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In this article, we’ll provide an easy-to-follow guide covering various software development cases. We’ll speak about the most wide-spread and effective contract models and process frameworks, highlighting the key procedures and risks.
Video below is a short version of my recommendations as a Head of Service at Akveo.
Before you read further, make sure to answer the following questions:
- Have you defined your product roadmap for at least 3 months ahead?
- Can you afford to have an in-house product team? Do you have the needed experts at your location?
The answers to these questions will determine the model that suits you best.
Further, we’ll describe the pros and cons of having an in-house team and opting for outsourcing models, i.e. a dedicated team, fixed price, time and material (T&M).
In-house team
An in-house team is a suitable model for a product that is already released. It implies that all the team members are working from the same place and the same company.
Advantages
- Ability to build strong communication with your team.
- No limitations in the development and delivery processes.
- Ability to keep all the team expertise on your side.
- Less efforts on documenting requirements.
- A shorter feature development cycle.
- Full transparency over the development process.
Disadvantages
- You need time to find a good team and set up the processes.
- High development costs in comparison with outsourcing models.
- Lack of in-house expertise.
- Some domains (geology, medical research, etc.) require professionals from the appropriate field, thus the team may be partially remote.
- No ability to increase the team in a short time.
What projects this model fits best
An in-house team model allows for setting up a smooth development & deployment flow, so hiring an in-house team may be advantageous for any kind of project. However, this model will better fit partially developed projects, and the released ones. You should opt for arranging an in-house team if you have a clearly drawn up roadmap, and are not planning any major changes in the team capacity.
Outsourcing models
The next 3 contract models – a dedicated team, fixed price, time & materials – imply the partnership concluded between a product company and a development services provider. Most of the software development companies not only build their own products but also work with other entrepreneurs and companies as resource providers.
Dedicated team
A product team signs a contract with a services provider, and assigns particular product development specialists to your project. You need a dedicated team when there are no appropriate specialists in your product team.
Following the dedicated team model, developers join the team either remotely or on the client side. A product manager is responsible for controlling the development process and evaluating the team.
Advantages
- An ability to hire mature professionals at an affordable cost.
- An ability to make fast changes in a dedicated team depending on a product roadmap.
- An ability to bring new expertise and empower the product team.
- A quick start for startups and proof of concept (PoC) projects.
Disadvantages
- The need to properly organize requirements documentation, as well as communication.
- Features development and deployment become more time-consuming.
- The need for a product manager to pay attention to the dedicated team’s performance.
What projects this model fits best
- Projects with a lack of technical and domain expertise.
- Projects with tight budgets.
- Short-time projects with a quick team ramping up.
Fixed price
Fixed price model means that a services provider organizes analysis, design, development and testing processes according to their standards. A product owner reviews the deliverables at each stage, and provides feedback and corrections. A development partner is responsible for budget and timeline accuracy.
Advantages
- Ability to get a complex solution that doesn’t require high technical expertise on the product owner side.
- Defined timeline and fixed cost.
Disadvantages
- The need to conduct an intermediate review by the product owner and ensure intensive communication with the development team.
- The necessity to conduct discovery to get accurate estimations beforehand.
- No ability to significantly change the features scope during development.
- An acceptance stage is essential, however the acceptance period is short. And once the warranty period is over, the expenses for fixing the issues fall on the product team.
- All the expertise (except requirements documentation) remains on the services provider side.
- Due to the volatility in the amount of required efforts, this model is not suitable for projects involving a long research stage.
- It’s hard for a product owner to check team expertise and productivity.
What projects this model fits best
- Projects with lack of domain and technical expertise.
- Small projects with clear business requirements.
- 1-3-month projects with budget limits.
Time & materials (T&M)
This model is more flexible than fixed price and dedicated team models, and it generally works perfectly for remote teams. A services provider arranges the team with all required specialists, and a part of the team may be on the client side, e.g. QA or DevOps specialists.
A development process is transparent and coordinated across remote teams. If you opt for this model, make sure there are decision makers responsible for preventing delays on each side.
Advantages
- An ability to hire a well-organized development team.
- No limitations in introducing your own development flow.
- An ability to have a part of the team on the product owner side.
- A possibility to pay a discounted hourly rate.
- An ability to change the team capacity depending on a product roadmap.
- An ability for startups to kick off quickly.
