongoing support from our team for technical refinements. The project filled a critical market need and showed our dedicated development team's expertise in handling complex projects with changing requirements.

Neobank: App to improve credit scores

Ronas IT partnered with a US entrepreneur to develop a Neobank app focused on improving users' credit scores and providing access to financial services typically unavailable to those with low credit ratings. Our core tech stack included React Native for mobile, Laravel for the backend, and a microservice architecture for a robust and flexible platform. Features included multi-factor authentication, KYC verification, and data privacy protocols to safeguard user data.

The design team crafted an intuitive interface, using bright green accents to symbolize financial growth and wellness. We built a cohesive brand identity, incorporating features like cashback rewards and transaction analytics to boost user engagement. Despite the challenge of building a microservice architecture from scratch, we successfully integrated third-party services like Bond for banking, Persona and Sardine for KYC, and Plaid for financial account linking, providing seamless API interactions.

The Neobank app launched in a closed beta in November and gained App Store approval by April. It has over 1,285 verified users and complies with SOC 2, PCI DSS, and other vital financial standards. Our dedicated team continues to enhance the app with new features as it gains market traction.

Conclusion

Finding the right dedicated developers takes effort, but it brings skilled professionals on board and removes the need for extensive hiring processes. This dedicated development team approach is beneficial for startups aiming to swiftly launch innovative ideas, as well as for large companies looking to outsource parts of their projects to a comprehensive team. By setting clear project requirements, coming up with effective communication protocols, and maintaining financial and operational transparency, companies can fully use dedicated development teams to achieve their goals efficiently.

If you envision us as your future dedicated software team, please let us know by filling out the form below.