Frequently Asked Questions in IT outsourcing

The article is a part of Code Inspiration’s software development outsourcing Knowledge Base.

Hope you had time to check 5 frequently asked questions from our customers last week, in case no – just follow the link and check it in our blog. Meanwhile, we proceed publishing questions which we receive from our readers and clients.

1. Agile methodology is something which can be only related to software delivery. – NO. Agile methodology initially mentioned in the Agile Manifesto regarding software development nowadays is applied in any ongoing business. Very popular in the IT community “agile” itself is just a flexible approach to deliver results according to the initially planned iterations. As in our changing world it is hard to predict for a long period of time in advance, agile methodology helps to establish iterations of 2-3 weeks and as well it gained its popularity, because in most cases in the end of each iteration there is a result which is possible to check. Regarding to development, it is usually a piece of functionality, what makes it easy to apply even with non-technical customers, as in the end of practically each iteration they can simply test and make sure they are moving according to the timeline and the quality of the software is good.
2. QA is applied only when the project is complete. You will be surprised, but even at the stage of the design prototype testing should be already applied. Also, there you should know that there is “usability testing”, which in most cases is applied on any stage of the development to see on the early stages of some functionality is not necessary for the end user or requires changes in order to suit users’ expectations. Big projects always require several testers, manual and automated who perform testing throughout in order to test each piece of the functionality and every possible scenario according to the specification guide.
3. Automated testing can fully replace manual testing. Automated testing for sure can replace manual testing, but only partially, because some functionality is impossible to test other than manually. For example, functional testing, smoke testing, registration testing, usability testing, security testing. That’s why, usually, when the project is released, and we negotiate about the composition of the team for maintenance and support, there is always a QA engineer included full or part-time.
4. PM is not necessary to develop a project; all you need is a qualified team of developers or one single full-stack developer. – YES and NO. Here a lot depends on the size of the project. If you have a simple website or a 5-screen basic application and you are  capable of writing a specification guide as a product owner which will describe the functionality and the overall logic of the software, in this case you might avoid expenses for the PM. You can hire a solo developer who will perform a little project for you. In regards to the development which requires more than 2 or 3 team participants – PM on the project will save time and make you sleep well. Developers are used to work according to the technical tasks set in a management tool, QA as well is waiting for the green light to start testing, in order to manage the tech team PM is highly recommended.
5. You cannot buy a position in best IT listings. Unfortunately, in most cases the answer is YES. However, there are still reputable web sites, such as Clutch and their sister websites TheManifest and VisualObjects, which let companies buy premium accounts for different benefits, but regarding listings – they publish according to the reviews collected from clients. We won’t add here names, however, it was terrible to have scheduled calls with representatives of rather well-known portals, which provided options to place a widget in order to get a position, and if you proceed with paid plan – you can select 5 listings you would like to be mentioned in. As well, it became quite popular to announce a listing, and then in few days before the finish to send an e-mail, indicating, that you have a “last chance” for the top 3, if you buy a yearly subscription. For multiple similar reasons, our company doesn’t invest in aggressive marketing, as we really think that nothing could be better than clients’ fair reviews.

Do you have a question not mentioned in the article? Let us know! Do not hesitate to address to us, and we will reply or discuss your question in the future article.

The article is a part of Code Inspiration’s software development outsourcing Knowledge Base.