- If the remote team is self-organized, you don’t need decision makers to participate in the development process everyday, so they can focus on making business decisions.
- Clear monthly budget projecting.
Disadvantages
- Business analysts need to keep in touch with a development team to support development since delays block the delivery process. Prompt backlog grooming (at least 2 weeks ahead) helps to prevent delays.
- All project specifications need to be documented.
What projects this model fits best
- Projects with lack of domain and technical expertise.
- Projects with iterative roadmaps.
- Long-term projects.
- Research and development (R&D) projects.
Regions offering outsourced development services
- India and Southeast Asia.
The development services providers here are focused mostly on short-term and simple projects. Although an hourly rate is very low, project quality leaves much to be desired. You should also remember about the time zone difference if opting for this region.
- Central Europe (Belarus, Ukraine, Russia).
Here, most companies specialize in complex software development. They have their centers of excellence, domain and technical expertise. When choosing a services provider from the companies in this region, check their profiles thoroughly, and consider the testimonials from previous clients.
- US, Europe.
There are two main options on the market – individual freelancers and high-class technology consulting companies concentrating mostly on AWS, Azure, SalesForce related services. Freelancers work with product teams remotely, and join the team in some time. Consulting companies provide high-end comprehensive services. In both cases, an hourly rate is rather high.
Summary table
On a final note
There are many factors you should take into account when choosing the most suitable option to build your product team. Keep in mind the following recommendations:
- At the very start, try to find reliable key team members – the ones that will drive business and technical development.
- If you don’t have in-house technical expertise, find a trustworthy software development partner, and sign a short-term fixed price agreement with them.
- Once you’ve tested the waters with a short-term contract, you can switch to a T&M or a dedicated team model. At this stage, you’ll be able to build a smooth development flow while arranging deliveries as frequently as you need.
- At the same time, try to keep expertise on your side, and hire mature in-house specialists.
- As a result, you’ll build the team capable of achieving ambitious goals and delivering a high-end product to your users.
We hope these suggestions will bring efficiency to your product development.
Lead Generation Tool to Reduce Manual Work
Our client, Afore Capital, a venture capital firm focused on pre-seed investments, aimed to automate their lead generation processes but struggled with existing out-of-the-box solutions. To tackle this challenge, they sought assistance from our team of Akveo Retool experts.
The scope of work
The client needed a tailored solution to log and track inbound deals effectively. They required an application that could facilitate the addition, viewing, and editing of company and founder information, ensuring data integrity and preventing duplicates. Additionally, Afore Capital aimed to integrate external tools like PhantomBuster and LinkedIn to streamline data collection.
The result
By developing a custom Retool application, we streamlined the lead generation process, significantly reducing manual data entry. The application enabled employees to manage inbound deals efficiently while automated workflows for email parsing, notifications, and dynamic reporting enhanced operational efficiency. This allowed Afore Capital's team to focus more on building relationships with potential founders rather than on administrative tasks.
Learn more about the case
Retool CMS Application for EdTech Startup
Our client, CutTime, a leading fine arts education management platform, needed a scalable CMS application to improve vendor product management and user experience.
The scope of work
We developed a Retool application that allows vendors to easily upload and manage product listings, handle inventory, and set shipping options. The challenge was to integrate the app with the client’s system, enabling smooth authentication and product management for program directors.
The result
Our solution streamlined product management, reducing manual work for vendors, and significantly improving operational efficiency.
Building Reconciliation Tool for e-commerce company
Our client was in need of streamlining and simplifying its monthly accounting reconciliation process – preferably automatically. But with a lack of time and low budget for a custom build, development of a comprehensive software wasn’t in the picture. After going through the case and customer’s needs, we decided to implement Retool. And that was the right choice.
The scope of work
Our team developed a custom reconciliation tool designed specifically for the needs of high-volume transaction environments. It automated the processes and provided a comprehensive dashboard for monitoring discrepancies and anomalies in real-time.
The implementation of Retool significantly reduced manual effort, as well as fostered a more efficient and time-saving reconciliation process.
Creating Retool Mobile App for a Wine Seller
A leading spirits and wine seller in Europe required the development of an internal mobile app for private client managers and administrators. The project was supposed to be done in 1,5 months. Considering urgency and the scope of work, our developers decided to use Retool for swift and effective development.
