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An in-house app development team constantly updates you on a project’s status and allows you to introduce changes faster. However, the competition for skilled software developers is tight, and recruiting team members is time-consuming, cumbersome, and costly.
As such, app development companies seek help from outsourcing partners to adapt. Many organizations leverage business process outsourcing (BPO) for app development and deployment.
This article discusses the role of BPO in the app development process, the benefits and challenges of application development outsourcing, and strategies for success. Continue reading to learn how to adopt the business practice to drive your projects!
Leveraging BPO for a Competitive Edge in the App Development Process
Companies may be unable to develop mobile apps with an in-house team for various reasons. They may not have the expertise, resources, or tools for the job. More importantly, their internal staff may have more pressing projects. Either way, companies may eventually search for a third-party mobile app development company.
But what is BPO’s role in the app development process? This approach involves delegating the development of mobile applications to a third party. The service provider builds an external team to oversee the client’s mobile app development projects.
Outsourcing mobile application development is smart when your in-house team lacks the time to develop an app or the capacity to handle the function. Not every company has an elaborate information technology (IT) department to oversee each software development project. Below, we discuss how companies can leverage outsourcing to gain a competitive edge in app development.
Getting the Best Resources
Companies are looking for highly skilled developers. The International Data Corporation (IDC) has predicted a global shortfall of 4 million developers by 2025.
Outsourcing mobile app development expands your search radius globally. It lets you find and engage an outsourcing partner in an offshore or nearshore country to broaden your talent pool. As a company, you only need to set your time, budget, scope, and requirements for your app development project.
Outsourcing makes finding the right developers and meeting your technological requirements easier.
Establishing Better Development Practices
Arguably, the most important benefit of BPO is that it enables you to apply the best business strategies in the app development process.
Third-party development teams are agile. They build products based on the highest industry standards. Additionally, they practice effective communication to streamline project tasks and maintain information flow without halting the project.
This approach ensures the final product encounters fewer errors to troubleshoot. Minimal testing is required before the mobile app delivery, allowing the team to deliver the product within the decided time frame.
Acquiring the Right Solution Within the Budget
For the most part, outsourced software development projects cost less than in-house units. They offer cost savings of up to 70% of the budget of an in-house project due to the difference in overseas salary rates and foreign currencies, which enable affordable wage costs.
Moreover, you are in charge of the project’s budget. Since the third-party development team is not part of your payroll, you reduce overhead costs for hiring, training, and managing employees and provide different benefits.
Testing and Improving the App for Better User Satisfaction
Working with skilled third-party developers gives you the chance to capture more users. They can help you incorporate analytics that are useful for collecting valuable user feedback. This technology lets you analyze customer reviews and data to improve products and applications.
Prioritizing user satisfaction with the help of outsourcing results in a higher chance of success in the development market. Customer information guides you into taking the right steps at the right time, making a huge difference in turning your app into a hit instead of a miss.
Outsourced App Development Services
Software development is not new; it is an established market projected to have reached $122.7 billion by the end of 2023. Here are some common app development services that you can leverage:
- Prototyping. This is when developers start producing wireframes and iterating on user feedback. A wireframe is a low-fidelity guide to the user experience and interface (UX/UI). It provides a general sense of the application’s flow and functionality.
- Native app development. Clients can choose native technologies to create an iOS or Android app version. Coders will then create reliable and attractive applications with flawless UX.
- Cross-platform app development. BPO companies offer cross-platform app development, an ideal service for clients who want to quickly develop mobile apps for various platforms.
- App testing. BPO teams conduct testing parallel to the development stage. They continually test the app to keep post-release expenses low. They perform unit and integration testing to eliminate major oversights and bugs.
- Maintenance. After having your app approved by the App Store and Play Store, your development team monitors the app’s status, fixes any present bugs, and ensures that the app works as intended.
How to Minimize Outsourced Mobile App Development Risks
The right outsourcing company can minimize BPO risks and drawbacks, such as insufficient control, insecure data privacy, and rampant miscommunication. Hiring a BPO provider that is experienced, reliable, and competent should be your first step.
Here are other ways to avoid BPO risks when outsourcing app development processes:
- Ensure that your potential partner has been operational for years and is well-established.
- Get to know the third-party team’s development and quality assurance processes and risk mitigation strategies.
- Define rules and requirements upfront to ensure a clear understanding of what needs to be accomplished.
- Ensure the BPO team signs a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to avoid leaks and discover how they protect assets against cyber threats.
- Add a clause in your contract that obliges the provider to deliver specific materials upon the termination of the contract.
- Set a joint kickoff call to get to know the external team members and build a sense of commitment.
- Plan how and how often to communicate with the third-party team’s project manager and stay in touch as needed.
- Schedule regular scrum meetings to receive frequent updates.
- Ask your BPO partner to submit progress reports to keep you updated.
- Create a dashboard in your project management tool to see progress summaries, hours worked, and predicted release dates.
- Ensure accuracy in your project documentation and high-quality code.
- Perform a code review as a final quality assurance step.
How to Outsource Mobile App Development Processes
If you are thinking about leveraging BPO in your app development process, here are strategies to help you choose the best outsourcing firm for your project:
- Choose your project type and select a platform. Understand the type of project you want to outsource—whether a small, medium, or large-sized application for one or more operating systems. Before looking for a development provider, you must be certain of the app type you want to develop. It could be an e-commerce or a healthcare app.
- Establish your project’s needs. Work on the feature list for your application. Make sure to include unique features that set you apart from the competition.
- Set a budget. BPO payment pricing is a significant consideration, but it is not the most critical decision-making factor. You must balance the pricing against other vital areas of app development, such as scope, time to market, and quality.
- Look for an established outsourcing provider. Search for vendors online. Keep an eye on the top 10 companies and look into others. Short-list potential providers based on their portfolio of relevant work, years of experience, hourly rate, and customer references. Pick a few vendors from this list and conduct a more thorough screening.
- Organize project management. Organize the project management platform before deploying developers. Utilize different tools to trade information with the team and track all their tasks. You can use tools such as Jira and Trello to manage tasks, while Slack and Microsoft Teams are suitable for team communication.
What to Consider When Outsourcing Mobile App Development
Setting outsourcing objectives is a crucial part of the undertaking. Consider the following factors to ensure a successful outsourcing partnership:
- Pricing structure. The two most common pricing structures are the fixed price model and the time and material model. The former is ideal for larger businesses with clear outcomes; however, those who need a flexible approach must avoid it. The time and material model offers flexibility since the total hours worked determine the final price.
- Outsourcing model. Hiring a dedicated development team offers many benefits, from greater commitment and adaptability to better team management. The development crew is your company’s remote IT team but with better control and communication.
- Credentials of the development team. Focus on the BPO company’s credentials, but do not forget the developers’ qualifications. Look at factors such as expertise and previous clients.
The Bottom Line
BPO offers many benefits in the app development process. However, it also comes with risks that business owners must understand before jumping on the outsourcing bandwagon. Clients can mitigate the risks by picking a provider carefully. With the right team, outsourcing clients can realize a fruitful partnership and take their organization to the next level.
Let’s connect if you want to learn more about outsourcing.
