From Fortran to React and Rust, numerous programming languages and frameworks were welcomed with open arms to create next-gen web and mobile applications. However, technology is not only the growing landscape. Over time, many development team models came into the limelight for effective and efficient project management.
While some of them, such as in-house developers and freelancers, are already the center of attention, a few models, including dedicated and extended teams, have also become the talk of the town for their wide range of skill sets and constant availability. Each of them has its strengths and weaknesses and can be leveraged according to the demands of the organization and project.
Although, the pivotal question is which team model to choose. Is it staff augmentation or a dedicated team? Or will it be the extended team? Let’s not wait any further and find out who will win this battle.
Dedicated Team Vs Staff Augmentation Vs Extended Team Model: Which Model to Choose
This write-up will focus on three development models -
- Dedicated Team
- Staff Augmentation
- Extended Team
We will discuss each in detail, highlighting their benefits and usage to different needs.
Without any further ado, let us jump straight to the very first model - The dedicated team.
Dedicated Team
Who Are They, And How Does the Model Work?
The name says it all. A dedicated team refers to a team of developers offering mobile or web app development services for a pre-determined time period. The client binds in a legal contract with the service provider or company until the project is completed and launched successfully.
Once the contract is signed, they will not get involved in other tasks or projects. Their entire attention, effort, time, and resources will be focused on accomplishing your desired goal, which in this case is project development.
Furthermore, they will customize the project according to your needs and be responsible for every outcome of the project. All in all, they will be catering exclusively to all your requirements in a dedicated time frame.
Benefits of Hiring A Dedicated Development Team
1. Exclusivity
One of the most significant advantages of hiring a dedicated team is exclusivity. You don’t have to worry about delays or availability because they will be right by your side at every development stage.
From understanding your vision to incorporating their expertise and ideas and creating innovation, everything will be taken care of from their end.
2. Expertise & Specialization
Another major upside that comes alongside a dedicated team is their specialized skillset. When developing a full-fledged app or website using the latest technology with heavy graphics and data, you might have to search and hire for multiple resources, which can take up a lot of your time, money, and energy.
With a dedicated team, you don’t need to worry about any of that. They are a pre-assembled team sharing expertise and specialization in different programming languages and frameworks, which can save plenty of your bucks, time, and effort.
3. Scalability & Flexibility
Flexibility equates to a dedicated team! They are adaptable to every environment and requirement. It’s like your wish is their command. From developing a user-friendly platform to tailoring your requirements, they can seamlessly cater to everyone’s needs and surpass your expectations.
Furthermore, they can scale up or down to your requirements. In case you are planning to remove a few functionalities, features, or similar others, they can easily perform the changes according to your needs.
4. Cost Effective Model
Hiring a dedicated team is assumed to burn a hole in your pocket. However, that’s not true. They can generate high ROI over your investment in the long run. Moreover, this model can save a lot of your money by eliminating the overhead expenses you would spend searching, interviewing, employing, and training resources.
In addition, they provide you with a high-quality output that includes thorough testing and resolving potential issues before deployment to ensure minimal to slim zero chances of additional spending.
5. Quick Turnaround Time
If you want to develop an app or web in a short period of time, a dedicated team of developers is for you! Unlike freelancers and in-house developers, they will offer you undivided attention for the project development. Moreover, they won’t need extensive support since the team shares expertise and experience with different programming languages and frameworks.
All these factors lead to quick iterations and less time in developing your mobile or web app.
6. Long-Term Collaboration
Dedicated developers are perfect for those planning to launch or improve future-scalable apps and websites. Once they are familiar with your requirements and the values & goals of the company, you are all sorted. The team will seamlessly and efficiently collaborate with you to fulfill your prerequisites.
7. Constant Support
Dedicated developers minimize the risk and potential setbacks thanks to constant support and dedicated focus. They will assess the risks that may impact the reputation, sales, and user experience and solve it during the development lifecycle.
Generally, this process is known to be risk mitigation, wherein the team addresses the technical challenges, resource constraints, unexpected issues, sudden market change, and other factors to avoid a bumpy ride.
When Should You Hire A Dedicated Development Team?
1. Long-Term Collaboration
When the development process is expected to last longer than predicted, hiring a dedicated team is your safest bet. With a development team, you don’t need to focus on any technical aspect. They will stay committed to your project, ensuring consistent progress.
2. Future-Scalable App or Web
If your app or website will be scaled in the near future, hire a dedicated team. They can easily adapt to your and the market’s requirements. Likewise, they won’t require additional understanding and support as they have everything they need - resources, expertise, and knowledge of your project.
