As the IT-industry expands, software development services are becoming a more and more relevant software product building solution. Companies all over the world urgently need their custom software, and development services address the issue. Let’s discover the principal reasons for leaning towards custom software development service. We’ll also cover software development as a service models you can use to make your project skyrocket.
What Is The Software Development Service And Why You Need One
Software development service is the way to outsource your product development. It means the developer team you hire takes care of the development process from the product design to the solution delivery and marketing.
Software development services are a decent alternative to conventional in-house development, and here’s why:
- It is fast. You don’t need to build a developer team from scratch to start your software product development;
- It is cost-effective. The better part of outsourcing models are highly cost- and time-effective;
- It is flexible. You manage your development expenses the way you need it. No hiring and firing routine involved.
With that said, opting for development services is a way to bring agility, transparency, and cost-effectiveness to your development process.
Software Development Outsourcing Models: 3 Approaches You Should Consider
Let us clarify this at the very beginning: there are far more outsourcing models than 3 ones we are about to consider. However, our Gravum development experts find these the most popular and easy to understand.
1. Time And Materials Software Development Services Model
This model implies that the final project costs depend on the time and – therefore – materials developer team needs to implement your requirements.
The most wide-spread unit of measurement for this model is man-hours – the unit showing how much time 1 developer would spend on the milestones the customer sets.
So, if the service provider with a developer team of 6 people tells you that they will need 300 man-hours to do it, it means that 6 developers working simultaneously can build your solution in just 50 hours. Keeping that in mind, don’t treat the man-hours as the actual time for the project. It is just an abstract way of showing the efforts needed for achieving your milestones.
Time and materials model is exceedingly transparent in terms of your expenses. However, a software development service provider needs a final list of requirements to provide you with the final amount of man-hours needed for your product development. This means the time and materials model is only suitable for short-term projects or the ones that are clear enough to predict in man-hours.
2. Fixed-Price Software Development Service Model
The fixed-price model is similar to the time and materials model. It also requires final specifications to come up with a project price. However, compared to the previous model, the fixed-price outsourcing does not share the cost calculations of man-hours that happens under the hood.
Instead, the developer team provides you with just the final project price and the timeline they are going to follow. Now, there are both positive and negative aspects to this approach:
- Fixed-price is usually cheaper than the time and materials model. Here’s the thing: building a development plan with man-hour calculations for you also costs money. With a fixed-price strategy, there is no need for that. Therefore, the developer team does not charge you for it;
- You cannot see the price calculations. Hence, you have no idea of how the project costs are formed and what are the smaller tasks for achieving your global milestone.
The fixed-price outsourcing model wins for the experienced project managers, as they know the price formation rules and can figure out whether the project price is relevant or not.
3. Dedicated Team Software Development Services Model
A dedicated team is an entirely different model of outsourcing, compared to the previous two. Here’s how it works:
- You hire a team of developers. The software development service provider supplies you with a full team of developers, testers, and even project managers and marketers;
- Outsourcing supplier charges you hourly for each developer involved. This means your project expenses vary depending on the time and amount of developers working simultaneously.
Now, there are several things to it you should take into account. Firstly, a dedicated team model significantly increases your software development flexibility. To begin with, you can manage the project development yourself, if you want. The team is literally dedicated to your product and – therefore – is ready to do as you say.
Another benefit of dedicated teams is dynamic pricing. Here’s what we mean:
- You pay hourly for your team’s efforts. You can set the weekly hour limit, so you know for sure which expenses to expect;
- You control the development speed. Depending on the project budget available for the week or month, you can involve more or fewer developers in your development process.
As you can see, a dedicated team model powers your development with agility and flexible costs. What is more essential, this approach is completely transparent, as you can always track your expenses even by the smallest tasks and milestones. As long as you have the number of hours spent, you can get the cost for each feature you request.
The Bottom Line
Software development services company choice depends not only on your budget but also on the outsourcing model you prefer. With that said, look for service suppliers with the relevant experience in your domain.
If you are seeking a flexible and motivated software development service provider, reach out to Gravum experts. We strive to make every project a huge success. Opt for Gravum software development services, pave the way to prosperity for your software product.
