Offshore software development involves hiring technically skilled, remote talents from far-off countries at significantly lower production costs. This concept has gained popularity primarily because of the need for more skilled talents. However, to find the right talent for your project in offshore countries like India, you must find the right partner to source them. Conducting a comprehensive evaluation of potential offshore software development companies is crucial to make an informed decision.
The following article lists the top 17 questions that clients ask sales representatives to gather important insights on an offshore software development company before hiring them.
1. Cost and Budget
A critical aspect of the decision-making process includes understanding and comparing the costs of offshore hiring with those of maintaining an in-house team. The common cost and budget-related questions that clients ask sales representatives are as follows:
A. What are the cost savings compared to hiring an in-house team?
Hiring an offshore development team saves costs significantly compared to an in-house team. Some areas where you can save by opting for offshore development include:
- Minimized operational expenses: Offshore developers collaborate and work remotely. Therefore, you can save on additional office infrastructure, hardware, or software for the team.
- Reduced labor costs: Offshore locations like India offer developers at substantially lower rates. This is because their labor costs are lower compared to other countries. For example, the cost of hiring a full-stack developer in India is lower than in the USA.
- Scaling flexibility: You can scale an offshore team flexibly based on project requirements that do not require long-term financial commitments. Therefore, you can hire offshore developers till the deliverables are met.
- Team management and training: Unlike in-house teams, offshore developers are pre-trained for end-to-end solution development from inception to deployment. Hence, you can save on training costs with offshore software development teams.
B. How is the pricing structure calculated?
Offshore development services offer engagement models based on which the cost of your project is determined. Some of the most common engagement models include:
- Fixed price model: The fixed pricing model suits projects with well-defined deliverables and scopes that will not change during development. Offshore development companies use this model to estimate the total project cost estimate based on the project’s specifications and requirements. However, you may face challenges accommodating changes during the project course.
- Time and material model: The hourly rate model generates a bill based on the offshore development team’s hours dedicated to your project. This model works best for projects with changing, long-term requirements or unclear project scopes since it enables flexibility in accommodating additions and modifications. However, in this model, failure to effectively manage the offshore development team can lead to budget overruns.
- Hybrid model: In a hybrid pricing model, onsite and offshore teams work together to eliminate time zone differences, seamless collaboration, and on-time project completion.
- Retainer model: In the retainer model, you must pay a monthly fixed fee for maintaining a certain number of developers or completing a section of work within a specified time (usually 18 months). This model ensures available resources and a predictable budget that works best for long-term partnerships or ongoing projects.
C. What are the additional costs involved besides developer salaries?
Apart from salaries, there are additional costs that an offshore software development company may charge for your project:
- Communication tools: The pricing structure can include additional subscription costs for specific collaboration and communication platforms.
- Compliance and legality: It can include associated expenses related to complying with the industrial laws and regulations.
- Project management: The structure can include the salary of a project manager for coordination and overseeing the team and project.
- Technology: It may include supplementary expenses for software licenses and development tool subscriptions.
- Quality assurance: It may include additional costs related to bug fixing, testing, and quality assurance of the solution.
Therefore, reconfirm with providers whether they include the above costs within their comprehensive offshore development services.
2. Communication and Collaboration
Clients ask the following questions to confirm an offshore team’s interacting and problem-solving capabilities.
A. What are the preferred communication channels and methods for offshore projects?
Offshore development teams use the following communication channels and methods for effective communication and collaboration:
- Email platforms like Gmail, iCloud Mail, and Yahoo! Mail for formal communication and document sharing.
- Instant messaging platforms like Microsoft Teams or Slack for prompt clarifications and quick updates.
- Project management tools like Asana, Jira, and Trello for real-time task tracking and progress updates.
- Shared document platforms like Google Drive or SharePoint for collaborative document editing and storage.
- Video conferencing tools like Google Meet, Webex Meetings, and Zoom for smooth connections and meetings with remote team members.
B. How to overcome time zone differences while collaborating with an offshore team?
An offshore development team follows the following strategies to overcome those time zone challenges and ensure efficient collaboration:
- Agile methodology: Offshore teams follow an agile process, which increases project visibility, improves team performance, and aligns the team on the project progress.
- Asynchronous communication strategy: Offshore teams follow an asynchronous or delayed communication strategy to collaborate efficiently with you, irrespective of your time zone.
- Time zone adjustment or overlapping hours: You can ask an offshore team to work as per your time zone if you and your offshore team’s time zone partially overlap. In the case of distinct time zones, offshore teams schedule collaborative work and live meetings during overlapping hours.