3. Time Constraints
Project managers and potential web or app developers with strict deadlines or a tight time-to-market window are recommended to outsource the dedicated team. Their concentrated effort allows them to accomplish a desired goal in less time than the market.
Most importantly, you won’t face quality or performance issues. With their experience, proficiency, coding standards, and efficient testing practices, you will only get the best results.
4. Reduce the Hassle of Hiring In-house Resources
Hiring in-house resources can be challenging, especially with a limited budget and time. However, with a dedicated team, it's otherwise. You can skip the hassle of recruiting new staff, paying monthly salaries, and guiding them from the start.
A dedicated team is pre-built and trained, which cuts down on time and effort spent on familiarizing them with everything. All you need to do is choose the right package and give an understanding of your idea & values of the company.
Now that you are well-acknowledged with the dedicated team model. Let us move forward to the next - Staff Augmentation.
Staff Augmentation
What is Staff Augmentation, And How Does the Model Work?
Like the dedicated team, this model too is outsourced from the third-party service provider to reduce the shortage of resources in your existing team or manage temporary workload spikes.
Unlike the dedicated team, staff augmentation requires you to operate and collaborate with the existing team. It involves limited resources like 2 - 4, and they are hired until the skills gap is fulfilled and the workload is reduced.
Typically, a staff augmentation model works by stating your requirements to the third-party provider, and accordingly, they will provide you with skilled resources.
You can choose from the potential candidates and get them onboard by signing a legal contract. Once the project is completed, the client and service provider review the project’s success, provide feedback and wrap the contract. To learn more about the advantages of staff augmentation.
Benefits of the Staff Augmentation Model
1. Seamless Engagement
One of the biggest downsides of recruiting permanent employees is that they may not cooperate with their existing colleagues. With staff augmentation, you don’t have to worry about anything. They are adaptive to different work environments and can easily collaborate & communicate with the existing members.
Furthermore, they are hired temporarily, easing the stress that a new employee can bring to your current employees.
2. No Overhead Expenses
According to Ambition Box, the salary range of hiring full-time employees starts from 1.9 lakhs, going up to 12 lakhs. (The range may vary depending on the experience of the developer.) Paying this salary range to your permanent staff monthly can burn a hole in your pocket.
Although, you can minimize such overhead expenses through staff augmentation. You don’t have to pay monthly salaries in the staff augmentation model. You sign a contract, and after the project is completed successfully, you have to pay a pre-determined amount.
You not only save on salaries and recruitment costs but also on other expenses, such as expanding the workspace and investing in several other essential tools and equipment.
3. On-demand Expertise
Another perk of staff augmentation is on-demand expertise. Unlike the dedicated team, where you get multiple resources with different talents, staff augmentation gives you the advantage of choosing a player according to your requirements.
For instance, if you want to hire a PHP developer with 5 years of experience, you can convey the same to the service provider, and they will find the exact match to suffice your demand.
4. Scalability
Like the dedicated team, staff augmentation also offers effortless scalability on requirements. Let’s assume you already have a website for a while now, and you notice a sudden increase in site visitors. Hence you decide to scale your website to ensure an unbeatable user experience.
This is when staff augmentation comes into the picture. The outsourced resources will effectively scale your website to not only a convenient user experience but also easy management of the traffic.
When Should You Choose A Staff Augmentation Model?
1. Short-Term Requirement
Choosing a staff augmentation model is advisable when you have a short-term requirement, like fulfilling a skills gap or a deadline is approaching, or you need a few resources to reinforce your team.
You can leverage their technical capabilities, flexibility, and manpower by signing a short-term contract, making them a part of your team in a jiffy.
2. Access to Specific Skills
Staff augmentation is a sound choice when you want access to specialized resources. Staff Augmentation allows you to pick experts based on your specific needs compared to a dedicated team, where the resources are pre-assembled with various tech and creative heads.
Basically, you can outsource additional staff with the necessary skill set and expertise in frameworks and programming languages.
3. Fluctuating Workloads
If your business experiences frequent workloads or has seasonal demand, staff augmentation can be considered. You can outsource the staff and expand the workforce until the workload is subdued or you have concluded the seasonal requirement without going through the trouble of hiring permanent staff.
Since you are acquainted with the staff augmentation model. We shall move forward to the last model.
Extended Model
What is an Extended Model, And How Does It Works?
The extended team model or remote team refers to a group of people hired for an extensive period with the intention of fostering long-term relationships between the core and extended teams.
