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How to Extend Your Development Team in 3 Simple Steps?  — QIT

Nov 10, 2024 10 min read
"How to Extend Your Development Team in 3 Simple Steps?  — QIT"

How to Extend Your Development Team in 3 Simple Steps?  — QIT

In the current era of technological advancement, any growing company needs to scale a development team in the shortest time possible. As the demands of the project increase and new technologies are availed, getting the right people to face the challenges can make all the difference between growth and stagnation. No matter if you are racing against time or are new to some markets, adding personnel to your development team is advisable to keep pace and deliver quality solutions on time.

Nonetheless, it is not as straightforward to augment a development team as it may seem by merely recruiting more members to a project. Unless proper attention is given to factors such as lack of expertise, cost overruns, or even communication breakdown, they could easily jeopardize your team-building aspirations. Most companies lament the inability to fill up crucial technical positions in their structures or end up overworking existing teams, hence creating constraints that hinder growth. 

The positive aspect is that you may add to your development team without being inundated. By implementing three basic procedures—determining requirements and outlining responsibilities, identifying the appropriate extension model, and successfully assimilating additional team members—you can grow your tear effortlessly, maintaining your projects’ timelines and enabling expansion at the same time. Thus, each of these steps will be covered in this guide, along with some tips to assist you in meeting such an objective as extending one’s development team.

Step 1: Assess Your Needs and Define Roles

Adding new members to your development team is a step that should not be rushed. It is important to first evaluate your existing position. If there’s no grasp of your team’s competencies, the directions it’s coming or diffs in load, recruiting more individuals, could be harmful due to inefficiencies or overlaps in duties. The needs analysis will eliminate the random expansion of the team, which can be very counterproductive as it will mostly serve to complicate processes instead of corrective measures.

Identify Core Gaps

Determine the current capabilities of your team. Which skills are available and which ones are not? Evaluate the current progress of work and identify the cause of the delays—be it the insufficient number of front-end developers, database designers, or QA engineers. This is also the time to forecast future needs. Are there new changes in technology that your team has not exploited but which you will require expertise in? Your team may be highly skilled in creating mobile applications but your forthcoming projects will include artificial intelligence, blockchain, and other niche markets.

Take into account not only the present situation prevailing in your organization but also the objectives which are to be achieved in the distant future. For instance, if your organization seeks to grow into new regions or enlarge the existing products, you may require extra personnel with particular skills such as localization or scaling the cloud.

Define Specific Roles

After pinpointing the primary deficiencies, the next action is to outline the positions that are to be filled in specific terms. Unclear job descriptions can result in the overlap of skills among team members who tend to perform the same duties or wasted resources if project goals do not align with the roles. For instance, in case the current team of back-end developers is overworked, employing an additional developer alone may not work. It is possible that a developer who understands database optimization or API integration could be required to relieve the burden.

It is also important to establish clear roles about expectations from the onset. It helps avoid any kind of misunderstanding and helps new members assuage the team’s performance from the onset. For instance, think about how the newly created roles will relate to the current members of the team. Do they create a hierarchy, where members assume leadership roles, or are they more autonomous individuals who can operate without overlap of jurisdiction? Establishing definitions of roles from the very beginning allows not only for the completion of team tasks but also for the streamlining of the orientation of new members in the team.

Skill Set vs. Cultural Fit When Building a Development Team Extension

A mismatch in cultural fit

Certainly, specialized knowledge is essential, however, it is equally important to ascertain that all new arrivals are a good cultural fit in the organization. This is highly so if you are scaling the team with external resources eg. freelancers, remote developers, or outsourcing partners. A mismatch in cultural fit often results in communication challenges, interruptions in the workflow, and even conflict between individuals which in turn delays the projects.

It takes a lot of effort and thinking to consider factors such as the skill set and the cultural fit. It is normal to want to go for the most technically skilled candidate, but you also need to consider if their working approach fits the team. Can they adjust to how the team works? Are they team players or lone wolves? Such factors can play a central role in determining the successful reinforcement of a new team.

Tools for Needs Assessment

comprehensive evaluative approach for team extension

As a means of performing a comprehensive evaluative approach, it is recommended to utilize existing tools that can assist in recognizing the problem and ranking the positions. Among effective tools for the control of present workloads, timelines, and team capacity, project management applications, including Jira, Trello, or Asana are the best suited. Such a system lets you see your team in operation and helps immediately recognize areas that are lacking resources or that are behind schedule.

