Top-3 Software Development Outsourcing Issues: Causes & Solutions

Software development outsourcing is the most affordable and quick way to create and launch a startup project. However, most founders are wary of hiring an outside team after hearing dozens of failure stories. Overspending, overdue delivery, and poor quality are among the common complaints on Clutch.co and Upwork. But if you know what causes these issues, you can mitigate the risks and improve your chances of launching a successful project on time. Use our insights to choose the right team for custom software development.

Budget Creep

If IBM can underestimate the development budget by 1,600%, does it mean there’s no chance of launching a project without going broke? Unsurprisingly, running out of money is the second most common reason for startup failure. And mobile or web development can be the cause, even if initial estimates are well within the acceptable sum.

The most common causes of budget creep are:

1. Unrealistic expectations and estimates that make you believe you can get a quality product for next to nothing.
2. Non-existent project discovery with little to no effort spent on requirements elicitation and creating an SRS (system requirements specification).
3. Ever-changing requirements as a direct result of an absent SRS that add extra staff-hours to the timeline and drive up the cost.
4. The wrong choice of an engagement model (fixed price or time and material) for your project can cause overspending too.

One of the most efficient ways to avoid scope and budget creep is to spend more time on research and negotiations at the project’s onset. You may want to rush straight into development, but getting the development team to understand your business and clients’ needs should come first. Suppose you take the time to distill your idea into an MVP (minimum viable product), outline your requirements clearly, and stick with them. In that case, there’s little chance an experienced software development company will go over the estimated budget.

Overdue Delivery

You might have heard the sad story of a giant Airbus A380 that became obsolete before even hitting the market because of constant design and development delays. The same happens to one out of five startups that get outcompeted and go bankrupt before achieving success. While custom software development may take a few weeks to a few years, missing a launch deadline is more common than you can imagine.

Why can’t IT vendors meet deadlines?

1. Poor research and discovery are to blame once again, as insufficient information about the project leads to unrealistic timeline estimates and missed deadlines.
2. Poor project management with no real-time progress tracking and regular reports may also cause delays, as individual team members create bottlenecks and hold back the development process.
3. Insufficient technical skills and expertise that lower the budget may extend the development timeline with developers learning new technologies on the go and gaining new skills on your dime.

By now, you know the value of preliminary work, but it doesn’t stop at creating an SRS. Make sure the engineers working on your project have sufficient expertise by reviewing their portfolios or testing them. You should also develop a communication and project management framework that will work for you and the development team. Set up regular calls or video conferences to discuss the occurring issues and follow progress via an online project management system to ensure the development process stays on track. Getting a project manager to join the team pays off, though you can perform PM tasks on your own to save money, if not time.

Poor Quality

No software development company can promise perfect results, as even giants like Google and Facebook make million-dollar mistakes. While small and easily fixable errors are almost inevitable, persistent bugs that cause constant crashes and bad user experience can ruin your startup’s reputation from day one. It’s easy to blame incompetent developers, but low-quality code may stem from several sources, including:

1. Wrong choice of architecture and technology stack. If you can’t make these decisions, it pays to hire a senior-level software engineer to suggest the best solutions that will form the project’s foundation and define its performance in the long run.
2. Insufficient quality assurance (QA) management. Automated and manual testing should be present at every stage of agile development to ensure no bugs make it to the final product.
3. Lack of experience with the chosen technologies. When dealing with legacy systems or unique technology needs, you might have trouble finding software engineers with sufficient expertise, resulting in poor quality, overspending, and overdue delivery.

Like all other aspects of web development, high quality hinges on proper planning, management, and professional expertise. Your screening of potential technical partners should include a survey of the suggested technology stack and architecture solutions, along with QA practices, and a list of past projects that rely on your target languages or technologies.

Notice that the three most common software development outsourcing issues can be prevented if you do your homework before signing a contract. Do not think of the preliminary research and negotiations as a waste of time and resources, instead consider them to be an investment in a fast, efficient, and successful development process.

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels

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