Software development continues to evolve at an amazing speed and companies are struggling to keep up. That’s why recent research found that more than 52% of American businesses have either partially or fully outsourced software development. One of the reasons that so many companies are turning to nearshore software development services is because these companies are at the forefront of the multidisciplinary development movement.
Multidisciplinary software development teams are incredibly valuable because they help businesses save time and money, all while producing high-quality products. These collaborative teams can reduce the time it takes to develop custom software, improve the quality of code, and ensure that user design is integrated into the software during every step of the process.
Before partnering with a nearshore development service, ask about their approach and more specifically about their work with multidisciplinary teams. This simple step might save a great deal of time and frustration down the line.
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What is a multidisciplinary development team?
Multidisciplinary teams are an essential part of the Agile development methodology. The Agile approach to software development focuses on creating a prototype that can be shown to stakeholders as soon as possible. This allows development teams to solicit feedback early on, enabling them to avoid unnecessary features and costs.
Traditional software development methodologies, such as Waterfall, emphasise producing software in sequential order, with each specialist brought in solely during their assigned stage. The multidisciplinary Agile approach is much different.
All of the various specialists, including design, development, quality assurance, and software security, are involved in producing each iteration of the software. This helps managers ensure that every voice is heard and included in the final product.
The best nearshore software development services should be prepared to explain how they integrate multidisciplinary teams into their development methodology. Executives should ensure that important voices like software security, quality assurance testing, and user design are included during every step of the process.
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Why multidisciplinary teams are essential for nearshore software development
1. Release products to market quicker
Integrating a multidisciplinary team into the software development cycle will reduce costs and bring products to market quicker. Compare this to traditional linear development approaches like the aforementioned Waterfall.
These traditional development methodologies segment teams according to their specialty. This makes real-time communication and problem-solving difficult since these groups are often physically separated and seldom collaborate. For example, the programming staff may find themselves at a standstill until they hear back from the QA testing group at another location.
Multidisciplinary teams eliminate this wait time and decrease the time to market by bringing all of these specialists together to work in the same location and on the same team. Each member of the team can interact with one another and offer valuable feedback in real-time.
The best nearshore development teams services emphasise multidisciplinary teams for this reason. They firms to save their client’s money and produce a high-quality product–all in the shortest amount of time possible.
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2. Improve UI/UX design
One of the most common, albeit unfortunate, trends in the software development field is the separation between traditional development and user design. High-quality software should look amazing and work flawlessly. Yet, the design aspect is often viewed as an afterthought during the software development cycle.
User experience design refers to the way that software functions. When a user first opens a device or launches a program, everything should make intuitive sense. Duolingo, the popular language learning software, is an excellent example of high-quality user experience. Their mobile application effectively manages to both entertain and educate users at the same time–an incredible accomplishment.
User interface, on the other hand, refers to how software looks and feels. Airbnb’s website and mobile app have both nailed this portion of the development process. Their platforms are incredibly well-designed and beautiful looking.
When users load Airbnb’s mobile app they are presented with a clean homepage that emphasises blank space. Their clean designs, paired with their beautiful landscape images and conversational writing tone, invites users to spend more time searching for their dream vacation.
It’s clear that UX and UI design were a priority for both Duolingo and Airbnb throughout their entire development cycles.
Importantly, any business can integrate user experience and user interface considerations into their software during every step of the development cycle with the help of a nearshore development service.
Nearshore software development firms help businesses cultivate multidisciplinary development teams through staff augmentation, software outsourcing, and IT managed services. These flexible groups will help businesses meet customer demands and produce software that stands out.
3. Better code quality
Mistakes are an inevitable part of the software engineering process, no matter the experience level of the developer. The seminal software development book, Code Complete, estimated that programmers make an average of “about 15-50 errors per 1000 lines of delivered code.”
Some programming errors simply cause an inconvenience. They prevent end users from executing commands and using the software as intended, leading to frustration and poor feedback.
Others errors, like those found in AT&T’s electronic switches, can cost companies millions. This particular software error resulted from a single line of poorly written code. It caused the company’s long-distance service to cease working for nine hours–resulting in 75 million failed long distance calls. AT&T ultimately lost an estimated $60 million from that single line of mistyped code.
Companies can avoid many of these coding issues by working with a nearshore software outsourcing partner that specialises in multidisciplinary teams. These teams are built by including developers, engineers, and customer-centric testers in one group.
Multidisciplinary teams provided by nearshore development partners operate according to the mantra of shared responsibility. This means that every member of the team is responsible for the success of the project. They work together to reduce coding errors by ensuring that each line is edited by another team member before the product is released to end users.
Conclusion
Multidisciplinary teams have become an invaluable resource for nearshore software development services and their clients. These teams bring all the specialists necessary to take software to market together into one group, ensuring that their software meets all stakeholder demands.
Executives that integrate multidisciplinary teams into their software development initiatives can also expect to release products to market quicker and create software that works smoothly and is free of bugs. This allows business leaders to focus less on process and more on profit.
