Smarter Software Outsourcing

In Agile software development, you would want your team to deliver the most potentially deployable software after every iteration, with as little waste—human resources and rework—as possible. That's a tall order, especially if you're working with an offshore team. In today's episode, I will break down the top 5 best practices I have learned from experience in the industry.

[0:00] Intro to “10. 5 Best Practices when Assembling your Agile Team Offshore"
[1:42] Focus on keeping your team small
[2:51] Choose the right individuals to satisfy all the skillset needed
[7:59] Make sure you have at least one senior engineer in your remote team plus a technical team on your side
[8:59] Get the ratio right
[10:21] Communicate well and be open to changes

Need to grow your team and expand your software development capabilities with a reliable tech partner by your side? Visit www.arcanys.com.

Even in mature companies with good programmers already on board, hiring one bad programmer can still derail a project's timeline—leading to additional costs if not managed properly. So how do you dodge this trap? In today's episode, I'll share with you a few tips on how to avoid hiring bad programmers that may help.

[0:00] Intro to "How to avoid hiring bad programmers?"
[2:55] Know your developer needs
[3:10] Do you really need a senior developer for your project?
[5:22] Leveraging the network of your current employees
[6:46] Review resumes but don’t give them too much weight
[8:52] Never skip face-to-face interviews
[10:34] Perform background checks
[11:44] Test candidates skills with real-life programming conditions
[13:33] Involve your existing team members in the hiring process
[15:48] Let the candidate engage with the CEO or founder
[16:34] Deliver value to every candidate
[17:19] Believe in second chances

Need to grow your team and expand your software development capabilities with a reliable tech partner by your side? Visit www.arcanys.com.

Among all the factors that come to mind when we get ready to evaluate a custom software development provider, these two—security and contractual aspects, often come last. But they're certainly not the least when it comes to partnering with a business partner for the long term. Join me in today's episode as I share my ideas on ensuring a safe outsourcing partnership for your organization.

[0:00] Intro to Security and Contractual Aspects in Software Development Outsourcing
[2:13] Review the security aspects
[3:02] Understand the contractual aspects
[3:29] The rates
[3:49] The models of engagement
[4:35] Previous projects
[5:28] Value for money
[6:30] Risk-free trial

Need to grow your team and expand your software development capabilities with a reliable tech partner by your side? Visit www.arcanys.com.

What are your workflows like? How will you communicate daily updates with your local and distributed teams? How does cultural awareness affect your team's working environment? How are progress reports communicated? And most significantly, how do you determine the standards of quality between you and your provider? These and a few other crucial questions are important when considering a prospective outsourcing partner, and this episode will discuss just that.

[0:00] Intro to Knowing your Tech Partner's Communication Processes and Standards of Quality
[1:41] Establishing communication processes and collaboration tools
[2:17] Project and task management
[3:21] Daily interactions
[4:04] Cultural awareness
[4:49] Progress report and team status update
[5:34] The escalation process
[6:05] Determination of the standards of quality

Need to grow your team and expand your software development capabilities with a reliable tech partner by your side? Visit www.arcanys.com.

It’s clear that today’s pandemic is destabilizing businesses and pushing many of them to rethink not only their cost structure but also the way they operate and deliver. For CTOs and executives trying to think through their potential COVID-19 response options more proactively, handing over software development to another company appears as a solid strategic choice. Today, I've listed down seven reasons why the pandemic makes software development outsourcing more relevant than ever.

[0:00] Intro to “7 reasons why software development outsourcing is even more relevant after COVID-19”
[0:56] The difficult equation of delivering more while spending less has never been that great
[3:31] Well prepared team can deliver successfully sprints without being together
[6:06] A good outsourcing environment brings so much more than just remote work
[8:12] Hiring in-house is now harder and costlier than ever
[11:01] In such uncertain times having flexible resources is the key to ensuring sustainable operations
[13:30] Surround yourself with people you can trust
[16:04] Progress tracking: it has never been easier to communicate with counterparts and teammates

Need to grow your team and expand your software development capabilities with a reliable tech partner by your side? Visit www.arcanys.com.

Assessing your prospective software development outsourcing partner can be a very tedious process. Many things must be considered and aspects that need in-depth investigation. Luckily, after many studies and my experience in the field, I figured out two of the most important aspects I suggest you examine and evaluate when picking the best partner for your organization — the company's background and capabilities.

