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When developing a mobile app, one should aim for its utmost execution. You can’t meet your goals if you don’t know how to choose a mobile app development team for your desired app. And when you’re a newbie in the scene, it might seem a bit daunting for you to build a team for your mobile app project from scratch. What the hiring process is, which experts you should hire, what should be your team size, etc. Such questions might be popping up in your mind, mightn’t they?
Thus, we’ve penned this article to help you not just understand the hiring process and its essentials but also to hire a team that can develop top-grade mobile apps for you.
For this, let’s first understand what characters a mobile app development team includes.
People in a Mobile App Development Team
In general, it consists of five people; business analysts, project managers, UI/UX designers, developers, and QA engineers, in addition to a founder (which would be you).
All these team members are vital, so it’s important that they all play their part in order for a successful development process. Because, even if a single member is not there, the product or service will lack something really essential! (and that’s not what you would want).
Let’s get to know the key roles and responsibilities of each participant:
1. Business Analyst
To complete your project within time and budget, you’ll require a timeline and cost estimation. A business analyst helps with this! He collaborates with every team member, especially designers and developers, to evaluate the entire project and is needed at the start of the project.
2. Project Manager
This is the person you or the product owner will be in contact with most. You can compare them to a captain – they’re responsible for ensuring that all members have a clear understanding of the project’s goals, timelines, and outcomes. They coordinate tasks, maintain regular communication, and make sure that the project stays on track.
3. UI/UX Designers
Call them the artists who work for the app’s look and feel! The UI/UX designers create visually appealing, intuitive, and user-friendly interfaces. This enables users to navigate with ease, thereby increasing engagement. Also, remember that good designers are those who make sure that users don’t just use the app but also enjoy it.
4. Developers
There are two types of developers, and you’d need both:
Front-end Developers
They work for the visual elements of an app. The front-end developers turn the design into code to create a user interface using relevant programming languages, frameworks, and UI/UX tools. They include Android, iOS, and cross-platform app developers.
Back-end Developers
These work behind the scenes. The back-end developers write code to maintain the parts of an app that users can’t see. They make sure that the databases are maintained, data flows smoothly, and the app is robust and reliable.
5. QA Engineers
These professionals are responsible for the quality of your mobile app. Testers or QA (Quality Assurance) engineers find and remove bugs and glitches from your developed app. They test its features, appearance, and performance, reveal any flaws, and make sure it adapts to various devices and browsers, runs seamlessly, and meets your customer needs.
Now that you know about the role of each skilled individual in a team, let’s learn some tips that, I’m sure, will definitely help you employ an exceptional mobile app development team.
Tips for Employing Mobile App Development Teams
We’ve compiled the process of employing mobile app development teams along with tips:
Be clear about your project goals
The hiring process begins with you being very sure about what your project is about, whom you’re targeting, and what you want to achieve. Therefore, have a clear vision! It’ll help you communicate what you expect from the team and assign duties to each member, making sure everyone is on the same page.
Determine the team size
Next, decide how small or big your team should be. For this, examine the complexity and scope of your project. If your project is small, then building a team of 5 members would work great. But if it’s big, then a team of 10 or more people is necessary. Based on this team size, you will hire mobile app developers, designers, and other crucial characters.
Estimate the development budget
Now, compute the overall costs that will be required to build a mobile app development team for the entire project. Consider a price range that works for you and put some funds aside for improvements, functionality additions, and force majeure events.
Create a project timeline
In order to help your team stay organized and on track, it’s important that you create a timeline for the project. Set targets and deadlines with each member’s roles and responsibilities and keep track of their progress.
Look for professionals on various platforms
There are diverse platforms, including LinkedIn, freelance sites, outsourcing companies, and social networks, where you can search for and hire mobile app developers. You can even ask your business friends or colleagues for referrals and cut candidate hunting time dramatically.
Pro tip: Keep in mind that candidates suggested by the people you trust might or might not be a good fit, so stay true to what’s best for your business.
Study their profiles & portfolios
Make a list of chosen professionals or organizations and meticulously go through their profiles and portfolios individually. Read their clients’ reviews, check their ratings, and make sure that they possess technical skills that match your project needs.
Pro tip: Take your time when searching. It’s not necessary to hustle; instead, be patient, so you can select the most suitable, skilled, and dependable individuals.
