What Is Dedicated Development Team?

A dedicated development team is a popular partnership model in software development for remote client collaboration. Hiring a dedicated development team is the best option for both established businesses and emerging startups.

In this article, I’ll define a dedicated team model, discuss its benefits and drawbacks, and explain how it differs from other team formats. I’ll also discuss when it’s best to hire a dedicated development team and when it’s better to look for other options.

What Is A Dedicated Team Model?

A dedicated development team is a long-term collaboration model with an outsourced team of developers in which a client and a developers’ team collaborate. This is one of the most popular collaboration models, along with fixed price (FP) and time and material (T&M).

When you hire dedicated teams, you get a team of professionals who have been hand-picked to meet your specific business objectives. This team is similar to an in-house team in that they are technically your employees.

However, unlike employees, you do not have to deal with administrative, human resources, tax, and social benefits issues with a dedicated team. On the contrary, you can concentrate on higher-level business issues while your development partners take care of the rest.

To summaries, a dedicated team model provides you with a hand-picked professional team focused on completing a single project. Furthermore, all administrative costs are on their side.

How Much Does Hiring Dedicated Development Team Cost?

According to Deloitte’s 2020 Global Outsourcing Survey, the top reason to outsource (70%) is to save money. Hiring a dedicated development team can also help you save money, and here’s how.

A dedicated team’s pricing model is straightforward. Since you hired a team, each employee has a set hourly rate, and you only pay for the hours worked. This is the only thing you have to pay for. There are no additional costs for renting an office for a team, purchasing equipment, paying taxes, paying electricity bills, and so on.

Furthermore, hiring a dedicated software development team is much cheaper and faster than searching for each professional independently with the HR team.

Who Is In A Dedicated Team?

The specific composition of your team depends on your business requirements. Thus, your development team may consist of: 

• Front-end and back-end, full-stack engineers, mobile developers;
• UX/UI designers;
• DevOps engineers;
• Quality assurance specialists;
• Business analysts;
• Product managers;
• Project managers.

Dedicated Development Team Vs Fixed Price Model

A dedicated team model is frequently confused with the fixed price format. However, these two forms cater to vastly different business requirements.

The fixed price collaboration model is a framework in which a client pays an agreed-upon amount regardless of the number of hours worked or the job completed. This mode is best suited for short-term projects with strict requirements and scope of work.

The main disadvantage of the fixed price model is the possibility of overpayment. It is not always possible to predict the time and scope of work. In any case, even if the job has not been completed, you must pay the agreed-upon amount under the fixed-price contract.

The fixed-price model is appropriate for:

• Projects with clear deadlines; 
• Determined specification;
• Short – term projects; 
• When there are no changes planned;
• MVP development. 

Unlike fixed-price models, the dedicated team format allows for as much freedom and space for development as you need without overpayment. 

Dedicated Development Team Vs Time & Material Model

The Time & Material format is another format that usually competes with the dedicated team.

In the Time & Material model, a client pays for the team’s actual time and efforts spent developing a specific feature.

As a result, this collaboration model is appropriate for:

• Projects where requirements can change;
• The market is not thoroughly explored;
• Product market fit is yet to be determined.

While the Time & Material model allows for extensive research and development, it does not guarantee that you will work with the same team throughout the project. If some specialists do not have enough tasks on your project, they may be assigned to another.

Meanwhile, the benefit of a dedicated team model is its commitment. When you hire a dedicated development team, you get a team that is solely dedicated to your project and is not obligated to take on other tasks. This is what distinguishes a “dedicated” team.

3 Signs That You Should Hire Dedicated Development Team

The dedicated team model is appropriate for complex long-term projects that may grow in the future. When your idea lacks product-market fit and requires a discovery phase, a dedicated development team is the way to go.

Early-Stage Startups

If you’re an early-stage startup that expects to grow, consider hiring a dedicated development team. It will allow you to quickly build a team, save money on hiring processes, and develop the product faster. While your in-house team focuses on business-related tasks, the augmented team handles the extra work.

Projects With Vague Requirements

When your idea lacks product-market fit and requires a discovery stage, a dedicated team is the way to go. Because the discovery stage serves as the foundation for the project’s entire development mechanism, it may take months of tests and interviews to finally settle down. The dedicated team model gives you the time and resources you need to focus on the discovery stage without worrying about overspending.