[0:00] Intro to “How to Thoroughly Evaluate Tech Providers' Backgrounds and Capabilities”
[1:47] Research the company’s background
[1:50] The basic information
[2:53] Shared values
[3:57] Their clients
[4:43] Their understanding of your own background and environment
[5:28] Evaluate the company’s capabilities
[6:04] Primary skills and technologies
[7:09] Add-on skills and services
[7:43] Size and structure of the company
[8:18] Readiness to deploy

Need to grow your team and expand your software development capabilities with a reliable tech partner by your side? Visit www.arcanys.com.

In today's episode, we will maximize the power of the internet and utilize tools to help us find the right provider. How do you effectively start your market research? What tools are readily available to help you filter potential providers? Remember, making a shortlist of promising companies based on the criteria that matter to you is an essential step, as this will give you a clear perspective of how the collaboration will perform in the long run.

[0:00] Intro to “Four ways to properly list (and shortlist) potential software development firms”
[1:07] Tools to use for your search
[1:10] Google or an other search engines
[1:45] Your network
[2:28] Review sites
[4:09] Marketplaces and consulting firms
[5:43] Make a shortlist of potential providers

Need to grow your team and expand your software development capabilities with a reliable tech partner by your side? Visit www.arcanys.com.

In this episode, I'll be talking to Derek Gallimore, founder of Outsource Accelerator, the most trusted source of independent information and expert advice about outsourcing in the Philippines. Together, we will tackle topics that will help businesses planning to go the BPO way make more informed decisions such as "Why is it important to understand the ins and outs of outsourcing?" and "How do you find the best-fitted technology partner for your business needs?" So let's shine a light on these questions and a few more besides.

[0:00] Intro to “Outsource Accelerator: Making informed outsourcing decisions with expert BPO advisory and support”
[1:39] Could you please briefly describe Outsource Accelerator?
[3:04] What was your motivation behind creating this platform?
[4:55] Why did you pick the Philippines?
[6:42] Can you tell us what you think your impact is on the transparency of this outsourcing industry?
[8:24] What is the type of people who visit your website and reach out to you?
[12:35] How do these people navigate through the different options they have? What are the tools available to these?
[14:02] Tell us more about your business model
[16:15] How do you accompany clients through the consulting services?
How does this work?
[18:28] What have you learned from the market?
[20:59] Where do you see the industry of offshore staffing headed in the next 5 - 10 years?
[25:01] What is the next big step for Outsource Accelerator?
[26:00] How to reach out to Outsource Accelerator?

Need to grow your team and expand your software development capabilities with a reliable tech partner by your side? Visit www.arcanys.com.

It's settled: you've decided to outsource part of your software development. But are your expectations crystal clear? How do you envision the collaboration? In this episode, I give you a rundown of criteria to reflect on to make sure you start looking for the right type of outsourcing providers.

[0:00] Intro to “How well do you know your outsourcing needs?”
[1:57] Understand all your current struggles as a business
[3:24] Start picturing your ideal provider
[3:50] What collaboration and engagement model do you want?
[4:30] What technologies do you want your partners to cover?
[4:59] Where do you want your partner to be located?
[5:39] What company structure are you targeting and what do you expect from the people behind it?

Need to grow your team and expand your software development capabilities with a reliable tech partner by your side? Visit www.arcanys.com.

Is putting comments in code a good habit, or an unnecessary waste of time? In this episode, I'm here together with Eric, a Senior Software Architect working with Arcanys, and we'll talk about one of the most debated topics in this complex world of software development.

[0:00] Intro to Should developers comment their code?
[1:42] Should you actually comment your code?
[2:10] What makes it even more important in an outsourcing set-up
[3:22] Can you explain how to comment your code?
[4:42] How can you help people better comment their code?
[5:54] The usefulness of the code reviewing
[6:54] Costs and consequences of no or bad commenting
[8:50] How do you determine the good and bad quality of the commenting?
[9:46] Why some developers are no commenting on their code?
[13:00] How to manage this as a remote team manager?
[15:06] Tips to implement easily with your team
[15:50] What is a good timeframe to do code review with a developer?
[17:34] For the commenting, are there good resources you can find online?

Need to grow your team and expand your software development capabilities with a reliable tech partner by your side? Visit www.arcanys.com.