Of course, you need to make sure the team you are hiring knows what they're doing. Technical expertise is the key to any successful IT outsourcing partnership. Without the right skills and knowledge, even the best intentions can lead to subpar results, project delays, or system vulnerabilities.
Identify the Required Skills
Start by identifying the specific technical skills your project demands. For instance, if you are developing a web or mobile application, you might require expertise in specific programming languages such as JavaScript (or TypeScript), Python, or other. Similarly, if you need help with cloud infrastructure, you’ll want to ensure the team is experienced with platforms such as AWS, or Azure.
Usually, you can just ask whether a company has experience with the tech you’re already using. If you don’t know what to use, an expert company will tell you what’s the best for the job.
Certifications are good indicators of competence in specific technologies. They’re not the full story, but they paint a picture of what to expect. Be mindful that the exact names can change pretty often, and it’s hard to compare them between each certifying company.
Experience with Similar Projects
Technical skills are important, but they must be applied effectively in a real-world context. Assessing a team’s experience with similar projects can give you insight into how well they’ll be able to meet your needs.
You may ask the team to provide case studies of similar projects they’ve completed. Ideally, these case studies should be similar in scope, scale, and technical complexity to your own project.
If possible, ask to see demos or live examples of their previous work. This could include websites, apps, or systems they’ve built, or showing how they’ve handled similar challenges in past projects.
Ask the team to walk you through a particularly challenging project they’ve worked on, and how they overcame obstacles. This will help you understand their approach to problem-solving and their ability to innovate when faced with technical roadblocks.
Technical Interviews or Skills Assessments
To further gauge a team's proficiency, you might consider conducting technical interviews or skills assessments. This approach helps validate their expertise in a more controlled setting.
You can conduct a technical interview to test their knowledge of specific technologies and methodologies. If you have an internal IT expert or consultant, they can help prepare questions or even participate in the interview process to ensure the right skills are present.
For development projects, you might request a code sample from a previous project and have it reviewed by an internal team or third-party expert. This will help you assess the quality of their code, including its efficiency, readability, and scalability.
For certain types of IT projects, you might want to ask the team to complete a small test project or task. This could be something that reflects a part of your project, such as creating a simple module or solving a specific technical problem.
Agile Methodologies and Project Management Skills
In addition to technical knowledge, how the team organizes and manages their work can significantly impact the success of the project. Agile methodologies are commonly used in software development to ensure flexibility, efficiency, and continuous improvement.
Check if the team is familiar with Agile frameworks like Scrum or Kanban. Agile teams typically work in sprints, constantly iterating and improving based on feedback, which can be beneficial if your project requires adaptability.
Ask the team about the tools they use for managing projects and collaboration, such as Jira, Trello, Asana, or GitHub. These tools can offer visibility into the workflow, track progress, and ensure timely communication about project updates.
Some teams offer dedicated project managers who oversee communication, timelines, and task delegation. A skilled project manager can help ensure smooth execution and avoid bottlenecks, especially in large or complex projects.
Understanding Their Development and Testing Process
Knowing how the team approaches development and testing is essential for ensuring that your project will be delivered to a high standard.
Ask the team to outline their development process. Do they follow a structured approach with defined stages, from planning and design to development, testing, and deployment? Structured workflows indicate that the team has processes in place to minimize risks and ensure quality.
Furthermore, testing is a critical component of any IT project. Ensure that the outsourcing team has a strong QA process, which includes unit testing, integration testing, and user acceptance testing. Automated testing tools are a good sign that the team prioritizes quality and efficiency.