Long-Term Projects

The dedicated team model is appropriate for complex long-term projects with growth potential. To fully realise the potential of your project, you’ll need a strong team of developers to help you along the way. Within a dedicated team, you can be confident that the people you begin working with will see the project through to completion.

Furthermore, let’s take a quick look at tech behemoths like WhatsApp. They enlisted the assistance of a dedicated team of developers to assist them with their iOS app. Apple, Oracle, American Express, IBM, Verizon, Amazon, Doist, Automatic, Buffer, and 10up are among the companies that use the dedicated team approach.

3 Signs That You Should NOT Use Dedicated Team Model?

Despite its obvious advantages, the dedicated team model is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Here is a list of situations in which I recommend hiring a dedicated development team over not hiring one.

Short And Middle-Term Projects

Small projects with clearly defined requirements do not necessitate a dedicated and involved team. When the work scope is strictly defined, a group of people is required to carry out the tasks assigned. In this case, a fixed-price model is ideal for short-term projects, whereas the Time & Material approach is appropriate for medium-term businesses.

Limited Time And Budget

When your project budget is limited, a dedicated team model may not be the best option. You don’t always need a full-time designer or project manager. In this case, a fixed-price model is more than adequate to produce the desired result.

The Project Scope Is Fully Defined

You should avoid hiring a dedicated development team if you have a strict plan of execution for your project, all features are figured out, and there is no room for compromise. You should choose between fixed-price and Time & Material models depending on the size of the project.

Why Nile Bits Is A Good Choice While Hiring Dedicated Development Team?

The Nile Bits team has extensive experience working with clients as part of a dedicated development team contract. The dedicated team model is used in about 25% of the projects we start each year. Furthermore, 25% of projects that began with other business models were eventually transferred to the dedicated team.

Dedicated Development Collaboration: Nile Bits Experience

Here’s what happens when a client hires us as a dedicated development team:

1. Scope estimation. At this phase, we figure out how much work is expected to be done and how many people need to be involved.

A business analyst communicates with a client to determine his or her needs and desires. Business analysts define the project’s requirements and determine its scope based on this information.

In the scope determination, there are two possible outcomes:

• The client has a predefined scope. We’ll discuss the budget with the client by considering the priorities and estimated or given timelines.
• The client doesn’t know the exact scope. We can carry out a discovery stage where we make hypotheses and test them with prototypes’ help. 

We examine whether the current scope reflects our objectives based on the test results. If not, we will continue to discover and research until we find the required scope.

2. Talent selection. At this stage, we put together a team of skilled and motivated professionals to work on your project. Here are the criteria that we use for selection: 

• Profitability – estimated ROI for this project;
• Quality & Service – that Nile Bits team has the skills and experience to deliver high-quality product and Service;
• Skills Development – the opportunity for the team member to develop skills in the project;
• Morale & Motivation – the psychological conditions to work in this project.

3. Scope call. At this call, we discuss the purposes, milestones, and priorities for the client’s first sprint. 
4. Proposition call, where we present a suggested solution, expected team composition, timelines, budget, plan additional research activities, if necessary.
5. Kick-off call. This is the point where the team gets a green light and the collaboration starts. The call’s purpose is to meet the team (client team and Nile Bits), discuss who will do what, receive access to the development tools, align the project and business priorities, and set up check-ins.

FAQ:

What Is Dedicated Development Team?

A dedicated team is a long-term collaboration model between a client and the development team. A team of developers is focused on a client’s project in this format, with the guarantee that no team member will be switched to another project. This is what the word “dedicated” implies.

What Does A Development Team Do?

Depending on the team type, the development team determines product-market fit, creates the UX and UI design, writes code, provides quality assurance, and maintains the product.

How Do You Structure A Development Team?

A typical software development team is structured by specialists with broad skill sets and expertise: 

• Project manager; 
• Business Analyst;
• Designers; 
• Developers;
• QAs. 

Conclusion

To summarise, a dedicated team is the best option for projects with many ambiguous requirements, such as aspiring startups and growing tech companies. For such businesses looking for long-term collaboration, the dedicated partnership is the best fit in terms of cost and team selection. With this in mind, you can determine whether you require a dedicated team.

However, if you are still unsure about which type of collaboration model is best for you, please contact us. We will select the approach that best meets your needs.