The Development Team Extension is not just a matter of recruiting new specialists. It is a strategic process influencing the speed of development, product quality, and overall performance of the company. Mistakes at this stage can lead to productivity decrease, costs increase, and even deterioration in the quality of the code.
In this article created in cooperation with Celadonsoft, we will explain how to properly scale the team, avoiding common problems.
Why Is It Important to Properly Expand the Team?
- Speed of development – increasing the team does not always mean speeding up work. Without clear planning, new employees can slow down the process.
- Maintaining the quality of the code – If new developers are not correctly integrated, there is a risk of deterioration of the architecture and increase of technical debt.
- Cost optimization – chaotic expansion leads to increased costs that are not always justified. It is significant to understand when a new unit is really needed in the team.
- Flexibility and scalability – well-organized process of expansion allows for rapid adaptation to changes and efficient management of resources.
Current Needs and Opportunities Assessment
Before the Development Team Extension, it is significant to objectively assess current business needs and scalability. Hiring new professionals without a clear understanding of the tasks is not only an unnecessary cost, but also a potential chaos in the processes.
1. Analysis of the Current Load
The first step is to evaluate the current workload and identify bottlenecks in the team:
- What are the most delayed tasks?
- In which development areas there is a shortage of specialists?
- How well does the team handle current projects without losing quality?
You can use metrics such as average task completion time, number of stops per production and frequency of delays.
2. Determining the Need for Expansion
Extension of command is justified if:
- Development speed does not match business requirements.
- Current specialists are overloaded and often work overtime.
- Plans to launch new projects requiring additional resources.
- The team lacks expertise in key technologies.
If at least one of the points is relevant, it’s time to consider hiring new specialists.
3. Assessment of Domestic Resources
Before we start to attract new developers, it is worth considering whether we can redistribute the tasks within the team:
- Is there any way to train current employees in new technologies?
- Can you optimize processes and automate routine operations?
- How well are current resources being used?
Sometimes the correct allocation of tasks and improvement of processes can solve the problem without the need for expansion.
Scaling Strategy for the Command
Effective Development Team Extension requires not just more staff, but a good approach to scaling. It is important to consider the project architecture, process organization and communication within the team. Consider key strategies that will support avoid chaos and increase efficiency.
Splitting the Project Into Modules
As the team grows, managing many developers becomes more difficult. One of the best ways to maintain efficiency is through a modular approach to design:
- Microservice architecture. If the project allows, the division into microservices allows developing and maintain individual parts of the system by autonomous teams.
- Separate components. Even in monolithic applications, you can separate key modules by assigning them to individual developer groups.
- Clear delineation of responsibilities. Each command should understand what part of the project is responsible for, which API interfaces are used to interact, and how integration works.
Optimal Command Size
Adding new professionals does not always lead to increased productivity. The optimal size of the command helps to maintain a balance between efficiency and complexity.
- The principle of «magic number 7». According to studies, the most productive teams are 5–9 people. This allows flexibility in decision-making and rapid response to changes.
- Minimizing the «bottlenecks» in communication. If the team is too large, the amount of information noise and complexity of decision-making increases. It is better to form small, autonomous groups.
- Creating cross-functional commands. Bringing together developers, QA engineers, analysts, and designers in one team helps to find solutions faster and reduces the dependency on other departments.
Balance Between Growth and Process Resilience
Scaling the command should be done in a continuous manner, without losing quality. For this, it is worth considering:
- Process automation. Implementing CI/CD, tests and infrastructure as code reduces human dependency and simplifies scaling.
- Process documentation. The more people work on a project, the more important it is to have clear documentation on architecture, code-style and business logic. This accelerates the adaptation of new employees.
- Flexibility in decision-making. You don’t always have to build a team for scale. Sometimes it is better to optimize existing processes, improve DevOps practices or revisit architectural solutions.
Choosing the Right Expansion Model
The MVP development Team Extension is not just a matter of hiring new staff, but a strategic process that affects the efficiency of the development, the deadlines, and the budget of the project. There are several key models of team expansion, each with its own advantages and limitations.
Outsourcing vs. Staff Increase
If you need to scale your business, IT companies have to ask: hire developers or outsource some of the work?
Outsourcing
- Allows fast recruitment of specialists without long hiring processes.
