A Quick Guide to Staff Augmentation for Dev Teams

An essential business strategy that aids firms in bridging the gap between internal resources and business requirements is staff augmentation for development teams.

The demand for extra-organizational staffing models will continue to grow despite the fact that cloud and AI technologies are gradually lessening businesses’ reliance on huge inside development teams.

You are likely one of many businesses who are considering hiring outside IT assistance. Although outsourcing is the preferred business strategy for most, it is not always the best choice.

What is staff augmentation?, and how does it contrast with IT outsourcing and other comparable business models?

Definition of Software Development Staff Augmentation

A form of outsourcing known as software development staff augmentation involves hiring extra members for your development teams as needed. When a company uses staff augmentation services, they may swiftly hire and onboard top nearshore or global development talent on an hourly basis.

For instance, a software development company can increase its internal development capabilities during a major upgrade by hiring X developers and paying for Y hours of their time each month.

The organization can immediately request more developers or buy more hours if the upgrade requires more time or talent, delivering the resources required to accomplish the upgrade successfully.

Dev Team Staff Augmentation Model Characteristics

  • Model for on-demand services
  • Talent is what you pay for; not hiring or staffing
  • Available by the hour or service unit
  • Wide range of excellent talent available
  • A variable hourly wage
  • Services that are ramped up or down quickly
  • Utilizes current management and workflow frameworks

Are you looking to expand your development team?

Dev Team Staff Augmentation versus Other Staffing Models

In terms of staffing solutions, there are many models. Which one stacks up against dev team staff augmentation?

Here are a few examples that demonstrates each.

 

Insourcing vs. Dev Team Staff Augmentation

Let’s say Company X has a sizable internal development team. If there is a new project the teams can be reorganised to free up internal developers to take on the new project. 

The development teams of a smaller organization wouldn’t be able to handle the new project as easily. The options are to add more capacity to the teams by partnering with someone who can provide developers very quickly through Team Augmentation.

Outsourcing vs. Dev Team Staff Augmentation

Company X has the option to outsource an MVP project, but doing so would require them to invest months in spec documents, team onboarding, assigning a DevOps team, etc.

Outsourcing does not perform well for smaller, quicker-to-market projects, but being great for larger independent projects.

On the other hand, staff augmentation would be more effective because new developers would be integrated into the current team, making the MVP rollout simpler and faster.

Subcontracting vs. Staff Augmentation for Dev Teams

Subcontracting entails finding a partner and giving them the complete assignment. Even though an SLA and other contract documents would try to fix timelines, these projects generally take much longer than anticipated.

In contrast, augmentation would offer developers as a service, with the business just paying for the hours spent on the project. You have full control over the delivery of the assignment.

Independent Contractors vs. Dev Team Staff Augmentation

Freelancers (independent contractors) are essential in assisting businesses to cover talent gaps. But in this situation, where numerous extra skills are needed, hiring multiple freelancers might not be a good idea.

Given that independent contractors are occasionally unreliable, the MVP may experience talent churn, skill mismatches, and delays.

The staff augmentation organization offers a framework that is predictable and trustworthy while providing top skills through augmentation.

Managed Services vs. Dev Team Staff Augmentation

Typical managed services are more appropriate for bespoke software that has already been developed and deployed. 

Dev team augmentation services would be more appropriate for a new bespoke MVP project because the new developers would be enhancing the capabilities of the internal dev team rather than maintaining existing software.

Scenarios for IT Staff Augmentation

There are various situations where expanding your internal development team may be required, including:

New Initiatives

Dev team augmentation is appropriate for new projects, such as MVPs, Microsoft migrations, software apps, and new IT infrastructure and solutions, as was indicated in the previous section. 

To finish a project swiftly and effectively, a staff augmentation partner can also offer extra talent, such as a project manager, architect, and other IT specialists.

Quick Growth

Rapidly expanding businesses might not have the time to hire new developers. While hiring new employees may be on the cards in the medium term, urgent needs can necessitate using a staff augmentation services provider to fill the HR gap.

Gap in Skills

Adopting contemporary technologies like big data, cloud, AI, and machine learning requires specialist knowledge in those areas. Such skills, however, are rare and frequently expensive. At a fraction of the expense of hiring them full-time, a dev team staff augmentation partner can assist in finding this expertise.

Requirements for the Season

It may be beneficial to work with a staff augmentation service provider in situations where a company experiences seasonal hiccups, such as during annual upgrades, high-volume market seasons, or product transitions.

During certain seasons, you can increase the number of developers and hours purchased, and decrease them during the off-season.

Cost Restrictions

Budgetary restrictions and IT and development requirements must frequently be balanced in smaller businesses. While such businesses may not be able to hire the top 1% of talent, they can collaborate with other exceptional people in a “time-share” arrangement as part of a staff augmentation deal.

Benefits of Staff Augmentation

1: Top 1% of talent

Dev team staff augmentation companies maintain a roster of the top 1% of software engineers, UX designers, SCRUM masters, and Agile developers from countries like Serbia and Romania. When you hire a remote team through such a company, you gain access to some of the best tech talent in the world who bring a fresh perspective and a specific skill set to your dev team.

2: Quick Onboarding/Hiring

SLAs and service contracts for staff augmentation are frequently short. When a developer is purchased “as-a-Service,” you pay to activate the service in the same manner that you would pay for a software subscription.

