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Software Development Staff Augmentation – How ChampSoft Can Help
Staff augmentation is one of the most popular buzzwords in the IT job world. Throughout ChampSoft’s many years of experience, we’ve helped hundreds of clients augment local teams with dedicated developers. However, it’s important to understand what it means and what the benefits are to ensure that it works for your brand.
What’s Staff Augmentation?
Staff augmentation is a great ‘on-demand’ software outsourcing strategy where you hire tech resources externally based on the skill sets they offer. They cover the necessary positions in the team permanently or temporarily and are an extension of your software staff.
Staff Augmentation is a common strategy within software development due to the process-driven nature of software development and the universality of programming languages.
Staff Augmentation offers the advantage of rapid response, bringing in new ideas and perspectives, reduced HR overhead and the ability to hire very specific skills.
Staff Augmentation can work either as a program built on fixed or flexible terms and conditions. It can work as a ‘bridge to hire’ for software developers – in other words a low-risk, short-term approach to a longer-term investment that provides proof-of-concept.
With staff augmentation services, you can choose candidates that fit your requirements and extend the augmented team whenever necessary. Various companies provide staff augmentation, and ChampSoft is one of them. Vendors can help you find skilled technical resources to add to the in-house development teams on a short-term or long-term basis.
This type of outsourcing service comes from an external source and is used on a contractual basis to boost the skills and knowledge of the in-house team. The strategy requires you to figure out the existing staff’s capabilities and define the other skills needed from the team members.
These resources are then employed by the vendor (ChampSoft), which makes it easier to hire full-time people without the liabilities and costs involved, such as adding your profile to a job board like Indeed. The team works well together, and you get what you need in regards to software development.
How does Staff Augmentation work?
The Staff Augmentation process is as follows:
- Evaluate the skills and time required to compete a project (ChampSoft can support this if required)
- Evaluate the skills and availability of existing staff
- Determine what additional skills and availability is required
- Agree terms and cover NDAs with ChampSoft for Staff Augmentation
- Onboard ChampSoft team members
- Ongoing project management
Are Staff Augmentation Services Right For You?
Staff augmentation could be suitable for app development and software development if:
- You’ve already got engineers working on the software project in a local office and want to extend the team to have programmers develop other parts of the idea. With that, you must hire a team of three to eight tech professionals, and there’s no local talent within your market. Ultimately, local recruitment takes too long and has various risks involved to make it a non-viable option.
- You’re developing a product or software with a team of programmers and want to add more engineers to your team. Since you can’t find them in your country or area, you want to extend the search to others.
- Overall, you cooperate with an outsourcing company to focus on software development, but the model doesn’t fit your needs. It’s crucial to talk to the team directly and daily, and you want to be well-acquainted with the remote programmers so that they feel like they’re part of a local team. Alternatively, you may require a software project manager to be your voice when you aren’t available.
Types of Software Teams
An agile software development team requires the right people. Overall, the difference between classic development and an agile team methodology is the emphasis on communication. That way, every team lead can know what each new team member is doing. This assists with exchanging tasks and ensures that each person is using their best skills.
The agile methodology is iterative; the roles of people on agile teams could change based on the goals. Projects with an agile structure require a Scrum master and can be part of these teams:
Generalist
This option is best for clear tech stacks in small projects. A team has universal members who perform different tasks, transfer them to each other, and know the big picture. Overall, they handle one project at a time.
Specialist
Members of this team are experts in various areas. They focus on creative solutions and innovative products with a streamlined user interface. Overall, they are better than a traditional development team and focus solely on the project’s success.
Hybrid
A hybrid team works well for many projects and features the common project team structure that all agile methodologies use. They take your business objectives and use generalists and specialists to get the job done right.
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Software Development Team Roles
We know how hard project development can be. Overall, the teams focus on doing the right thing, focusing on the project requirements, and using your business strategy to create software.
