How to Properly Match a Remote Developer To the Project?
Along with the increasing popularity of remote work, more and more employers began to see the potential in this solution. In the State of Remote Work Report 2020, 57% of workers who took part in a survey stated to work fully remotely. It means companies finally understand their employees don’t have to be in an office to work efficiently and deliver the expected results.
The next step is realizing that temporary workers can support a company in building products or services as well as permanent employees. Indeed, outsourcing IT specialists can minimize costs and maximize the efficiency of product development. However, if you are reading this article, it means you have been already considering this option and want to find out how to match your project to an IT expert properly.
To deliver the project successfully, it is not enough to select a software developer with a specific job title and onboard such a person. In this blog post, we will guide you through three of the essential rules of matching a project to a remote developer, which we follow in Blue House.
Rule No. 1: Determine what developer’s skills and seniority is required
When we start a collaboration with a client as Blue House, first we try to receive general information about a product, the way of work in the company, and the available budget. Suppose there is an IT Project Manager onboard. In that case, we schedule another meeting to discuss the scale of work that needs to be done, project advancement, technology, methodologies they use in development, primary goals, and product features.
After a detailed tech interview, we are able to determine whether you need one person to support the internal team with a specific skill-set or a dedicated team that will efficiently deal with the tasks within an agreed time period without involving your internal employees. The last step is matching project requirements with an IT expert or experts who are already in our Blue House Community.
Our strong advantage is that we already have service-proven senior developers in our community, so our clients don’t need to worry about the quality and pace of work no matter who we choose. When you decide to pick a specialist out of many others available on the developer marketplaces, as an example, you should prepare a precise description with your development team or Project Manager of who exactly do you need and what level of seniority is required.
Job titles can be confusing. The fact that someone is a Backend Developer does not immediately mean that they know the technology or the programming language you want to use in your project. Even if the search is narrowed down to a language - Backend Java Developer - it still does not guarantee that you will hire the right professional. If you don’t have a development team you will need a technical recruiter or consultant who will help you with the preparation of the role description.
Then you can use the help of the developer marketplace consultants - some of them offer support in this subject. However, honestly speaking, you still will need to invest your time to talk with a group of chosen software developers to find out about their earlier experience and select the one that best suits your project requirements. When you decide to use the service of an IT specialist outsourcing company, you do not need to have advanced knowledge about the specialist you are looking for.
Rule No. 2: Take into account the remote developer’s personality traits
Maybe you have heard of the term “Psychometrics”? Psychometrics is a field of study that includes techniques of psychological measurement. It helps indicate strengths, skills, and abilities that an individual represents. The tests can be taken to learn more about personality assessment. One of the best-known psychometric tests is the Gallup Strengths Assessment. Simply speaking, based on test results, it is possible to describe someone’s personality traits and talents.
This knowledge can have a significant impact when matching a project to a remote developer. It allows estimating to what extent the specialist will fit the project and can be used to avoid bad hires. It sometimes happens that a software developer doesn’t feel well within the role they represent in the team or they “don’t feel” the project, even if they have all the required skills.
Some of us prefer rules and procedures, while others demand a lot of freedom and autonomy to be productive and creative. Also, the traits of one person confronted with those of another can collide and support each other. As a result, a harmonious team is created. At Blue House, we take a closer look at our IT experts’ personality traits. We know it impacts engagement, effectiveness, and personal motivation.
Also, we pledged to put our IT experts in the first place. This mission has been reflected in selecting projects for developers - their personality traits play a crucial role here. Based on our Psychometric research, we discover what potential connections between someone’s personality traits and future work environment may bring the best results. On this basis, we can recommend an IT expert to work on a project with specific characteristics.
However, not all the traits are easy to discover because some features may be revealed only when working on a specific task or with a given group of people. For example, we may indicate that a person is an extrovert and prefer to work with a team. What we may not know is that our expert is also a confident communicator. This is where our community network comes in. We get feedback from people who collaborated with a given person on the project and they also contribute to the determination of the dominant personality traits and talents.
Rule No. 3: Make sure the developer understands project requirements
When you cooperate with an IT specialist outsourcing company, detailed project specifications are provided after selecting a developer. At Blue House, we ensure that outsourced experts are suitable for the role and understand their tasks. We gather all the necessary information, and based on that, we decide and take that burden off of your shoulders. However, if you choose to hire a developer for a specific project yourself, a basic product description might not be enough.
Having specifications can save you money when you match a project to a developer. The outsourced IT expert must be aware of all the possible risks and scope of work to be performed before evaluating the cost of work on a project. The more work and advanced knowledge are required, the higher the price per hour might be. It also affects the work itself. When external developers understand specifications, they know what to do from the get-go. In turn, you will be able to market your product faster.
Although, don't reveal all the details before you hire a developer and sign the non-disclosure agreement (NDA). You want to keep your idea safe. Project specification, in general, is a complete description of the software's goals, timeline, scope, and functionality. It also lists performance details such as response time, speed, and any other data required to complete the project. Think carefully about what information relates directly to the scope of work and required skills but which disclosure does not violate confidentiality.
The performance details, for example, are the ones which you definitely should protect. If it isn't an open-source project, you do not want to share something that may affect your product's advantage over the competition. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of sharing project specifications is to notify the developers of what they need to do. Without that, you might end up with a piece of software that will have to be discarded because it doesn't match the requirements. It will affect the whole workflow and cause delays and additional costs.
Imagine building a machine - even if everything is tangible, such a product still needs to be designed and planned to work correctly, and all parts fit together. It would not be possible without project specifications. It might be even more complicated when it comes to software development since it has a high degree of abstraction. If a developer doesn't understand how the product should be built it is difficult to pursue something you have no idea about.
Summing up
Correctly matching the project to the developer is a task that requires a lot of knowledge and time for the person responsible for it. Hiring the wrong professional, not only in terms of their skills, is costly. If you don’t want to invest in someone’s improvement, you will probably be forced to conduct another recruitment process. Not mentioning delays in the work schedule.
That’s why picking a developer who is already screened and proved his knowledge might be a much better option. Especially, when you decide to cooperate with an outsourcing company. At Blue House, we helped many businesses find outstanding IT experts who generate results even without a long onboarding process. You can get to know us better by checking out our website.
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