When it comes to evaluating the interaction within teams and their communication, services such as Slack or MS Teams are not devoid of relevance. In situations where your current team communicates poorly, expanding the team without addressing the concerns that lead to ineffectiveness will only aggravate the situation. Besides enabling interaction among resources, these tools also point to the dichotomies existent in these interactions which prepare you for the incorporation of new resources into the team.

Lastly, instruments such as LinkedIn Recruiter or specialized recruitment services like Toptal or Upwork can help you source diverse talent that meets the technical requirements as well as the culture you are looking for. Such platforms allow you to look for people who possess skills at predetermined levels, which avails matching the targeted individual suited for the role you have defined.

Step 2: Choose the Right Extension Model

Once you have taken stock of your needs and outlined the roles needed in your development squad, the next major task is selecting the proper extension model. Aspects like budget, project size, or time constraints, for example, determine whether it is best to recruit within the organization or hire external help. This is because each of these options has its merits and demerits and so a choice should be made based on what policies and objectives of the company would be met best.

In-House Expansion vs. External Support

In-House Expansion vs. External Support in software development

The priority decision you have to make is whether to grow the existing in-house team or look out for assistance externally.

The control of team dynamics, processes, and management of their work on long-term projects is of greater extent to in-house expansion. Progress in the implementation of undertaken tasks makes it easier to observe and integrate new employees into the corporate culture. On the other hand, hiring and training individuals working in the company takes time and money, especially when it comes to very narrow skills. It also incurs additional expenditures with long-term implications like salaries, benefits, and training.

By contrast, External support offers more scope for flexibility. It allows you to increase the headcount quicker than the process of hiring full-time employees would permit. External resources such as freelancers, staff augmentation, or outsourcing can help potential niche or short-term positions without the need for one to make a long-term commitment. However, the managing challenges of an external team extend to the associated communication issues, time zones, and reduced control of the work process.

Types of Extensions

Using different team extension services comes with the involvement and skill required, therefore a list of options is available.

1. Dedicated Teams

A dedicated team is a complete external development team brought in to complete a defined project or a set of projects.

A dedicated team is a complete external development team brought in to complete a defined project or a set of projects. This team is considered an object that is an extension of the house and possesses an internal team, however, this team usually works from a different location. Dedicated teams are best when there is a need for several developers or when entire projects can be outsourced, yet control is still ensured to a high degree. 

Pros:

  • A complete, well-structured team capable of carrying out a wide range of activities.
  • Quicker completion of the assignment since they are exclusively working on your project.
  • Flexible, to increase or reduce the number of team members depending on the demands of the project.

Cons:

  • This could be expensive, particularly concerning extended durations of the work.
  • In this regard, effective management needs strong communication and clear details which can make the management of the projects very time-consuming.

2. Staff Augmentation

Staff augmentation refers to the process of supplementing the existing development team with individual developers or specialists.

Staff augmentation refers to the process of supplementing the existing development team with individual developers or specialists. These external resources work alongside the company’s in-house developers to help cover certain areas that may lack expertise or capacity. This model works well when more hands are needed for a specific project period or specialized skills that the current team does not possess.

Pros:

  • The team can be scaled up or down by the different works or stages of the project. 
  • More control remains with the organization since augmented personnel are embedded within the organization’s existing work team.

Cons:

  • Assimilating new people into current processes will call for rigorous management. 
  • It may lead to inefficiency where there are no well-defined roles and responsibilities.

Also, read: Staff Augmentation vs Managed Services: 8 Key Differences

3. Freelancers

contract-based talent for short-term projects

The emphasis is on the reason why freelancers are recruited in hiring contract-based talent that can assist on short-term projects or in carrying out specific tasks. This model of work is very convenient and economical in the case of small projects or when specific skills are required.

Pros:

  • Short-term engagements or one-off assignments are economical and appropriate. 
  • There is a deep bench for particular skills.

Cons:

  • Freelancers have limited commitment and availability as they handle multiple clients at the same time. 
  • Due to the nature of less oversight and accountability, it results in delays and failure to meet project objectives.

4. Outsourcing

Outsourcing is the practice of giving the management of an entire project or a portion of it to another agency.

