What You Need to Know When Replacing Your Development Team

In some cases, business owners decide to replace a software development squad. For example, employees have trouble meeting deadlines or do not meet the work standards within the company. 

It is not a one-decision since you have to weigh the pros and cons, so you will not experience the same problems with a new dedicated software development team. Therefore, every customer should not be in haste when considering all factors. 

Why Do Some Software Development Projects Fail?

Project deliverables are rising at present, which was confirmed by the Project Management Institute’s report in March 2021. The ratio is as follows: 33% of projects see their benefits from implementing improved outsourcing approaches, while about 33% of experiences come to nothing, and another 33% develop very slowly. As you might have noticed, a small percentage of software development vendors can succeed in the market. 

Customers may face some obstacles while collaborating with dedicated teams, but not every company can overcome them. Here are the main reasons for a project’s failure.  

The Issue of Disclosure

Sometimes, clients do not pay attention to the preparation of legal documents (especially NDAs) and assign remote software developers to their projects. Such deals are unconsidered and can get customers into a lot of trouble. For instance, the web application development company may reveal the data to competitors. 

Lack of Competence Within The Team

At times, squads are not competent enough to meet customer expectations. Thus, junior developers need more time to get into the project and work sluggishly. In some cases, it is motivated by a buyer’s desire to save money and not assign experienced specialists, thus risking the final product. 

In the case of the QB web app, the Rocketech team had to work with half-baked software. For them, it meant generating new functionalities, UI/UX design improvement, and a complete redesign of admin and personal cabinets.

Miscommunication Issues

It could be a significant factor for those who have decided to change the development team. But, in fact, a language barrier or lack of interest from developers are the most common reasons why outsourcing companies lose ambitious projects. If customers do not get detailed reports, they cannot track the development progress.

Non-Dedicated Teams

Quite often, IT companies involve their employees in several projects simultaneously. It allows them to meet the needs of all customers but reduces focus on a specific project. Therefore, such an approach harms the final product quality and delays the project delivery.

Poor Leadership

Inexperienced project managers can also cause problems while creating digital solutions, although quality management is vital among dedicated teams. The poor supervision of their work can lead to constant conflicts within the team and the customer.

Six Steps to Change a Development Squad

You can decide to replace your software development team for any of these reasons. Thus, you should build a credible plan and analyse the situation to change particular employees or the entire team. 

Whether you have a losing team or several developers lagging behind the quality development process, you should take six key steps to switch resources for your project. 

Search for the Possible Contractor 

You should check if your software solutions company is interested in your project. Ideally, the dedicated team:

• Can properly learn more about the business idea and structure.
• Has examples of the relevant outcomes that meet your expectations.
• Has enough time and specialists in the desired field to execute your project.
• Offers a reasonable pricing policy that matches the expected budget.
• Provides some instruments and approaches to follow the progress (e.g., Agile development or AI tools).

After this step, you can move on to the next one.

Settle All Legal Questions with Your Current Team 

There are two most common issues you may face:

• Ensure that you own the existing code. You need to sign a written agreement where your code ownership is stated clearly. Further, take control over the code repositories, the latest versions of the code, and the history of changes.
• Refer to the clause on termination of the contract with the bespoke software development team. It should describe the steps for transferring the code and access to the software used in the development process. Also, discuss the transfer of responsibilities to the new squad.

Once you have settled legal issues, start working with documents.

Create a Thorough Transition Plan

It should be as thorough as possible. Essentially, you should create a roadmap detailing each step of the team shift. It is also necessary to specify the timeline for the transition, identify key employees and assign roles to them.

Of course, you do not need to create an unchangeable plan, but your team will get an entire system that helps them stick to the correct side of the road. If you learn more about your new team, the replacement plan will change but keep the same terms. 

When you decide to switch development teams, you need to look for another methodology at times. Check our comparison of different software development approaches here. 

Have Comprehensive Documentation

This step is critical when replacing your software outsourcing company. And remember the importance of keeping records of each process during the project course. The data obtained will be helpful during the retrospective meeting to analyse all the positive and negative aspects of each iteration.

If you expect the fast onboarding of your new team, you need to provide them with documentation of all the previous team’s work. For example, how developers performed specific tasks, what difficulties arose, and what was the final result. With such information, a well-briefed squad can jump on the bandwagon and gain a working rhythm to finalise the remaining tasks. 

And, of course, it would be an excellent idea to have one of the new developers systematically keep clear records of the processes done within the project. It will be helpful while tracking the progress of building the digital product. 

The Clean Code is the King

If you replace the development team, the existing code should be free of bugs and entirely readable. Ideally, developers avoid overcrowding a function; otherwise, the code written may be incomprehensible and illogical. But the actions of your dedicated developers may not always be ideal, so you need to monitor their work carefully and ensure they do what you asked them to do. 

In the case of the Steps app, the Rocketech team remastered the legacy code and redesigned the frontend to create a more comfortable user experience. 

Nobody is immune to mistakes. However, even a little error can lead to big problems in a broken product. Therefore, you should check the finished code for open blocks or misspelt links. The best way to do this is through the Markup Validation Service. It highlights all errors in the code that need to be fixed, which saves both time and nerves. 

Smooth Transition 

As we said earlier, you may decide to change a software development team for different reasons. Some of them can create a tense atmosphere between the parties (e.g., poor quality of work or missed deadlines). Anyway, you should find ways to make this shift as smooth as possible and cater to both leaving and incoming teams.

Here is what you need to do on the part of your current team.

1. Take control over the whole codebase and all work-related documentation (especially records of each process during the project course). Moreover, get the information about third-party products and services that your team used. It will help your new vendor start the work as soon as possible and prevent unnecessary duplication of effort. 
2. If the collaboration with the leaving team ended positively, ask them to help new developers get comfortable in a new place.
3. Express your gratitude for the efforts employees have put into creating a digital product. The fact of shifting should not mean that you have bad intentions.

On the part of your new contractor:

1. Meet the team and warmly welcome new employees. Help them out with things and talk about responsibilities and expectations. It will allow developers to perform tasks efficiently right from the start.  
2. Since your employees may not fully understand the project nuances, get in touch with them and offer your help. Fortunately, team chat apps and video conferencing tools make this even more straightforward.
3. Don’t rush things. Getting to know the new team does not always go quickly because each software development service provider works at a unique pace. Thus, trust the expertise and experience of professionals in terms of assessing the speed of development, as haste leads to disastrous results.

Always check the tech stack before starting the project. Developers will always argue which language or framework is better, but some technologies and tools are objectively more widespread. In this case, you’ll have fewer problems finding professionals to finish your product if something goes wrong. Unusual and unpopular tech stacks may seriously complicate further development and scaling. 

Conclusion

Changing a software development team is crucial to turning your project back on track. It will be much easier with the valuable tips and tricks revealed in this article. At Rocketech, we know how to organise a first-class development process. Our dedicated teams leverage advanced methodologies to build digital solutions. And if you want to scale up your business activities, contact us.