Effective management of remote developers is not as easy as it may seem, especially if this is your first time working with remote employees. Generally, there are two pretty obvious solutions: either you hire a qualified project manager to do this for you, or you do it yourself. Each has its own pros and cons, so let’s take a closer look at them.

The apparent disadvantage of hiring a project manager is that you have to pay him. However, hiring a project manager may be a better option for those who are not quite familiar with software or web development and for those who have to work with a large number of distant employees. A good project manager will be able to resolve all minor issues without disturbing you, and will bother you only occasionally. A qualified manager can offer efficient solutions that you could have overlooked owing to lack of experience or some other reason. This option is best for those who just don’t have time to manage distant projects or for those whose time is worth more than a manger’s salary.

The other, a bit rougher, way is to handle everything on your own, and this one requires a more strategic approach.

Plan beforehand
Before you hire a freelancer or few to work on your project make sure you understand what you want, and most importantly, how you want it done. The same thing can be achieved in different ways, and you have to decide how you want your project executed before someone starts working on it. Simply saying that you want a blog or an e-commerce website will not do the thing. Do some research, find out about possible solutions and select the one that suits you most, and then look for freelancers or outsourcing company that has qualifications needed to bring your project to life.

Be clear
Write a detailed technical specifications that describes how exactly everything should be done. If you lack the qualifications or experience to do this, it’s advisable that you hire someone who does. I can guarantee that some changes and modification of your initial plan will still be required, regardless of how good and thought-out you initial plan is, but a qualified person will help you avoid a situation when you realize that everything, or most of it, needs to be redone.

Sign a contract
To protect your investment ask a company or a freelancer to sign a contract that specifies due dates for each stage of the project and describes what exactly is considered a successful completion of a certain stage or the project as a whole. Your contract should specify how exactly the payment will be made and at what stage of the project. It is best to make payments in milestones after successful completion of each stage of the project. If you agree to pay an hourly rate, make sure you discuss the approximate number of hours needed for completion of each stage of the project.

Test the product
This is often overlooked by many employers, but is actually one of the vital steps to successful project management. Programmers or web developers often cannot find bugs or errors in their own work; it’s like proofing the essay you wrote. Make sure each bug, and more often than not there is one, is fixed before a certain stage of your project is completed. Do not postpone this, as fixing a certain error at an early stage is easier than it will be later, when it will become a part of the big picture. After the bug is fixed, test everything again; oftentimes fixing a bug produces one or more new ones. Try to have everything checked and tested before it’s too late. You do not want to hear from one of your users that a certain feature that is already in use and is vital to a bunch of other features does not work properly.

Outsourcing your web or software development projects is a good practice, but only if you approach it strategically. And unless you are an experienced developer or project manager, I recommend that you hire someone qualified to help you manage your remote development team.

Offshore software development company masterofcode.com.
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