Our remote development team: how do we work?

Working from home, working from a distance, or working remotely? Due to COVID-19, these are terms that we hear more and more in the workplace these days. And while the concept of remote working has become more relevant due to the corona crisis, some companies were already working with remote development teams all over the world. But what is a remote development team and how does Convident use it?

What is a remote development team?

If you have to go through a major software development process with your company or for customers or if there is a high demand for software-related skills, a remote development team can be the solution. But what exactly do we mean by a remote development? A remote development team is a group of software developers who work for your company. This team can consist of single or multiple software developers. The remote developers have their office somewhere in a location abroad, they gather at the office every day to see each other and then get to work for you. When working with a remote development team, communication is of great importance. As two teams at two different locations are working towards one goal, clear guidelines for communication are required.

Alternatives for a remote development team are, for example, looking for freelancers, starting a recruitment and selection procedure or engaging a digital agency. However, sometimes the range of software developers here in the Netherlands is not sufficient enough. In that case, you will have to turn to a remote development team and keep a number of advantages and disadvantages in mind.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a remote development team?

We have already seen that communication is very important in a remote development team. But there are several obstacles and of course advantages. Below is a list:

Advantages:

• Free to use. A remote development team is freely deployable. Especially when the remote development team is expanded, more and more skills come together. This makes the team as a whole freely deployable.
• Thanks in part to the free deployability of a remote development team, they are very effective. This results in fast processing of software development.
• An unparalleled work ethic. We notice that the software developers in a remote development team show an unparalleled commitment to their work. A remote development team that shows commitment motivates everyone.

Disadvantages:

• Remote. Because the remote development team works remotely, the bond with the company is sometimes less. It is therefore very important that remote developers are involved in as many business activities as possible. Nowadays, an online activity can be used in a very creative way!
• Translating projects or assignments sometimes takes some extra time and energy. Although we notice that with clear communication in English, no matters are overlooked.
• Are not readily available for fixes. Quick fixes, such as support activities, are more difficult to implement by a remote development team. This is mainly because then a problem has to be passed on via different communication channels.
• Working hours are difficult to control. Fortunately, there are plenty of tools to use for recording hours these days.

How does Convident work with a remote developer?

Our remote development team consists of a senior developer from Cairo – Egypt. This developer is actually the power behind our development team and finishes most websites. The great thing about this custom developer is that you can actually submit an entire website to him and he will develop it in a short time. In the future when we have more projects, it is also possible to expand this development team. The strength of this is that you can simply hire another remote developer and the project manager will then formulate the work that needs to be done. In simple words, unlike a Dutch employee, this development team is cheaper, more effective and easy to make changes since the developer is not on location.

Remote developers actually work exactly according to Dutch developers, only the project manager has to manage the times, assignments and project wording well since everything has to be transferred to English. What you then encounter is that the project manager has to translate and explain the assignment and ultimately do a good check. The power of this remote developer is that you transfer a project to him and he finishes it quickly and effectively. The extra work then lies in good control and project breefing.