Your team size depends on what you’re trying to do and whether you want cross-functional teams or something else. Project success is based on such a team structure as the agile one because team performance instead of individual performance is used.
Unlike a traditional team, you might have complex, high-quality systems and require multiple people to make it work. We can assist you! Please call to schedule an appointment today.
Team Members You Need
You will require business or project managers to start on any project, but there are other team members to consider, such as a software engineer. Such a person works on the technical aspects while project managers handle other components, and a software architect chooses the right platforms and tools to use.
Business Analyst
A business analyst understands your business processes and translates the customer’s needs into requirements. We can help you dive deeper into your workflows to determine what you need and want.
Product Owner
This person is responsible for the evolution and vision of the product. Overall, they ensure that the final product meets your requirements and can be your initial point of contact.
Project Manager
Software project management is crucial, and the project manager makes sure that your product is delivered within budget and on time. They also motivate and manage the software team.
UI/UX Designer
This person transforms your vision into a user-friendly design. With that, they create user journeys to get the best experience and conversion rates.
Software Developer
Overall, this person focuses on the development process and works with talented engineers to stabilize the product.
Software Testing Engineer
Software engineers make sure that the application does what it should. Along with software engineering, you need a quality assurance engineer to work out the bugs.
Data Scientists
The ability to access and manipulate big data is an increasing part of finding a competitive advantage in today’s tech society. A Data Scientist will collect and analyse large sets of data in order to draw trends and ultimately solve complex problems.
Statisticians
Statisticians work closely with data scientists. Their role is to compile and interpret data, and communicate results with clarity ensuring they are adding value. ChampSoft are natural and tenacious problem solvers, and statisticians are the keenest of them all.
ML Experts
ML stands for Machine Learning; an ML expert will be able to create machine learning solutions by developing algorithms which are able to learn and predict.
Industry Experts
ChampSoft are sector agnostic. We work across a vast number of sectors. So over time we have built an enviable expertise in these sectors. Where possible, we will support your project team by adding our our industry expertise.
Unlike a traditional team, you might have complex, high-quality systems and require multiple people working as a whole team to make it work. We can assist you! Please call to schedule an appointment today.
Staff Augmentation Compared to Other Models
Staff Augmentation Development Team
With the staff augmentation model, you’ve got an opportunity to choose your candidates personally and manage the augmented teams with the methods you like most. In a sense, we take over the administrative and organizational hassles, and you focus on your core responsibilities. This means you’re collaborating with the software teams as one.
Managed Services
With the outsourcing model, the company handles all aspects of the software development needs. This includes building a team of their developers and managing all processes. You don’t require in-house programmers. Though this is excellent for some businesses, it doesn’t work for all of them. That is why we can be your software development partner through staff augmentation or managed services.
Own R&D Center
If you want to add 40+ professionals to your team, it might be wise to establish an R&D center in a country with favorable business environments and a bigger talent pool. However, this requires you to understand the legal systems of the country, cultural specifics, and much more.
Advantages of Staff Augmentation
Here are some benefits of staff augmentation:
High Productivity Levels
Staff augmentation allows for more productivity because the development team is focused on a single project with their work time. In contrast, a project outsourcing team might handle various projects simultaneously. Since we work for you and provide you with a team of experts, they follow your vision and are dedicated and motivated. Furthermore, staff augmentation is a great ·way of acquiring very specific skills if they are needed to contribute to project success.
IP Rights Security
From the beginning of cooperation with the dedicated teams, you own all IP rights.
Flexibility
Staff Augmentation is a hugely flexible solution because:
- There’s more access to a talent pool of software engineers, including UI/UX designers or front-end developers.
- It’s easier to replace a person on the development team. Overall, the talent pool is big. With that, when you use a partner like ChampSoft, you’re not spending more money for changeovers.
