Published on May 18th, 2023
At iTechnolabs, we have been able to successfully establish expanded teams to serve our customers across the US and Canada. We can make our extended model to be useful for SMBs, startups, and large corporations to get the highest outcomes.
To assist you in navigating this extremely efficient model of outsourcing We’ve put together a guide to the creation of extended teams. It includes the best practices and suggestions to make it work.
What exactly does an extended team mean?
An extended development team isn’t dependent on a project. This means that when the project is finished it’s not a complete end. It’s more like a continualExtended collaboration between the internal team as well as the outside (sometimes or off-shore!) extended team.
It’s difficult to provide an exact definition of this model because different software development firms provide different versions. But extended teams do have several distinctive features that differentiate them in comparison to other outsourcing partnerships models:
- This extended group isn’t meant to take over the internal team: The idea is to complement the team’s internal resources by bringing in specific expertise and skills. The main technical and business expertise is in-house. The extension team works externally to fill the skill gap within your company.
- The work is divided among all Team members: You can be assured that the members of your extended team are as involved in creating your product as the in-house team. They work with your company and are in sync with your company’s culture to provide the best quality product.
- You are in complete control: The internal and external teams operate as a single unit. You can be assured that there is constant, clear communication between the team members.
Why do you need to hire an extended team of developers?
Here are the main benefits of the model of extended teams that makes it such a sought-after form of outsourcing collaboration.
1. Access to the top talent
In bringing on engineers offered by software development companies You can expand your pool of talent and make use of the resources that are otherwise unattainable. It’s not just about the talent, but it’s also about the appropriate conditions. The top providers take every effort to help nurture the developers.
For instance, At iTechnolabs, We invest heavily in the professional growth of our engineers, by providing them the opportunity to have a “growth budget” that they can use to study courses, buy books as well as attend conferences. We also hold weekly internal technical presentations to assist our developers in acquiring new abilities. Our projects enable them to tackle the challenges of a variety of sectors – which is a reason that boosts their professional development.
2. Scalability
It will take only two weeks to put together an extended team, in contrast to months if you hire locally. Once the team has been gathered and has begun creating your plan you can quickly increase or decrease the size to the needs of your project.
For instance, we first began working with an NYC-based firm with a single developer. After four years, our expanded team now includes five full-time developers that help the company achieve its objectives every single day.
Another example:
We’ve been working with the London-based advertising firm for some time and have always tailored the size of the team to their requirements. We initially offered them 4 developers. We reduced the team to two engineers in September. Then, in March 2019, we grew the team to six people.
3. In charge of hiring processes
Another benefit of the model of extended teams is that you can be involved in the hiring process from the beginning. Are you in search of experts? We provide vetted candidates for our clients to test and interview to be sure they’re a good ability and cultural fit. If the company has particular requirements, we’ll create experts starting from the ground up. The new team members must be able to seamlessly integrate with the core team, and placing the power into your hands is the best way to achieve that.
4. Simple setup and operation
The addition of a team to iTechnolabs’ service means that you’ll not have to deal with all the stress that comes with onboarding, setup, and operation. The technology partner will handle everything.
If, for instance, you work together with us you will be certain that the team members you choose to work with are in an incredibly comfortable, well-equipped workplace and are equipped to be successful on your project. Also, we offer our customers a management system that helps them monitor and manage the engineering work of the engineers.
5. Management flexibility
Because the extended team is an element of your business, You can manage your team members in any way you wish. You will be able to rely on direct communication between the team members; there is no need for intermediaries between your team and the developers. This allows you to keep the project momentum. You can inform developers of the problems directly and they’ll start working on them right away. At iTechnolabs, we often assign the project manager to an expanded team that acts as the process’s guardian and ensures that everything runs efficiently from our side.
6. Transparency in the allocation of resources
In the event of enhancing your in-house team by bringing in external experts, you just decide on a monthly fixed cost that covers salaries and operational expenses, bonuses, and other expenses. This makes it simpler to prepare your budget ahead of time and track the expenditure.
If you’re looking to maintain control over your development process and also introduce the expertise that you do not have in-house The Extended Team model could be right for you.
7. Adaptability
In the event of cooperation in the project model, we are accountable for the entire process of software development. We have a proven method that ensures high efficiency during the implementation of these projects.
However, every company is unique. The extended team model permits the integration of technical knowledge into the specific processes of the client.
Our team assigns a project coordinator who oversees the onboarding process, assists in mapping workflows, processes, and tools routines, and supports the team of developers in adapting to the specific way of working in conjunction with the team of the client within their organization.
How can you establish an expanded team?
- Planning
- Candidate screening
- Team onboarding
- Scaling
If you are hiring an additional team member, the service provider will ensure that every stage of the process is working for you (at least, that’s what we do in Sunscrapers).
1. Planning
Every collaboration begins by planning your team. Take into consideration the nature of your project as well as the expertise required for it. Do you have internal resources to help fill these gaps in knowledge? What skills would you prefer to acquire from an external source? We often assist our clients with this initial analysis. We begin by analyzing the development requirements and internal processes to build an appropriate staff for the job.
2. Candidate screening
Based on the analysis, we’ll present you with profiles of candidates who possess the required technical and soft abilities required for your specific project. They come from our employees that have completed our rigorous hiring procedure (BTW it’s just 3% of applicants pass!). So, you can rest assured that all applicants have been scrutinized and have the abilities that you’re seeking. If we present you with individuals who aren’t associated with our organization, we’ll always inform you of the situation.
3. Team onboarding
After you’ve selected the candidates then it’s time to form and join your team.
Because the extended development team becomes an integral component of your staff in-house they must adhere to the internal processes of your company. We can provide additional assistance with a designated project manager who serves as a guardian of the process.
We assist our clients to allocate roles within their teams so that it plays to the strengths of developers and ensures that they are invested in the development project. An extended team should also understand your entire lifecycle of software development.
The onboarding process assists in bringing the development team from across the globe with your processes, methods and practices, methodologies, and. We assist our clients in setting efficient workflows and choosing the most effective collaboration tools to link both teams.
4. Scaling
When the project’s requirements alter, we can adapt to the expanded team model. The team can be expanded by adding more developers or removing the engineers who you do not require (because they were only hired to develop a feature).
Hire an Extended Team on-demand From iTechnolabs
This extended model of teamwork provides an enormous benefit to businesses seeking top-quality abilities and experience. Team members work closely with one another to enhance internal processes within a short period to help run your business more efficiently.
This kind of model is transparent, flexible, reliable, and flexible.
Are you in search of more staff to enhance your team? Contact iTechnolabs. We’ve been able to successfully establish flexible and effective development teams for organizations across the world.
