If you want to learn more about IT outsourcing services, their purpose, and why they are a good choice, make sure to read the first part of this article.
Team extension vs dedicated agile team on demand – comparison
How do the two services differ in various aspects of the cooperation? Take a look at the table below:
| TEAM EXTENSION | DEDICATED AGILE TEAM ON DEMAND | |
| Kick-off | Before our cooperation starts, we develop a kick-off checklist, on which we specify what we might need clarifying before we start the task. The next step is meeting with the client to fill in the blanks, define the working patterns, and get to know you and your working patterns to ensure that we are a help, not an intrusion. | The kick-off workshop will be a way to get to know each other in-depth – this is necessary as we will take responsibility for the whole project or parts of it. Perhaps you already have your roadmap ready, or maybe you have no experience in software development whatsoever? In cases like this, a big part of the kick-off is to develop such a roadmap and present it to you – all based on the carefully-studied goals, needs, and business context of the project. |
| Proactive involvement, and cooperation, and communications | This is an integral parts of our organizational culture. Our developers do not simply create countless lines of code. They always seek to fit into the context of the project, always seek errors and areas of improvement, and avoid unnecessary work – they work efficiently. You can count on a conscious attitude in the development of your project, and benefit from our devs sharing their knowledge and experience with your team. | High level of mutual responsibility. Our teams are self-organized, so we feel responsible for each decision, execution, and the quality of the work, and act accordingly. |
| Reporting and budget predictability | We always strive to make communication as transparent as possible, and try to optimize your costs. We bill based on days worked. What does that give you? Full commitment. Our devs focus fully on your project, not working on others in parallel. This also allows you to more accurately plan your monthly | The same as with team extension. While building a roadmap, we usually define our project milestones, e.g. key features implemented, dates, etc. This serves as a guideline for us that helps us stay on track with the project. |
| Effectiveness | High effectiveness, thanks to our partnership attitude, proactive involvement, and the culture of mutual responsibility which our developers demonstrate each time. | The same as with team extension. Additionally, the increased decision-making power on our side is there to support you. As a self-organized team that works towards your goals and targets, we assure you that we will cover each stage of the process – not just a slice of it. |
| Software development process coverage | In a team extension model, we are in charge of the technology, and our team members commit 100% to their field of responsibility. On Inwedo’s side, they are supported by a PM who is in charge of reporting, billing, and contracting. | With employees in various fields, such as project/product management, UI and UX design, software programming, and others, you can simply let us know what you need to be done, and we will assemble the right team for the job. Whether it’s desktop application development, interactive website building, a custom HR system, a complicated database interface, or other projects, you can consider Inwedo a reliable partner. And however unique your project is, believe us when we say, there is a good chance we’ve already done something at least remotely similar. |
| Presence of Inwedo’s Product Owner | We always offer to involve a PO, who will be available for you to help with your daily tasks related to project management. But we understand that often companies choose to keep the Product Ownership on their side – and that’s also fine by us! In such cases, we usually limit our involvement in management to keeping the team on track and other traditional project management responsibilities (e.g. reporting, billing, resource management, etc.). | In a dedicated agile team on demand, a PO is an integral part of the project team, and their presence guarantees that your goals always stay in the spotlight for the whole team. The PO helps the team understand the project from your perspective, has a handle on your budget (and changes to it), and helps devise and optimize a development plan and process – often making it faster, better, and more adaptable. |
| To what degree are we a part of the team? | In a team extension model, our process starts with us taking a careful look at the project, then we send a kick-off checklist, followed by an initiation meeting. This results in an in-depth understanding of the project on our side, as well as its goals and vision. We aim to become a real part of your team (hence the name – team extension). This makes our work more efficient, and allows us to fully leverage our knowledge and experience, including when we discuss with you what opportunities for improvements we see. However, we respect your routine and processes, and do our best to fit in. We care about partnership and ethics when working with our clients. | As with team extension, but more self-organized. We act independently. Our aim is to take the burden off you and your team while being mutually responsible for the results. |
How does hiring Inwedos’ software teams work?
Starting cooperation with Inwedo’s dedicated agile team on demand is a fairly simple process.
Before we start, you will need to sign a general agreement with us, which specifies the outline of the cooperation. More detailed descriptions of particular tasks and projects are then added to the general agreement as appendixes.
The appendixes will state how many of our team members will support you, what will be the timeline of the cooperation, and what will be the compensation for the completion of the work.
Our contracting process is as agile as the team – each time a new project comes up, we can react fast by signing an appendix to the contract. Each appendix can be quickly processed and approved, as well as edited.
On our side, the process consists of a single approval, so we can get things moving as quickly as possible. As the sales head has the full contract approval power, the negotiations are straightforward. Any adjustment needed (e.g. terms of payment, form of payment, reporting frequency, security regulations, etc.) can be openly discussed. We aim for the contracting process to be straightforward, clear, and quick, but also fair and satisfying to both sides.
Agile software development team structure
If you decide to go with Inwedo’s dedicated agile team on demand, you can typically expect to take advantage of the experience and expertise of our team members across various fields, including:
- Technical Lead – This person will guide the developers in the technical aspects of their work and leverage their vast experience in system architecture, development best practices, and coding standards, to ensure top-notch work from our developers. Working closely with the product owners, these leaders will be in charge of the tech side of transforming your vision and goals into a real piece of software.
- Product Owner – Projects have a technical and a business side. Product owners help make sure that the two work in tandem. POs will facilitate the team cooperation and make sure that everyone is on the same page, while working with each other to make the project run smoothly.
- Developers (front-end and back-end) – Even the best plan will not succeed without a great execution – and this is what our team of experienced devs is best at. While front-end developers are in charge of the visible parts of your software, the back-end devs make sure that it works well behind the scenes, by taking care of databases, scripting, and software architecture.
- Quality Assurance – It doesn’t only matter whether the task is done, but whether the task is done well. This is where our quality assurance specialists come into play. Closely cooperating with developers at each stage of the project, QAs carefully inspect the software and seek opportunities for improvements. All is carefully documented to ensure stability.
- Test Automation Specialist – When deadlines are close, there is no time to waste. By developing automatic test programs, these specialists help you save time, human hours, and a whole lot of effort.
- Product Designer – A great product won’t sell unless it looks as well as it works (or sometimes even better!). User experience, aesthetics, and ensuring that the product is on-brand is what the product designers are in charge of. Getting a new user is one thing, but ensuring the user finds the software useful and easy to operate is at least as important and helps retain customers. And that’s why you need a product designer’s help.
How can I be sure that these IT outsourcing models are working well?
If you aren’t convinced this services will work for you, we have a proven track record of working in the dedicated agile team on demand model or team extension model. And our clients seem to love what we do!
First, of course, we encourage you to take a look at the success stories of the projects we’ve completed for other clients.
To verify the quality of the service, simply check out the testimonials and reviews on Clutch. If that doesn’t convince you yet, or if you need additional information, just reach out and let us know what you need – we’re sure we can work something out!