- Staff Augmentation is a solution to tackling the peak in demand for skills associated with large projects
- Staff Augmentation is a flexible way to quickly increase and decrease numbers without associated HR red tape
- Staff Augmentation does not take time to implement and therefore can help a company gain a competitive edge by being quick to market
Cost Efficiency
Staff augmentation offers a transparent cost structure. You’re not worried about the organizational or administrative expenses, such as workstations and office space. Instead, you pay one fee, and we handle everything else. That gives you more time to focus on your business goals.
Low Risk
By its nature, Staff Augmentation is less risky than investing in a long-term permanent staffing solution. Neither is it a new solution – it is a tried and tested part of what a customer software development organisation offers.
How to Succeed with Team Augmentation
- Choose the right vendor to offer remote developers a separate team room with the proper facilities. At ChampSoft, our teams all have rooms with your branding to help integrate with in-house developers.
- Ensure that remote developers feel the effect of being on a local team. Some clients like to install “windows to the client.” You can set up a camera in the team’s room, and a screen shows what’s happening in the local office.
- Ask your vendor if they’ve got professionals who can help you collaborate efficiently. At ChampSoft, we’ve got Client/HR managers to work beside the developers and reduce the risk of misunderstandings.
Our Services
ChampSoft is headquartered in the USA and follow all of the compliance requirements and legislation that this means. We are an established, ISO audited organisation who employ colleagues for the long-term, and in whom we invest time and training.
We understand that consistency is key when it comes to staff augmentation. When we provide you with an individual or team member to augment your own team, they will likely be with you for the entirety of your project. We ensure we always have shadow developers in place just in case a contingency is required to guarantee continuity.
We offer flexible staff augmentation solutions, whether you’re interested in hiring one or twenty software development professionals. Your engineers work full-time on the product’s development with no other projects to distract them. You can even manage the developers or send them to the in-house engineering manager so that they feel like part of your team!
You can also use our staff augmentation facility to follow on from any web application or portal that we have designed for you. For instance, you can outsource the maintenance of your web app to our augmentation team.
Along with the ability to extend your local team, ChampSoft offers other services, such as consulting, testing, and many others.
The specific benefits of working with ChampSoft for Staff Augmentation are as follows:
- Access to a ChampSoft Software Visionary
- Experience of Staff Augmentation
- Experience of project and skill evaluation
- Experience of many sectors
- Credibility
- Accreditation
- Guaranteed team-working ethic
- Guaranteed problem-solving mentality
- A seamless fit with your existing staff
The Process at ChampSoft
ChampSoft understand that software development is a highly-skilled sector; our accreditation and training programmes ensure that you will be able to access highly-skilled workers. ChampSoft employees work at the bleeding-edge of software development, so are perfectly positioned to provide a trickle-down effect in terms of knowledge and expertise. Here is a quick overview of our process:
Tell Us What You Need
Just tell us what you’re looking for, such as requirements and expectations. Start by hiring one person or build a fully cross-functional team.
Interview Developers and Hire Them
Based on the requirements you set forth, our recruiters find appropriate candidates and review the project requirements with them. Then, we offer you the most relevant ones to speak to. From there, you can interview them yourself to find the right skills.
Start Working
We supply the developers with workstations in one of our offices. From there, the experts offer all-around onboarding processes and administrative tasks. ChampSoft employees that are available through Staff Augmentation are natural problem solvers that will enhance your current team’s ability to overcome software development challenges.
Get Ongoing Support
You get an HR/Client manager who works alongside the augmented team of developers and helps you create a productive relationship with the augmented team.
Why Should You Augment Your Team with ChampSoft?
ChampSoft understands that software development isn’t easy. Therefore, our staff augmentation model lets you choose from various outsourced talent to complement your current team. With that, we offer constant support so that everything runs smoothly.
You pay only for the professionals your hire, so it doesn’t matter how many you must interview to get what you need.
Now is the time to augment your in-house team with remote teams to handle your upcoming software projects. Let ChampSoft help! Contact us today to get started.