Choosing the right development partner is crucial. This is by far the most important tip in this entire article – and it’s not even close.
So, how do you get it right?
Here’s what you should do when looking for a partner:
Check their technical expertise – Read their case studies. Make sure they actually have the chops to successfully complete your project.
Evaluate their tech stack – Make sure they have experience with the tools you want to use to build your product.
Check their reviews – Read reviews on sites like Clutch, G2, and Goodfirms to better understand how they actually work.
Review their development process – Look at how they approach development and if they follow best practices.
Review their pricing – Compare their rates to industry benchmarks and make sure there are no hidden costs.
Of course, this is just the process – and you likely know it already.
So, how do you actually find the right partner?
You need to make sure they have these traits:
Flexibility and proactivity – Can they easily adapt if requirements change? Do they proactively propose solutions?
Work ethic and cultural compatibility – Do they take their work seriously? Do they “get” your culture?
Transparent and accurate communication – Can they tell you no if your ideas aren’t feasible? Do they answer all your questions?
If they nail these requirements, you’ll know they’re a good fit.
Why choosing the right development partner is important
Minimizes risk – Choosing an experienced, high-caliber development partner minimizes common project risks like delays and budget overruns.
Long-term cost-efficiency – Working with the right partner will cost you less in the long run, as you’ll avoid costly delays, rework, and project failure.
Scalability – The right partner will be able to easily expand the team and services they offer as your business grows and your needs evolve.
Establish clear communication channels
Clear communication is the backbone of every successful partnership.
Poor communication can derail even the simplest project before it even gets off the ground.
So, establishing clear communication channels is key to successful collaboration with your nearshore team.
On that note, here’s a quick explainer by DECODE co-founder and CEO, Marko Strizic, on how clear and open communication benefits you during development:
But, how do you do it, exactly?
First, agree on a set of tools everyone will use, like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and so on.
Next, make sure to schedule regular meetings with your team, including:
Daily-stand ups
Sprint reviews
Sprint planning meetings
Retrospectives
Demos
Use these meetings to discuss progress and solve any issues early before they get a chance to escalate.
Finally, don’t forget that feedback is king.
Make sure your nearshore team can always come to you and give you feedback on what needs to improve.
That’s how you’ll build trust
And that’s key to successful development.
Why establishing clear communication channels is important
Prevents misunderstandings – Having clear communication channels will eliminate ambiguity and make sure everyone is always on the same page.
Faster decision-making – Efficient communication will help your team solve problems faster and prevent unnecessary delays.
Reduces errors and duplicated efforts – Structured communication will ensure everyone on the team understands their responsibilities, which will minimize mistakes and duplicated efforts.
Clearly define your goals and requirements
On every project, ambiguity is the last thing the team needs.
If you want to successfully collaborate with your nearshore team, you need to clearly define your goals and requirements at the start.
Unclear requirements are one of the biggest project killers – 37% of projects fail because of them.
So, you can’t afford to get this wrong. Before you kick off your project, work with your nearshore partner and clearly define:
Project goals
Project scope
Deliverables
Milestones
Timelines
Performance tracking metrics
Pay close attention to milestones and deliverables in particular.
This will help them set a realistic timeline based on project scope and complexity.
Work with your nearshore team to ensure each milestone and deliverable serves a clear purpose and is directly tied to your business goals.
Also, document everything. Make sure all of the documentation is easily accessible to everyone working on the project.
In short, clearly defining your goals and requirements is the best way to keep development going smoothly.
And that’s exactly what you should want.
Why clearly defining goals and requirements is important
Reduces scope creep – Clear goals and requirements will help you keep the project on track and avoid unnecessary changes to the project scope.
Easier progress tracking – Defined goals make it easier to track project progress and evaluate project outcomes.
Accurate cost estimation – Well-defined requirements will make it easier for your development partner to accurately estimate costs, which will help you with financial planning.
Plan for long-term collaboration
Treating a nearshore partnership as just another transaction limits its potential.
Long-term projects often grow in scope. Having a partner who can be there every step of the way is invaluable.
