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The bandwidth in-house engineers have for projects is always stretched thin, which inhibits their ability to scale, and outsourcing can be expensive in more ways than one. It feels as if there is no happy medium between outsourcing and doing everything in-house without hiring more engineers, but the solution lies in an agile methodology. Agile engineering at scale can help reduce the load of engineers, allowing them to take on more projects without becoming overworked.
Imperfect solutions to inarticulate problems
An agile methodology is a form of project management where a team breaks one project into smaller increments and steadily improves upon the item or idea through these iterations. This requires close collaboration with stakeholders and open communication. Implementing an agile approach to engineering allows engineers to offload some of the work without the drawbacks of outsourcing, therefore giving companies the opportunity to take on more projects without worrying about overworking their employees.
The pressure that most companies face with outsourcing is not just the cost involved, dispersed teams, or the quality of work delivered. The problem lies in the effort and resources necessary to manage the outsourcing process. When you outsource, you should be creating less work for yourself and your team, but in reality, it may feel like adding another team to manage. You have to break down what work you need to be done and how to do it, which can take days if not weeks, and you may find yourself constantly checking in on their progress, which can cause unnecessary stress.
If this initial heading proves to be the wrong direction, or the company needs to make changes — it could end up adding months to the project timeline. Clients could also come back with modifications to project parameters. If outsourcing, such changes could also lead to contract amendments that eat up even more time and resources. Companies need to find a way to leverage partners more effectively without massive overheads.
Agile at scale in engineering services—Harnessing the best of outsourcing at scale
Agile-at-scale applies agile principles to deliver engineering services at scale. This solution combines the best of outsourcing with agile principles to eliminate the added costs for companies and the extra burden of project or vendor management.
Instead of starting the collaboration by trying to solve a part of the problem, companies put forward the problem statement to their partner. The agile model of delivering an end-state product breaks up the problem into relevant chunks and sets the outsourced team to work on them iteratively. It works on the most obvious parts of the problem first and adds layers of solutions with each iteration. The agile process also ensures the same line-of-sight for outsourcing partners as the in-house teams regarding any changes and their implications on the project.
Agile engineering at scale is not another way to outsource, it is the answer to the problems outsourcing can create. With this model, companies finally have a true option to scale engineering on demand and do so in a cost-efficient manner.
