Many growing companies that rely upon legacy software for a significant portion of their business tend to have their own internal software staff. It just makes sense to have coding talent on hand to take care of the day-to-day development and feel some peace-of-mind knowing your business is in good hands no matter the time of day or night.
While many of these internal developers may indeed be truly talented and capable of exceptional work, there are times when even that level of competence is just not enough to get the job done. The fact is, even the most talent-rich companies can run out of internal options when faced with a particularly challenging set of circumstances.
The key is to know when your team is about to reach its limits. That way you can seek the help of a qualified third party before things get seriously off track and threaten the viability of the project itself.
Here are three signs that your internal software team may require you to bring in outside help – or as we like to call it: fresh perspective.
I’m still working on it.
Your team had a month to work on a project, yet somehow you keep hearing the same excuse justifying why it’s still not complete. In most cases, setting unrealistic deadlines up front can be the proverbial straw on the camel’s back; but whatever the case, delays in timeline can put a damper in your entire business workflow. Invoices may get sent out late, payments could get paid late, reports may be late in coming and not be reliable, and the list goes on.
The good news is that your team is finally working on it. The bad news is that your ‘technical debt’ may be so huge that any delays are compounded, forcing you to either renegotiate the delivery date or drastically reduce the project scope, defeating the original purpose of the project. Of course, you can always take a third and recommended path: bring in an outside team with the right skills and experience to put your project back in the fast-lane.
Wait, I thought…
However that sentence ends, there are red flags everywhere. Every department gets affected when a team is misinformed. It can be a nightmare to sort through and a sign of poor project management.
There is a lot that goes into project management depending on how detailed and far-reaching the project is. For really complex projects, it often makes more sense to hire a third-party to do the PM work and manage the necessary resources to get the job done right. That way, your internal team can follow a best-practices project plan and provide the invaluable ‘institutional knowledge’ needed to ensure the project meets the needs of all key stakeholders. Win-win.
Blank stares.
Nothing is worse than explaining a well-thought out project to a developer, and seeing a blank stare in response. When your team is not prepared to answer your questions, or cannot answer quickly enough, you know it’s time to evaluate your team’s competencies and team fit.
Outsourcing services gives you access to software development expertise without having to pay for a full-time employee and investing time in training (in fact, see our earlier article about ways onshore software development firms can help the bottom-line). Each member on your external team will already be a specialist in their respective software discipline, which helps you gain a fresh, in-depth perspective.
With the right technology, tools, and specialized software talent outside of your company to keep processes running smoothly across systems, your team can focus on other areas of critical need inside your company. Companies that embrace the outsourcing model gain a huge advantage in both technical expertise and bandwidth.
If you have seen any of these telltale signs, we welcome you to contact us today for a free consultation and helpful insights that can put your software team ahead of the game for good.