Go for teams that adopt Agile methodology
In agile project management, projects are broken into multiple phases, making the process iterative as a result. This saves significant time and costs. So, you should hire mobile app developers who have experience in working with such a methodology.
Prefer teams that value transparency
If transparency is your priority, then pick organizations that value openness. When interviewing, see how willingly candidates discuss their experience with their success and failure cases. In case you decide to outsource, check if the companies are open with their potential clients by reviewing their website and blog.
Pro tip: Take your preferences into account. Analyze how you feel about the team and whether they support your goals and understand your values or not.
Pick the suitable collaboration model
There are three collaboration models, in-house, freelance, and outsourced team. Carefully select the right model for your mobile app development on the basis of your project goals, needs, budget, and timeline. Also, take into account your project’s complexity, duration, budget limitations, stack of technologies, and risks involved.
Next is Team Management
Once you’re done hiring your ideal team, think about how you’ll manage it. Though a major part will be played by your project manager for managing the project, as a founder or product owner, you’ll have to look after your team. For this, there are a few tips you can follow:
Clarify the roles of all members
Communicate clearly about your project goals with your mobile app development team and make sure that all members are aware of their roles
Regularly contact with the team
To resolve issues, clear up misunderstandings, or provide insightful feedback, it’s crucial to keep in touch with your team.
Give them access to resources
You have to make sure that each team member has access to the resources (tools and technologies) they need to build a successful mobile app.
Let them share their thoughts
Hold meetings to discuss the progress and encourage your team to share their opinions on how the project could be better.
Make use of project management tools
You can keep the team on track with tools like Asana, Click-up, Trello, or Jira. They streamline tasks, manage deadlines, and ease collaboration.
Three Approaches to Hiring a Team
There are three ways in which you can hire mobile app developers; recruiting an in-house team, asking freelancers, or employing a full-cycle outsourced team:
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In-house team
According to our analysis, this is the most popular way for hiring a mobile app development team. In-house teams offer you greater control over the entire development process – however, it is also more expensive and takes a lot of time. Some admired platforms where you can find and hire an in-house team are Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn. Others include Dice and SimplyHired.
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Freelance team
If you want to save expenses, then hunt for freelancers on popular platforms. You can pick from plenty of qualified freelancers. However, it can be harder to manage and involves fewer interactions. Platforms such as Upwork, Toptal, Fiverr, Freelancer, Behance, Guru, and Youteam are excellent for employing freelancers.
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Outsource team
The third way is outsourcing a team. This means you can get a highly skilled team at costs lower than an in-house team. Look for professional development companies with proven track on reliable platforms. GoodFirms, 99 Firms, Clutch, Slingshot, IT Firms, IntellectSoft, and QBurst are a few examples of the best platforms to outsource teams.
Of all the Options, Outsourcing is the Best!
The process of building an app is time-consuming and requires individuals with experience and expertise who can smoothly work in collaboration with you or the product owner. Considering this, we regard outsourcing as the best approach.
By outsourcing, you partner with an external mobile app development company to work for a part of your solution, the entire solution, or to just strengthen your existing team with new or additional roles.
Businesses that develop mobile apps through remote outsourcing get an opportunity to work with flexible full-cycle teams that provide every professional required to create a successful app. Besides bringing bountiful knowledge and expertise to the table, this eliminates the need to recruit, train, and maintain employees.
Managing remote outsourcing teams is less stressful compared to freelancers. Since an outsourced team is already used to working together, it doesn’t require any adaptation to the working environment. You won’t have to supervise any team member and yet keep complete control over your project.
If you work with an experienced company, it’ll help you figure out the cost of mobile app development, start the project ASAP, and assist you through every step of the process. Therefore, this approach is much swifter and relatively inexpensive than an in-house team.
In short, outsourcing a team lowers costs, escalates team productivity, and accelerates project completion, saving you a lot of time. It works best for startups and medium-sized businesses and occasionally even for large-scale organizations compared to freelancers, which are only suitable for short-term work or small projects.
Wrapping Up
We’d like to close by saying that whether you want to hire an in-house, a freelance, or an outsourced team, our tips will help you from the start of the hiring process to its end. To us, outsourcing stands out as the perfect hiring model in terms of price-quality ratio. Plus, for a well-executed mobile app, the availability and collaboration of all five members are highly crucial (remember this!).
