Software projects can be messy, especially when it comes to staffing. Developers provided by one company end up reporting to project managers from a different company who, in turn, report to someone else, and everyone involved spends a lot of time just figuring out how to work together.
If you’ve struggled with running these chaotic teams, it may be time to try using a unified development team.
Gained efficiency
A unified project team that includes both developers and project managers from the same company is inherently more efficient and motivated than a team of random individuals from different companies.
This cohesive team can hit the ground running without having to figure out all the nuances of working together, because they’ve already been working together before they started the project. So there’s less ramp up time to start the actual work and it gets completed faster and at a higher quality than mixed teams.
More accountability
Unfortunately, mixed vendor teams often result in a lot of finger pointing and politics. When something goes wrong, there are several options for scape goats. Adding to that, there’s an army of individuals to talk to instead of a few points of contact. Overall, there’s simply more room for blame-shifting and conflict.
Using a unified team, even if it’s just for a specific piece of a bigger project, does away with a lot of these problems. If the team members all work for the same vendor, any problems that crop up can be solved quickly via a single point of contact and it’s easier for the project team to take accountability for their work.
Better fit
With traditional staff augmentation, what often happens is a company will call up a staffing firm and say something like “We need a Java developer.” and someone who’s an expert in Java comes out to their site to find that the problem that needs to be solved requires a hybrid set of skills. So the company has to go back to the staffing firm and ask for additional experts.
A unified project team solves this problem. Project managers can swap resources in and out to fit the right experts with the right problems without the business owners ever having to be involved. Developers involved full-time in the project have a pool of knowledge to call on if they need advice within their area of expertise or a bit of help from a different field.
If you are seeking a unified business partnership for your project or even would like to know more about this approach, let us know.
Leave A Comment