March 14, 2024

1. Guidelines To Select Right Engagement Model

If you are a business owner, it is possible that you have attempted software development and  implementation for your business. If you have attempted software development and implementation for your business,it is quite possible that you have failed in the same. Yes, most software implementation projects fail - That's the harsh reality, even if you don't like it. 

 

So, this blog is intended to explain why this happens and how you can do a better job of choosing the right engagement model for developing and deploying software for your business. 

 

Why do most attempts fail?

Firstly, let’s understand the skill sets of an average businessperson. They  intuitively understand anything related to their product, service, people, consumer requirements, sales, etc. But, when it comes to pure technical domains like accounting or software development and implementation, they don’t have the functional knowledge to understand what is relevant and what fits their needs. 

 

But entrepreneurs, being entrepreneurs, value progress more than anything else.  So they take a decision and move forward, only to realize after that they have hit a dead end, the project is done and dusted, and they have lost quite a few things - firstly, their hard earned money; secondly - their valuable time; and finally - their team’s hope of implementing any software. At this stage , they have developed a fixed mindset that anything related to software development is not going to work for them. 

 

Factors For Success

For successful software development and implementation, there are several factors to be considered

• Choosing the right vendor

• Having your requirements objectively captured, agreed upon by the user and communicated to the vendors before proceeding to the development stage

• Making sure that you have the right model of engagement with your vendors

 

In the upcoming section of this blog, we are going to explain the various models in which you can engage with your software vendors, establish a few parameters that will help you choose the right vendors depending on the context.

 

Available Engagement Models

 

There are four models of engagement with your software vendor. They are

 

1. Fixed Bid

It is the simplest of all. You freeze the scope, ask for a quote, and freeze the quote for the scope - That’s it. If your scope is small, absolutely well defined, and if the complexity of the project is relatively low, it can be a good model to choose. Here, the degree of uncertainty should be low. The advantage is that you can get your development done at a low cost. But, if you have not done a thorough job at the scope stage or if you keep increasing the scope during the development phase, two things happen - One your relationship with the vendor gets strained and two - you will be developing something that is not of high quality or something that is difficult to implement

 

2. Time and Material

It is the exact opposite of a fixed bid.  Here, you don’t pay for the output; rather, you pay for the time for which the resources have been used. Here, the per hour cost of all resources involved in the project is agreed upon, and each bill is closed based on a timesheet containing the number of hours each resource has worked in that cycle. It is advisable to go for a time and material model if the scope is not set in stone  - In most circumstances, the scope might be broad and open in nature. Under such scenarios, it is better to opt for time and material so that the output quality is not affected due to the time constraint. If you have the budget, if you want great quality, and if you have an open scope, it might be a good model to go for. But, the disadvantage is that you should have some way of evaluating what might be a reasonable time for delivering the requirements. In other words, you should have the tech know how to evaluate if the output is commensurate with the time spent, or you should have a vendor who is transparent and reliable 

 

3. Staff Augmentation

This is not for you if you don’t have a tech team inside. This is suitable for entrepreneurs who have an in house tech team and want specialized capabilities for a specific period of time. Of course,you can hire a freelancer for the same.  But, an individual might not have the accountability that an entity does.  So it is preferred to hire a resource on a short term contract from a vendor offering staff augmentation services - Go for it only for urgent, specialized, and short term requirements. The advantage is that - you keep the costs variable; once the need for the resources is over, you need not pay for them. The disadvantage is that the per month cost can be on the higher side. However, if it is going to solve your problem, it is worth it.  Also, it can be a great way to scale or downsize your resources depending on market conditions. 

 

4. Managed Teams

The managed team is almost the same as staff augmentation , except that here the management aspect of the project is also outsourced. Assume you have a tech start up and have a small internal team to develop and deploy stuff. As your needs grow, you might want to introduce new modules, or you might want a solid maintenance team for your product or project. In those cases, this could be a great model, as you have a vendor who takes accountability for the resources and their management. If you can identify a great vendor who can understand your code base in detail and provide solid support—nothing like that—it makes a lot of sense to go for the model, as you will get quality and flexibility

 

Parameters For Selecting Engagement Model

 

Conclusion

Knowing your requirement parameters and choosing the right model of engagement with your software vendor can increase the probability of success significantly. So,the next time you think of developing something for your business needs, write down your requirements and choose the model that works for them. Cheers!!!