Software

When To Outsource Development

Outsource for capacity, a specialism you need temporarily, or a defined project with a clear end. Keep in-house whatever is genuinely core, because that is where accumulated knowledge compounds.

In-house technical lead onboarding external development specialists to accelerate feature delivery

Capacity Is The Cleanest Case.
A team that knows what to build and cannot build it fast enough loses nothing by adding hands, provided the internal team keeps architectural ownership.
Specialism Is The Second.
Work needing a skill for two months (an integration, a performance problem, an accessibility remediation) does not justify a permanent hire, and the alternative is a permanent employee learning on your project.
The Case Against Is Anything Core.
If the software is the product, or encodes the process that differentiates you, the knowledge built while making it is an asset you want retained. Outsourcing that means paying twice: once to build, again for each supplier to relearn.

Whatever the route, keep an internal counterpart who can evaluate the work.

Fully outsourced software with nobody internally able to review it is how organisations lose the ability to change their own systems, and that is discovered at the worst moment.

Covered in Custom SoftwareWeb Applications

Frequently Asked Questions

What Should Never Be Outsourced?

Architectural ownership and the ability to evaluate the work. You can outsource who writes the code; you cannot outsource knowing whether it is any good without consequences.

How Do We Protect Against Supplier Lock-In?

Code in your repositories and infrastructure in your accounts from the first commit, plus documentation written for someone who was not there. Arrange it at the start, not at the end.

What Does This Cover?

Outsource for capacity, a specialism you need temporarily, or a defined project with a clear end. Keep in-house whatever is genuinely core, because that is where accumulated knowledge compounds.

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When To Outsource Development

Capacity Is The Cleanest Case.

Specialism Is The Second.

The Case Against Is Anything Core.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where this applies

Related Services

Read next

Apply this to your own situation

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When To Outsource Development

Capacity Is The Cleanest Case.

Specialism Is The Second.

The Case Against Is Anything Core.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where this applies

Related Services

Read next

Apply this to your own situation