Outsourcing Software Development by Hiring Overseas
Software development is an arduous task that takes many coordinated man-hours. Businesses and entrepreneurs can often launch faster and cut costs by outsourcing computer programming to overseas workers. Taking this leap of faith can be difficult as many people don't like to let go of the control they have over the software development process. To make sure there are no unpleasant surprises, here are a few tips to ensure the outsourced programmers you hire deliver quality work and don't take advantage of you.
Reasons for Hiring an Overseas Programmer
There could be a variety of reasons why you need to hire a remote software developer to either build or contribute towards building your software.
- You're an entrepreneur who may not know how to program. Even if you're a business owner with programmers on staff, they might be better deployed on higher-level tasks while the outsourcers do the grunt work of coding.
- Time is of the essence. You may have a launch date fast approaching and you need all the help you can get coding your software.
- Lack of qualified programmers (at your desired price range). If your company is located far from a tech center, it may be difficult finding an appropriately qualified programmer to help build your software. Even companies located in regions with plenty of tech workers may not be able to afford qualified programmers without going overseas.
How to Hire an Overseas Programmer or a Software Development Partner
There are many online venues at which are located available outsourcing software companies charging affordable rates. These sites include Clutch.co, Extract.co, Upwork.com and others. You can use the search of outsourcing providers websites via the internet. Reliable outsourcing companies always pay attention to their digital presence.
Once you settle on which sites to target, you want to craft a job listing with a detailed description of the software you're building and what kinds of computer programming languages your outsourcer should be familiar with. Once you have at least 10 applicants, you can begin interviewing them to check if their programming skills, business models, and spirit are appropriate for your requirements.
Read about using the dedicated team outsourcing model
How to Make Sure No One Takes Advantage of You
We've all had the experience of purchasing something that didn't live up to what was advertised. Unfortunately, it's a common practice for outsourcers to be deceptive or even lie in their online resumes at these online job sites. It's best to view their advertised completed work projects with skepticism. For example, some outsourcers will take credit for an entire project which they've contributed very little to. Rather than trusting their resumes, ask them the scope of what they achieved on a particular project to assess how it matches up with your requirements. Once you find a few promising candidates, ask them to work on a short piece of code. You can break out a portion of your project and ask them to estimate how long it will take them to complete. If their answer is within your time frame expectations, hire them for a short coding job as a test to see how they do.
Make Sure Your Outsourced Programmers are Responsive
Only hire outsourcers who reply promptly. When you eventually hire a programmer, you'll want to get daily updates of where exactly they are in the project as well as daily builds from their updated source code. Communication is key when you're working with someone many time zones away. A poor response time during the interview or application process is a cue to move on to the next applicant.
You'll also want to make sure your programming candidates aren't already busy with other jobs. One benefit of using outsourcer marketplaces is that you can see directly on the worker's profile how many open jobs they're engaged in. If the programmer's attention is split across multiple projects, it will be harder for them to give you their undivided attention and deliver your project on time.
The best way to win this risk is working by dedicated development team model. If you work with a right partner it guarantees that your own dedicated team will work directly on you.