And that’s why you should invest in a genuine, long-term partnership.
So, how can you make this happen?
Obviously, the first step is choosing the right partner but we’ve covered that already.
Then, make sure they understand your long-term strategy and their place in it.
Schedule regular strategy meetings so they’re aligned with your long-term goals. Lean on their expertise and proactively ask for their input.
Also, treat your nearshore team as an extension of your in-house team.
This will reduce the “us vs. them” mindset and help you create a more unified team dynamic.
In short, planning for a long-term collaboration from the start will help you lay the foundation for a partnership that will deliver value for years to come.
And that’s what nearshore development is all about.
Why planning for long-term collaboration is important
Knowledge retention – Over time, your nearshore team will become deeply familiar with your systems, workflows, and goals, which is invaluable.
Builds a stronger partnership – Planning for long-term collaboration will help you build a stronger partnership with your nearshore team and improve collaboration.
Consistency and continuity – Long-term collaboration ensures consistency and continuity, which will help you maintain steady progress and reliable results as your partnership develops over time.
Visit your team onsite
In-person collaboration is invaluable for every project.
But, if you outsource development to a company on the other side of the world, it’s almost impossible.
And that’s where nearshoring comes in.
Since the team you hire is geographically close, it makes onsite visits much easier.
Working face-to-face with your team is especially important during critical project phases, like kickoffs and major milestones.
Let’s take a closer look at kickoff meetings. Here’s what a typical kickoff meeting looks like:
The kickoff meeting is one of the most important meetings you’ll have with your nearshore team as it sets the stage for the rest of the project.
And being in the same room during it encourages brainstorming and problem-solving that video calls just can’t replicate.
Also, visiting onsite will give you invaluable information on how your partner company actually works.
You’ll get a better feel for team dynamics, how they approach work, and whether or not they have the capacity to expand your team in the future.
And that will show if they’ve got what it takes to be a long-term partner.
Why visiting your team onsite is important
Faster problem-solving – Meeting face-to-face, especially for critical meetings, will help your team better understand and solve problems faster.
Better collaboration – In-person meetings and discussions build trust and help you connect with your team on a personal level, which improves collaboration.
Improved onboarding – Meeting in person before project kickoff will help the team better understand your goals and expectations, which will make onboarding easier.
Set clear expectations
Setting clear expectations is key to project success.
If your nearshore team knows exactly what you expect from them, they’ll be much more efficient and productive.
Every team member shouldknow their role, what’s expected of them, and how their work contributes to the bigger picture.
This will prevent duplicated efforts, misunderstandings, and missed tasks from derailing your project.
You should clearly document roles at the start of the project and update them if responsibilities shift.
Also, work with the team and define what “done” means for each milestone and deliverable.
Include criteria for functionality, quality, and realistic timelines. This will eliminate assumptions and set a measurable standard.
Just make sure to include buffer time for unexpected delays to keep timelines realistic.
But, don’t get too attached to your initial expectations. Regularly revisit and refine them to reflect new priorities.
Why setting clear expectations is important
Ensures everyone is on the same page – Setting clear and unambiguous expectations ensures the whole team always knows their role and what you want them to do.
Prevents delays and misunderstandings – If everyone on the team knows what’s expected of them, you’ll prevent unnecessary delays and misunderstanding that might derail development.
Easier planning and budgeting – Clear expectations mean your nearshore team will have an easier time planning development and estimating costs.
And the numbers prove it – Agile projects, on average, are 28% more successfulthan projects using traditional development methodologies.
So, when looking for a development partner, you need to prioritize hiring those who use Agile methodologies.
But, why is that the case?
Well, Agile methodologies emphasize collaboration, flexibility, and iterative progress.
Take Scrum, for example.
Scrum breaks down the development process into 2-4 week iterations called sprints, with each sprint acting like a mini development cycle.
But, what does that mean for you?
When you hire a team that uses Scrum, you benefit from:
Faster delivery of value – Scrum’s iterative approach means the development team delivers usable increments of the product at the end of every sprint. This allows you to see progress early and start using or testing parts of the product sooner.
