On some level, most businesses recognize the value of working with a development partner to build custom software. An estimated 80 percent of businesses report that custom software provides a significant advantage over competitors, according to recent industry research on LinkedIn. These businesses cite streamlined processes, enhanced efficiency, and greater innovation.
At the same time, working with a software development partner can feel like taking a big risk and hoping for the best. Much of this trepidation comes from not understanding exactly what value that software development partners add to a business. The best development partners offer what’s known as dedicated talent engagement services. In other words, they commit to offering their highly specialized expertise and experiences on an on-demand basis and to strategically engaging with and leading the client’s team to success.
Let’s explore four specific, dedicated services a software partner will bring to the table to help ensure the success of every custom software project:
Product-Focused Development
Most businesses think of software development work as just another project. They decide at the upfront on a scope and specifications for the project, then set a timeline and budget. As a result of rigid project management practices, there’s often little room for deviation, creativity, and risk-taking. Thus, the resulting product tends to be functional at best. It’s never the most effective, strategic solution that could have been architected.
A top-notch software development partner won’t allow the business to default to managing custom development work as just another project. They will guide the business in adopting an agile methodology that encourages innovation and a relentless focus on the quality of the end product. Along the way, they will help the business to pivot and adjust where strategically necessary—even if these changes affect the project scope, timelines, and budget. Significantly, it’s not just the partner’s intuition and instinct that guides product-focused development decisions. Rather, the partner develops such a strong command of their organization’s big-picture goals, needs, and priorities for the product that they have all of the information they need to achieve the best possible outcomes.
User-Centered Design
Most businesses don’t know how to implement user-centered design when building custom software. That’s because user-centered design is all about soliciting feedback from end users early and often, then using this feedback to shape the best possible product design. It’s a skill that most businesses don’t understand well or know how to implement effectively. At best, user feedback typically comes at the tail end of software development—after the product has already been largely built.
The right software development partner will ensure that user-centered design is implemented from the outset. They will take care of identifying end users, providing forums for end users to provide meaningful feedback, and then using these insights to shape the design. In the beginning stages, the development partner will draw out the pain points and inefficiencies that end users may not even be consciously aware of. Then, throughout the development lifecycle, the partner will continuously and meaningfully engage end users, including pushing them to provide incisive, actionable feedback.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
In most businesses, responsibility for overseeing custom software projects tends to fall on IT or a similar, technically focused team. This team typically does not bring in other business units—sales, customer service, marketing, legal—to proactively help shape the software product. As a result, the product that gets built doesn’t typically incorporate the vital perspectives, priorities, and preferences of other business units.
A high-quality development partner won’t let the business end up in this common situation. Instead, the partner will proactively foster cross-functional collaboration, ensuring that the resulting product is optimally designed to serve the needs of the entire business.
Continuous Improvement
A culture of continuous improvement is tough to implement for software products. Every business unit has many competing priorities and little time to stay focused on perfecting what already exists. This trend is to the detriment of the ROI that businesses want to get from custom software. Like any project, custom software only pays long-term dividends when it’s enhanced and expanded over time.
A software development partner helps businesses prioritize maintaining a focus on continuous improvement. During the project, the partner will create forums and infrastructure to maintain adequate focus on continuous improvement. Then, after the project is completed, the partner will train and empower teams across the organization on how to identify and expeditiously implement incremental, continuous changes to software products over time.
Final Thoughts
Dedicated talent engagement services enable software development partners to add compelling, unique value to businesses. These cornerstone services include ensuring that the business implements product-focused development, user-centered design, cross-functional collaboration, and a culture of continuous improvement.
For more information about dedicated talent engagement services, please get in touch with the experts at Outcode. We’ll share with you more in-depth insights about how to use on-demand, dedicated services to build custom software products that exceed customer expectations and drive bottom-line profitability.