- Routine scheduled updates: Offshore development teams create timelines comprising deadlines, progress discussions, and query resolution to keep your team aligned and informed on the project status.
- Using time zone management tools: Offshore teams also invest in time zone management tools like Timezone.io, World Clock Meeting Planner, and World Time Buddy to schedule transnational meetings.
C. How to ensure clear and consistent communication?
An offshore development team must implement the following strategies for clear and consistent communication:
- Define roles and responsibilities clearly: Offshore companies define each team member’s roles and responsibilities, catering to your tech needs for real-time updates and query resolution.
- Documentation: Offshore teams maintain thorough documentation of discussions, decisions, and changes to keep everyone on the same page.
- Establish concrete communication protocols: Offshore software development teams have tangible communication formats, frequencies, and modes for improved communication.
- Feedback mechanisms: Offshore teams implement a feedback system to share thoughts and feedback on the project efficiently.
D. What collaboration strategy should be followed for project requirements, design, and development?
An offshore development team implements the following strategies for effective project requirements, design, and development:
- Requirement gathering and analysis: An offshore team starts the project by gathering and analyzing your requirements. They engage in detailed discussions to understand project objectives, scope, and specifications effectively.
- Prototyping: The team creates design mockups using trustworthy prototyping tools like Figma or Adobe XD for real-time design collaboration and feedback.
- Code reviews and quality assurance: An offshore team uses tools like GitHub for efficient code sharing, review, and version control.
- CI/CD: They also implement Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines for streamlined development and deployment.
3. Team and Expertise
To ensure that team members’ experience and expertise align with their project requirements, clients ask the following questions:
A. How to assess if the offshore team’s experience and expertise fit a specific industry or technology stack?
To figure out if an offshore development team’s industrial experience and technical skills will determine whether they can do justice to your project, you can:
- Analyze certifications: Review the team’s training and certifications to understand which new technologies they are proficient in and how they can implement them in your solution.
- Examine their portfolio: Examine an offshore software development company’s previous projects and case studies relevant to your industry.
- Conduct technical interviews: To ensure that an offshore team possesses expertise in popular and emerging technology stacks, you can engage in detailed discussions on technology stack expertise.
- Request references: Find the company’s prior clients related to your industry and seek feedback from past clients in similar industries.
B. How can an offshore company’s recruitment process and retention policies be assessed to understand talent quality?
An offshore software development company usually implements the following recruitment strategies to hire and retain talent:
- Strict selection criteria: Ask about job sites the company uses to source candidates. Next, enquire how the company screens resumes to shortlist candidates. The source and screening process reveals a lot about the quality of talents you may get.
- Technical assessments and interviews: To validate candidates’ credentials and qualifications, offshore companies conduct a series of interviews. The more thorough the process, the more refined talents get selected.
- Training and continuous learning: Offshore companies often invest in certifications, training sessions, workshops, and other development programs. This investment not only retains top talent but improves their skills as well.
- Evaluate performance metrics: Understand how an offshore software development company measures and manages employee performance to recognize and reward high-performing talents.
- Employee tenure: Check average employee tenure to assess the retention and stability of the offshore software development company’s technical developers.
- Employee engagement: Inquire about the company’s initiatives to keep employees satisfied and motivated.
C. Will a dedicated offshore development team be assigned to a software development project?
Most offshore development companies assign a dedicated team to every project that understands the project goals and follows a focused development approach. Based on project requirements, companies set up a team comprising user interface (UI) designers, developers, project managers, testers, and other necessary roles. A dedicated offshore development team ensures effective collaboration and successful project outcomes.
4. Project Management and Security
Clients ask the following questions to assess an offshore development company’s project management capabilities and security protocols in detail:
A. What project management methodologies should an offshore development team use?
An offshore company uses one of the following popular project management methodologies for efficient project planning, management, and execution:
- Agile: Agile is an adaptable and flexible methodology that ensures continuous delivery. Therefore, it works great for projects with evolving requirements.
- Kanban: Kanban, another Agile framework, balances demands with available resources for improved work and bottleneck management.
- Scrum: Scrum, a subset of Agile, uses short sprints for quicker and more frequent delivery of complex software development projects.
- Waterfall: Waterfall offers lesser flexibility compared to Agile methods. However, many projects with well-defined requirements use its sequential approach.
B. How to track the progress of the project and measure success?
An offshore development team follows the following strategies to track and measure your project’s progress and success accurately:
- Agile ceremonies: Offshore developers display their past sprints during retrospectives so that you can analyze areas of improvement in the project.
- Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Offshore developers define KPIs related to project timelines, quality, and budget for streamlined offshore development processes.
- Use version control systems: Offshore developers provide access to version control systems like Git to monitor code commits and branches.
C. What security protocols should offshore developers follow for data security?
Offshore teams adhere to the following security protocols to keep your project secure:
- Compliance with standards: The offshore software development team complies with ISO/IEC 27001 and other relevant data security standards to prevent legal complications in your country and industry.
- Data backup and recovery plans: Offshore developers use secure cloud storage or offsite backup solutions as data backup procedures to keep a backup of your essential data in secured locations. Furthermore, they follow business continuity planning or disaster recovery protocols for quick data restoration during a data breach or loss.
- Encryption and user access: Offshore teams use encryption protocols like Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) for transmitting data in transit and at rest. They also use access control policies like authorized personnel access, multi-factor authentication, and regular password updates. These protocols prevent unauthorized parties from accessing your data and improve data security.
- Regular security audits: Offshore teams conduct regular security audits like code reviews, penetration testing, and vulnerability assessments to identify and resolve potential vulnerabilities in your project. They also implement continuous monitoring tools to promptly detect potential breaches and unusual activities.
D. How should an offshore software development company handle intellectual property rights?
A reliable offshore development company implements three strategies for handling intellectual property rights effectively. They will clearly outline a project’s intellectual property ownership by stating them in the contract and signing Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Furthermore, they will conduct regular legal reviews to ensure your solution adheres to intellectual property laws and regulations. They will also use secure development practices to prevent unauthorized access or leaks of codes and ideas.
5. Other Concerns
Clients also ask the following questions:
A. What are the legal and regulatory considerations for working with an offshore team?
Some additional legal and regulatory considerations that you must take note of before working with an offshore team include:
- Employment laws and worker rights: Consider worker benefits, employee rights, working conditions, and other employment laws in the offshore team’s country. Furthermore, ensure that the team follows ethical and legal employment practices.
- Export controls and trade sanctions: Consider if there are any applicable export controls or trade sanctions that can affect offshore team collaboration and technology transfer. In such cases, the offshore team must comply with international trade laws to avoid penalties.
- Jurisdictional laws and regulations: Compare the laws of the offshore team’s country and yours to assess how these differences impact contract enforcement and dispute resolution.
- Tax implications: Consider the applicable taxes of offshore hiring in your and the offshore team’s countries. Check the amount of tax you must pay from your project’s profits. You must also note any tax obligations related to international work that can arise in the future.
B. How do offshore development companies handle cultural differences and potential language barriers?
To handle cultural differences and potential language barriers, offshore development companies follow the following steps:
- Client-centric approaches: Offshore development teams analyze your communication and working styles to align their processes for effective collaboration.
- Cross-cultural project managers: They also engage project managers experienced in serving clients from your location to bridge cultural and linguistic gaps.
- Hiring multilingual staff: If you prefer to communicate in a language other than English, offshore software development agencies hire multilingual experts to act as a bridge between you and the offshore team for smooth communication and collaboration.
- Relocating to the client’s location: Offshore software development companies also offer co-located teams so that you can benefit from face-to-face interaction for your project.
- Intercultural communication training: Offshore developers often undergo specialized training to understand and respect your culture, norms, and practices.
C. What contingency plans does an offshore company have for unpredicted circumstances?
Offshore development firms include the following contingency plans in case of unforeseen events:
- Backup resources: Offshore development agencies maintain additional resources to address emergencies and unexpected demands. For example, an offshore web development company keeps a reserve pool of web developers during the sudden unavailability of a team member.
- Disaster recovery plans: They also have backup strategies and recovery systems across multiple locations to handle critical situations like data loss or breaches quickly and effectively.
- Flexible work arrangements: Offshore software developers adapt to altered/extended work schedules during unexpected changes and challenges.
- Risk assessment and management plans: Offshore teams conduct thorough risk assessments and develop mitigation strategies accordingly to handle project delays, regulation changes, technical risks, and more.
Conclusion
In the world of software development, offshore solutions are increasingly popular, offering cost-effective benefits and access to a diverse range of global expertise. In particular, offshore web development services have gained significant attention. There are now many high-quality companies offering a broad selection of excellent services, making it a highly attractive option for many businesses. However, the key to success lies in rigorous partner evaluation, clear communication strategies, robust project management, effective handling of cultural and language barriers, and more. This article has answered every possible question businesses like yours may have when deciding on the right offshore development service provider.