Flexibility – Your nearshore team can quickly incorporate feedback or respond to changing business needs. If priorities shift, the next sprint can realign to reflect new goals.
Increased transparency – Scrum includes regular meetings like sprint reviews and daily stand-ups, giving you frequent updates on progress.
Improved collaboration – Scrum encourages close collaboration between the development team and stakeholders. You’re involved in sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives, ensuring the product aligns closely with your vision.
Better risk management – With Scrum’s iterative delivery, your team identifies and addresses risks early in the development cycle. This prevents major issues derailing the project later.
Higher product quality – Scrum emphasizes continuous testing and improvement. Each sprint includes quality assurance, ensuring your product is thoroughly tested before the next iteration.
That’s a pretty long list of benefits – and we haven’t even covered them all.
And they’re a pretty compelling reason why
Why prioritizing Agile development practices is important
Flexibility – Agile development methodologies are flexible by design and allow the team to easily shift priorities if requirements or business needs change mid-development.
Continuous team improvement – Regular retrospectives mean that your team becomes more efficient as the project progresses.
Higher software quality – Testing and feedback are key to Agile methodologies, which ultimately improves the quality of the end-product.
Allow your nearshore team enough autonomy
Trust is the foundation of every successful collaboration.
And that’s why you need to give your nearshore team enough autonomy when they’re working on your project.
Empowered teams perform better. When your team has the authority to make decisions within their scope, they resolve issues faster and adapt more effectively.
And they’re more likely to go above and beyond expectations. So, what can you do to make this happen?
The first step is allowing the team to solve problems independently. Provide guidelines and advice, sure, but let them handle issues on their own.
This way, you’ll also avoid the biggest morale killer – micromanagement.
While it might be tempting to get involved in every minute detail, it’s a bad idea. Here’s just a few of its negative effects:
You need to focus on the results your team delivers rather than monitoring their every move.
Next, you need to give the team enough context to work effectively. They need to understand the “why” behind their work.
Sharing the bigger picture will help them make decisions aligned with your business goals.
In the end, it all comes down to trust.
And if you can’t trust the team you’ve hired, why hire them in the first place?
Why giving your nearshore team autonomy is important
Higher team morale – Trusting your nearshore team will boost their morale, which can greatly increase their productivity.
Reduces bottlenecks – Your team will be able to address any issues immediately without waiting for approval.
Mutual respect and trust – Trusting the team to do their jobs will help you build respect and trust which will strengthen the overall partnership.
Nearshore development tips: FAQs
To pick the right nearshore software development company, you need to:
Review their portfolio and case studies
Evaluate their tech stack
Check their reviews
Review their development process
Look into their pricing
Also, you should pay attention to:
Cultural and language compatibility
Their quality and expertise
Security and IP protection
Your costs will primarily depend on the hourly rates in the target country, project complexity, and the pricing model you agree on.
But, your costs will generally be lower than with onshoring and higher than offshoring.
Nearshore teams are typically within the same or close time zones, which enables real-time communication.
And this means faster feedback, quicker decision-making, and fewer miscommunications.
Offshore teams, however, often face delays due to time zone differences, which can slow progress on your project.
Need a reliable nearshore partner?
Have you been trying to find a reliable nearshore development partner but can’t seem to find the right fit?
Well, you’re in the right place.
We’re an EU-based high-caliber software development company and we’ve got 12+ years of experience building software products for some of the biggest names out there.
So, we’re pretty confident we can handle any project, no matter how complex.
If you want to learn more, feel free to reach out and our team will get back to you as soon as possible to set up an introductory call where we’ll discuss your needs in more detail.
A seasoned software engineering executive, Marin’s role combines his in-depth understanding of software engineering processes (particularly mobile) with product and business strategies. Humbly boasting 20+ years of international experience at the forefront of telecoms, Marin knows how to create and deliver state of the art software products to businesses of all sizes. Plus, his skills as a lifelong basketball player mean he can lead a team to victory.
When he’s not hopping from meeting to meeting, you’ll find Marin listening to indie rock, or scouring the latest IT news.