Because the developers are frequently seasoned professionals, the onboarding procedure is also usually simple.

3. Increased Monitoring and Control

Your internal team’s processes are seamlessly integrated by staff augmentation personnel, who also participates in daily project status meetings and reports to internal management.

When developers work for the company, internal governance mechanisms can be used to control issues like IP security.

4. Adaptable Resources

By selecting the necessary talents from an on-demand talent pool, staff augmentation makes it simple to grow and shrink your development team.

Staff augmentation simply bills you for the resources you are utilizing at the moment rather than locking you in with year-long contracts and service agreements.

You can scale up or down a project fast if needed.

5. Economical

Dev team staff augmentation makes use of a “time share” approach, in which you pay a portion of the cost of services that are generally pricey.

When you engage skilled developers for a small fraction of what it would cost to hire them full-time, you will experience significant cost savings.

Dev Team Staff Augmentation Risks

There are dangers associated with dev team staff augmentation, just like with any staffing business strategy, such as:

1. Conflicts between culture and context

It could be difficult to onboard new developers if your organization has a distinctive culture or operating environment. Slow onboarding, trouble finding engineers that fit the organizational culture, and a general misalignment of expectations are possible obstacles.

2. Inadequate internal procedures

Recruiting the ideal enhanced staff members may be difficult if a corporation has poor internal development methods. Additionally, newly hired personnel could find it difficult to operate in such a setting, making it challenging for the business to acquire top talent.

3. Workflow inconsistency

It’s possible that new developers won’t be familiar with your business’s processes or time zone.
Such a discrepancy might impact reporting and productivity procedures, leading to bottlenecks that would slow the project down and necessitate more coordination and support.

4. IP Confidentiality

Employing outsourced developers without a rigorous interviewing and recruiting procedure may leave the company’s intellectual property vulnerable. Your business may need to create these contracts and give them to new hires if the dev staff augmentation partner does not offer comprehensive IP non-disclosure agreements.

5. IT Security

A portion of the augmented workforce may come from abroad, making them remote developers. In such circumstances, the hiring organization must take further precautions to secure IT resources and infrastructure. Dev staff augmentation might make stronger cybersecurity and remote working security policies a necessity.

Are you looking to expand your development team?

How to Choose a Top Development Team
Company for Staff Augmentation

To assist you in achieving your objectives, a top dev team staff augmentation firm will offer the appropriate services and developers.

What to seek for in the top staff augmentation firm for development teams is listed below:

Aids You in Assessing Your Needs

Enlists the aid of business analysts to define deliverables, objectives, and KPIs. They ought to assist you in determining the abilities and capabilities you’ll need to fulfill your ambitions and create a precise job description for the appropriate applicant as part of the study.

Possesses Expertise and Experience

The top dev team staff augmentation firms are skilled and experienced in finding and vetting top employees. Working with such a supplier will ensure the recruitment process goes as planned and will assist you in avoiding employing the incorrect talent that does not meet your internal standards.

Possesses Access to the Top Talent

They can swiftly schedule interviews with you because they have access to the top one percent of talent in the world across several software development categories. Additionally, they have strong networks and recruitment systems that can swiftly locate extra personnel as needed.

Helps with Onboarding

It can be difficult to onboard new employees, especially if you lack the time. The most effective augmentation service providers will help onboard new developers by vetting them according to given criteria.

Offers Ongoing Assistance

When a candidate is hired, the top dev team augmentation businesses keep on supporting the candidate. They give you an account manager that communicates with them, keeps track of their progress, and makes sure they are working as effectively as possible to help you achieve your goals.

Staff Augmentation for the Dev Team
Best Practice: Dev Team Staff Augmentation Techniques for Success

While much of the burden of proof rests on the staff augmentation firm, there are some issues that can only be resolved by the hiring firm.

Businesses who wish to get the most out of dev team personnel augmentation should think about using the following best practices:

Transmit internal goals and vision

The provider of staff augmentation services might gain from knowing your vision and objectives. This data can serve as a starting point for finding developers for your business. Likewise, explaining the same to newly hired developers might aid in their understanding of how to contribute within the context of the team.

Be Willing to Hear Experts Out

Although newly hired developers, they frequently have a plethora of expertise and knowledge from prior projects and firms. One of the easiest ways to take advantage of staff augmentation is to be open to hearing what new personnel have to say and following their recommendations when it makes sense.

Prioritize Recruiting Synergistic Members

Even though all engineers hired are excellent, the onboarding process can be accelerated by choosing developers with complementary backgrounds. You may, for instance, ask for developers who have experience with businesses of a comparable size or in your field.

Give New Team Members Power

Onboard, integrate, and empower new team members alongside full-time employees as soon as they join. Additionally, give them access to material they may utilize to perform their jobs more effectively, such as a knowledgebase or library.

Services for getDeveloper IT Staff Augmentation

getDeveloper is a reputable provider of dev team staff augmentation services with years of expertise assisting businesses in locating the best IT talent for both short- and long-term projects.

We collaborate with corporate organizations, funded startups, and mid-sized companies to supply top personnel in an effective and affordable manner.

getDeveloper can assist you in utilizing local or international dev expertise to fill the gap if your development team is already stretched thin and lacks the capacity for additional work on ongoing projects or new ones.

For a free onboarding meeting and a free developer skills evaluation tailored to the needs of your project, get in touch with us right away.

Are you looking to expand your development team?