In the fast-paced world of software development, organizations are constantly seeking innovative solutions to meet evolving market demands. Yet, despite the undeniable benefits of leveraging external development resources, misconceptions and myths often deter businesses from exploring this valuable avenue. In this blog, we’ll delve into some of the common myths surrounding external development resources. We are going to address these misconceptions head-on. Our aim is to empower organizations to make informed decisions and harness the full potential of external development partnerships. Let’s dispel the myths and embrace the opportunities that external development resources offer in today’s digital landscape.
Myth #1: My organization isn’t set up to work with external development resources.
Q: My organization doesn’t have enough domain or subject matter expertise to train external development resources.
A: No problem! Our organization has a wide variety of experts on the team. As a result, experts can be carefully matched based on areas of expertise. We also support a broad suite of technology components and coding languages to ensure we can jump right in. We also strongly prioritize documentation. This means after an engagement with VSE, your documentation can be used to better onboard new hires in the future.
“They provided great expertise in Product/Project Management and AWS infrastructure. On top of their expertise they also used the “Teach a man to fish” approach to ensure our team was equipped for success in the long run.”
-Product Executive in the Non-profit sector
Q: I don’t think external development resources would be a good fit as our culture thrives on real-time collaboration.
A: Real-time collaboration, and a commitment to quality, are top reasons that VSE focuses on connecting stateside talent with our clients. While most of our developers (and probably yours) prefer remote work, we align clients with experts in their timezone. This ensures work doesn’t start late or end early. That also means even if they can’t clink their coffee cups together, they can quickly jump on a zoom call, or collaborate via Slack in real-time.
Q: My team is focused on a deadline, we don’t have time to onboard external development resources.
A: External experts are accustomed to jumping in, and focus on delivering immediate value. A primary focus is not getting to know everyone at their new employer within 90 days. That can happen organically. That means resources can accelerate or improve projects that need to hit an immediate deadline. Projects will not delay or slow down projects unless it is required for quality.
VSE empowers 7X faster deployments on average for our clients
Q: We have legacy systems that aren’t documented and would be very difficult to test.
A: We have seen a wide range of tech stacks and system architectures. And unfortunately for the tech community, poor documentation is more common than not. However, this is an area where we shine, with plenty of testing expertise for legacy systems. Our development team is also accustomed to jumping into highly customized systems and continuing the build. Essentially, to make forward progress on your legacy system, someone is going to need to jump in eventually. For improved organizational stability, it’s ideal to have that someone be an expert accustomed to the challenge with a dedication to documentation.
Q: To execute successfully against our roadmap, someone will need to collaborate and communicate across our organization. We can’t see how that is possible with external development resources.
A: We’ve held every role within the software development lifecycle and know the ins and outs of each. This empowers us to not only execute each role, but also partner with other resources (internal or external) who may fill the role. We have served as product owners, scrum masters, project managers, DevOps, QA and more. We are happy to fill these roles again within your organization. But more importantly, we know what these roles need in order to be successful, so can serve as helpful partners to those team members.
Myth #2: My legal and finance teams won’t get onboard with external development resources.
Q: I don’t have the budget for external development resources.
A: Many clients have found working with VSE more affordable and flexible than hiring full time developers, without the long timelines for hiring and onboarding. Budgets stretch further by avoiding expenses for benefits, office space, and tools. Leaders can hire external development resources on a project-by-project basis. This avoids long-term salary commitments and ensures they only pay for the work they need when they need it.
Q: I can’t make a long term commitment as my business has been going through rapid transformation.
A: VSE is super flexible with contract lengths. In fact, we work with clients on agreements ranging anywhere from one month to twelve, based on the needs of their strategy. Many clients have found tremendous value in a 30 day sprint with VSE. In that time, we can determine what areas of the process may be slowing down delivery, and where we can make the biggest impact.
Q: We have extremely tight data security practices in place, so there is no way I could get this approved. The red tape around security forces us to only work with a short list of external preferred vendors.
A: We regularly work with auditors to ensure that we are compliant with all security guidelines. In fact, building a more compliant process is often why our team is brought in. Our track record speaks for itself, passing 100% of security audits to date. We can help security focused organizations reach their compliance goals, whether they are focused on public or financial audits.
VSE delivers 83% reduction in production incidents
Myth #3: I have tried using external development resources in the past, and got burned.
Q: I tried outsourcing tech resources in the past, and didn’t see the expected ROI on the engagement.
A: We get it. Even when we sat internally at corporations, we would hear the word “outsource” and have a bit of PTSD from poorly implemented projects. We have also found the same with many of our clients. We are frequently brought in to clean up what another large firm was not able to get off the ground. If you have been burned in the past, the concept of outsourced or external talent is likely not the cause, but the talent or partner that was applied to the initiative.
Proving ROI is a central tenet of how we do business. In fact, at the beginning of an engagement, we take a baseline of all metrics that are important to them. One example is increasing their release cycles. Then we provide regular updates on those key metrics through the contract length so they see the progress and the return as it’s occurring.
40% decrease in defect rates with one year
Q: An established provider quoted me the price for 20 or 30 resources to come in, but I don’t have the budget for such a large team.
A: We find that in most instances we recommend far fewer resources than other providers. This is simply because we believe our clients are better off with 2 or 3 experts that will go very deep with an organization, versus 20 to 30 specialists that fragment the work to be done. You probably don’t need an army, just 2 or 3 really qualified members of SWAT.
Likewise, we don’t focus on only the latest tools and try to shove them into a process. If your team can benefit from AI driven technology, we are prepared to help you implement it. But you may need something else.
Don’t let misconceptions force you to struggle in isolation
Debunking the myths surrounding external software product development is essential for organizations to make informed decisions. Leaders can embrace the opportunities that augmenting tech teams offer for scalability, cost-effectiveness, and access to specialized expertise. Misconceptions about augmented support, such as communication barriers, limited output, or long onboarding periods, are a symptom that you haven’t identified the right partner. That does not mean that external software product development isn’t a good fit for your organization.
It’s time to challenge outdated beliefs and recognize outsourcing as a strategic tool for driving innovation, accelerating growth, and achieving a competitive advantage in today’s dynamic business landscape. Don’t let myths hold you back—embrace external support and expertise and propel your organization towards success. Reach out and let’s discuss whether VSE is a good fit for your organization’s needs.