Outsourcing is the practice of giving the management of an entire project or a portion of it to another agency. This approach is advantageous when the internal team is overwhelmed or when the task requires certain skills that the team does not have.

Pros:

  • Permits concentrating on primary business processes while entrusting a project to a third-party vendor.
  • Opportunity to access diverse competencies and technologies.
  • Can potentially be more affordable, particularly in the case of overseas outsourcing.

Cons:

  • Lower levels of direct supervision in the implementation of a given project.
  • There are possible dangers associated with communication, quality control, and ownership of ideas.

Also, read: IT Outsourcing for Small Business: An In-Depth Guide for 2024

Cost and Scalability Factors

Your selection of a model extension will also be influenced by financial considerations and the need for future expansion. Adding internal capacity, while providing maximum control, is usually the costliest form of growing one’s business since the long-term costs – benefits, training, and infrastructure for example – can sometimes be exorbitant. It is however a worthy approach if you are looking to expand shortly and of course if financial provisions have been diagramed for such an endeavor.

In contrast, external resources provide better scalability and in some instances, at a much lower price. The use of freelancers and staff augmentation makes it easy to scale up quickly without the burden of long-term obligations. Outsourcing and dedicated teams, although more costly in the beginning, have the potential to cut costs in the long run by allowing faster time to market for the given expertise.

Step 3: Integrate and Manage Your Extended Team Effectively

After you have selected the right type of model to add to your development team, the next important thing is the integration and management of the new members. Proper onboarding procedures, communication strategies, and project management processes should be in place to make sure that both the in-house, as well as the offshore teams, work together efficiently.

Onboarding and Knowledge Transfer

Onboarding and Knowledge Transfer

To ensure that your extended team members acclimatize to the work environment in the shortest time possible, an efficient onboarding practice is required. It doesn’t matter whether you are bringing in fresh in-house employees or outside resources such as freelancers or augmented teams, the first days define how the rest of the period will look like. Workers should be oriented on their positions, the project objectives, and the instruments they will need to utilize.

Begin by making available essential views like, but not limited to, the project plan, technical specs, and coding standards. If your team works on some software development, then other new developers should understand the code, system architecture, and other tools utilized by the team. 

To achieve knowledge transfer, you may want to think about formal or informal training sessions. Stimulate the core team in sharing knowledge about previous efforts including but not limited to problems faced and internal processes so that newcomers can get up to speed with active projects as quickly as possible. 

Communication Strategies

Every successful software team extension is built around clear and consistent communication

Every successful software team extension is built around clear and consistent communication. To avoid and deal with any potential problems, it is important to open the communication channels between your core and extended teams from the very beginning.

It is very important to use collaboration tools to make communication as effective as possible. With the likes of Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom, team members who work in different locations are integrated through instant messaging and video calls. Similarly, Project management application tools like Jira, Trello, or Asana ensure that all the team members are aware of the respective task, the due date, and the status of the task.

Regularly scheduled touchpoints and expectations concerning the frequency of communication are key. Daily or weekly stand-ups and reviews ensure that all team members remain synchronized with project objectives and deadlines. 

Fostering Team Spirit

spirit of the team is one of the most important aspects of teamwork

Promoting and sustaining the spirit of the team is one of the most important aspects of teamwork, especially in the case of large teams where a lot of the team members are either offsite or external hires. A feeling of oneness and teamwork among every team member will greatly aid in bringing the extended team together with the in-house team.

One of the best ways to develop a cohesive team that works well together is to promote both internal and external team members working together in harmony. This can involve having members of two different teams execute the same responsibilities, exchange ideas, or even engage in an activity such as reviewing each other’s code. It facilitates the exchange of information and builds bonds between the teams.

Conclusion

There is no need for anxiety regarding the enrichment of your development team as long as the right procedure is adhered to. In this case, only three easy steps: evaluation and specification of your requirements, selection of the appropriate development team extension model, and deployment and administration of the herein extended team will enable you to effectively scale your team to realize its purpose. 

It is time to evaluate your team’s needs and begin drafting strategies for your expansion. Be it a request for short-term help or scalability over time, following these steps will ensure that you create a solid and unified team of developers who can cope with increased demand.

With the dynamic shift in technology, the hybrid model which is a combination of internal sources and external resources is gaining momentum. These flexible extensions of teams help firms with the necessary agility to up or downscale as the environment dictates, thus ensuring survival in a cut-throat environment.