Generally, the extended team works remotely and will not be considered a part of your in-house team. Instead, they will work as additional resources in parallel with your current team as a single entity to fill the skills gap.
Like the other two members, this one, too, is outsourced from the service provider to whom you define your requirements. The staffing agency will create a team with the specific skillset and integrate it with your core team after signing the legal agreement.
No mediator will be involved during the tenure. You will have full control and direct communication with the extended team.
Benefits of Outsourcing An Extended Team
1. Diverse Range of Professionals
The foremost advantage of hiring an extended team is access to a large pool of specialists. Based on your requirements, the staffing agency will assemble the resources with hands-on experience in the latest frameworks and programming languages.
You can leverage their knowledge and skills to enhance your project and empower your team and business.
2. Time & Cost Efficiency
Integrating an extended team comes with a plethora of benefits, two of which are time and cost efficiency. You don’t have to spend additional time or bucks getting an extended team on board.
From finding the right candidates to integrating with your core team and everything in between, the service providers will look after all your needs and provide you with top-notch talents.
3. Consistent Support
When it comes to support and maintenance, the extended team will always have your back. The team will offer consistent support for your previous and current development products and resolve any issue immediately.
Moreover, they will make sure your product is updated with the latest version and functional in every environment and device.
4. Flexibility & Unique Ideas
Since the entire team operates from different corners of the world, you can leverage their flexibility to your advantage. Meaning you can allow the resources to work on their time zones and gain round-the-clock support for your project, enhancing overall productivity and turnaround time.
Moreover, different minds equate to different opinions. Working with the extended team gives you unique perspectives and ideas on numerous subjects. You can choose innovative approaches and creative solutions aligning with your requirements, thereby blistering the project’s effectiveness and efficiency.
When Should You Hire An Extended Team?
1. Lack of In-house Expertise
Integrating an extended team is ideal when you have scarcity in the team. You can put forward your demand to the service provider, and they will compile a guild of mavens to bridge the gap effectively.
External resources will not only help you accomplish the deadline of your project but also contribute valuable insights, leading to a comprehensive and well-rounded approach to the project.
2. Team Building From the Scratch
Outsourcing an extended team will be a wonderful option if you seek professionals in niche frameworks and programming languages. Hiring specific talent locally can be a daunting process. However, extended teams are built from the ground up.
The staffing agency gathers resources from different corners of the world according to your requirements and forms a team, allowing you to access a wide range of proficient developers.
3. Geographical Expansion
Are you planning to expand your business to different regions and countries? We recommend you hire an extended team. Their cultural diversity and local experience can help you gather in-depth details about your target area.
If you like their knowledge, development patterns, and skills, you can allocate them to work and handle the clients in the target country or region.
4. Innovative & Fresh Perspective
A sign of a successful business is innovation and fresh ideas. Although, it's pretty natural to sometimes lack perspective or not have new concepts. In such cases, you can outsource an extended team.
Their different backgrounds, ideologies, and cultures can help you develop something unique. Additionally, embracing new ideas helps your business stay relevant and competitive in the rapidly changing market.
5. Round-the-clock Support
Many business owners consider geographical boundaries as a concern. Although, they can be extremely fruitful if used in the right way. You can allow your extended team to work conveniently according to their time zone and use them to provide consistent support for unparalleled user experience and growth of the product and business.
So far, we discussed all the development models with you. Next, we will explain how to choose the right model.
How to Choose the Right Outsourcing Model For Your Business
Choosing the right model depends on your requirements and budget. You cannot pick any model and ask the resources to start working on your project. You have to explore the models, go through their pros & cons, and carefully contemplate the below-mentioned questions -
- What is your goal?
- What are the requirements?
- What is the budget?
- How long do you want the resources?
- Do you have any strict deadlines?
- Will you be able to handle an outsourced team?
- What are the legal formalities?
- How will you collaborate and communicate with the resources?
Besides the main questions, you will also have to consider -
- Cultural compatibility with the potential resources
- Scaling according to the requirements in the near future
- Associated risks with the project
- Level of dependency to carry out the project or a task
Once you have definite answers to all these questions, you will be able to figure out which outsourcing model is best for you!
Conclusion
Once you have definite answers to all these questions, you will be able to figure out which outsourcing model is best for you!
Looking to outsource developers for your project? Look no further and contact Talent by Netclues today. From designers to coders, and project managers, we have a range of resources to ease your project development process. We search and swipe the suitable match to create a team, accelerating the overall development cycle.