The scope of work
Our developers built a mobile application tailored to the needs of the company's sales force: with a comprehensive overview of client interactions, facilitated order processing, and enabled access to sales history and performance metrics. It was user-friendly, with real-time updates, seamlessly integrated with existing customer databases.
The result? Increase in productivity of the sales team and improved decision-making process. But most importantly, positive feedback from the customers themselves.
Developing PoC with Low Code for a Tour Operator
To efficiently gather, centralize, and manage data is a challenge for any tour operator. Our client was not an exception. The company was seeking to get an internal software that will source information from third-party APIs and automate the travel itinerary creation process. Preferably, cost- and user-friendly tool.
The scope of work
Our experts ensured the client that all the requirements could be covered by Retool. And just in 40 hours a new software was launched. The tool had a flexible and easy-to-use interface with user authentication and an access management system panel – all the company needed. At the end, Retool was considered the main tool to replace the existing system.
Testing New Generation of Lead Management Tool with Retool
Our client, a venture fund, had challenges with managing lead generation and client acquisition. As the company grew, it aimed to attract more clients and scale faster, as well as automate the processes to save time, improve efficiency and minimize human error. The idea was to craft an internal lead generation tool that will cover all the needs. We’ve agreed that Retool will be a perfect tool for this.
The scope of work
The project initially began as a proof of concept, but soon enough, with each new feature delivered, the company experienced increased engagement and value.
We developed a web tool that integrates seamlessly with Phantombuster for data extraction and LinkedIn for social outreach. Now, the company has a platform that elevates the efficiency of their lead generation activities and provides deep insights into potential client bases.
Building an Advanced Admin Portal for Streamlined Operations
Confronted with the need for more sophisticated internal tools, an owner of IP Licensing marketplace turned to Retool to utilize its administrative functions. The primary goal was to construct an advanced admin portal that could support complex, multi-layered processes efficiently.
The scope of work
Our client needed help with updating filters and tables for its internal platform. In just 30 hours we've been able to update and create about 6 pages. Following features were introduced: add complex filtering and search, delete records, styling application with custom CSS.
Together, we have increased performance on most heavy pages and fixed circular dependency issues.
Creating MVP Dashboard for Google Cloud Users
Facing the challenge of unoptimized cloud resource management, a technology firm working with Google Cloud users was looking for a solution to make its operations more efficient. The main idea of the project was to create an MVP for e-commerce shops to test some client hypotheses. Traditional cloud management tools fell short.
The scope of work
Determined to break through limitations, our team of developers turned Retool. We decided to craft an MVP Dashboard specifically for Google Cloud users. This wasn't just about bringing data into view; but about reshaping how teams interact with their cloud environment.
We designed a dashboard that turned complex cloud data into a clear, strategic asset thanks to comprehensive analytics, tailored metrics, and an intuitive interface, that Retool provides. As the results, an increase in operational efficiency, significant improvement in cost management and resource optimization.
Elevating CRM with Custom HubSpot Sales Dashboard
Our other client, a SaaS startup, that offers collaborative tools for design and engineering teams, was on a quest to supercharge their sales efforts. Traditional CRM systems were limited and not customizable enough. The company sought a solution that could tailor HubSpot to their workflow and analytics needs.
The scope of work
Charged with the task of going beyond standard CRM functions, our team turned to Retool. We wanted to redefine how sales teams interact with their CRM.
By integrating advanced analytics, custom metrics, and a user-friendly interface, our developers provided a solution that transformed data into a strategic asset.
In 40 hours, three informative dashboards were developed, containing the most sensitive data related to sales activities. These dashboards enable our customer to analyze sales and lead generation performance from a different perspective and establish the appropriate KPIs.
Building a PDF Editor with Low-Code
Our client, a leading digital credential IT startup, needed a lot of internal processes to be optimized. But the experience with low-code tools wasn’t sufficient. That’s why the company decided to hire professionals. And our team of developers joined the project.
The scope of work
The client has a program that designs and prints custom badges for customers. The badges need to be “mail-merged” with a person’s info and turned into a PDF to print. But what is the best way to do it?
Our developers decided to use Retool as a core tool. Using custom components and JavaScript, we developed a program that reduced employees' time for designing, putting the data, verifying, and printing PDF badges in one application.
As a result, the new approach significantly reduces the time required by the internal team to organize all the necessary staff for the conference, including badge creation.