- Reduces infrastructure costs and social security.
- It gives you access to a global talent pool.
Shortcomings: Complexity in management, quality risks, potential privacy issues.
Staff increase
- Full control over the processes and the quality of the code.
- Forming a cohesive team involved in the project.
- Flexibility in managing resources and priorities.
Disadvantages: high cost, long process of selection of specialists, risks of overloading internal HR-resources.
Celadonsoft: “The choice between outsourcing and staff expansion depends on the company’s goals. If speed and budget savings are important, it is better to attract an external team. If the priority is control and long-term development – it is worth developing an internal development department.”
IT Staff Augmentation – Flexibility in Team Expansion
One of the most balanced solutions is IT Staff Augmentation – a model that allows to quickly expand the team by attracting temporary specialists without having to completely transfer processes to external contractors.
Suitable for:
- Projects with dynamic requirements, where it is difficult to predict the volume of work in advance.
- Expediting development when you need to build up resources quickly.
- Companies that care about keeping control of the processes.
Advantages:
- Fast integration of new specialists.
- Flexibility to change the composition of the team depending on the tasks.
- Minimum legal and administrative costs.
IT Staff Augmentation is particularly effective when there is a shortage of highly specialized developers, allowing to close temporary gaps in expertise without long-term costs for staff expansion.
Finding and Integrating New Professionals
Even with the right model of expansion, it is crucial to approach carefully the process of recruiting and integrating new employees. Mistakes at this stage will result in losing efficiency in the development and communicating within the team.
1. Defining Key Search Criteria
Before starting to choose specialists, it is influential to clearly formulate the requirements that exist for the candidates. The most important parameters are:
- Technical skills: matching the stack of technologies and level of competencies with the requirements of the project. Experience in similar projects: existence of cases, relevant to the team tasks.
- Cultural compatibility: ability to work in a team, compliance with corporate values. Flexibility and learning: the ability to quickly adapt to new conditions.
- Companies like Celadonsoft often focus on technical skills only, forgetting how important teamwork and soft skills are. This may lead to some problems with integration and interaction within the team.
2. Channels for the Search of Specialists
Depending on the chosen model of expansion of the command, the sources of search for candidates will be different:
- Internal search: re-qualification of the current employees, relocation within the company.
- Recommendations: search through colleagues, partners, former employees.
- Professional platforms: LinkedIn, GitHub, Stack Overflow.
- HR agency: collaboration with recruiting companies.
- Freelancer and outsourcing platforms: Upwork, Toptal, Turing.
Anyway, in all cases, the choice depends on time, budget, and the complexity of the requirements that are set for the candidate.
3. Fast and Effective Adaptation
Even an extremely skilled developer may be in trouble if not properly immersed in the process. In order to minimize risks, it is important to organize an effective adaptation.
- Clear onboarding program: documentation, guidebooks, access to repositories and tasks.
- Mentor: Find a new mentor who will help him/her get familiar with the processes.
- Transparent communication: regular meetings, clear definition of the tasks, and expectations.
- Quick engagement in the project-getting started from the first days, accelerating integration.
Companies that build a structured adaptation process reduce time wasted on getting a new employee into the project, getting returns faster from an extended team.
Sustaining Motivation and Productivity
Team extension is not only a question of recruiting new professionals, but also an ability to keep their productivity and involvement in the work process. Without a clear motivation strategy, even the most experienced developers can cool down on the project, which will definitely affect the results.
Creating an Environment for Professional Growth
- Technical seminars and meetings – regular internal workshops where the team shares knowledge and new approaches in development.
- Access to learning resources – subscriptions to courses, internal libraries and access to paid tools for self-education.
- Clear career paths – development of a transparent system for growth within the company, where everyone understands what is needed for advancement.
Good Work Process Management
- Flexible but structured work – the balance between agile approach and clear processes helps avoid chaos.
- Use of SMART-tasks – setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-limited goals.
- Regular one-on-one meetings – help to better understand the motivation of employees, identify problems and propose solutions.
Maintaining a Team Spirit
- Motivational programs – bonuses for achievements, a system of gamification and recognition of the contribution of employees.
- Develop a feedback culture – open dialogue helps the team solve problems faster and improve processes.
- Team building – informal meetings, hackathons, conference trips strengthen the team relations and reduce stress.
Conclusion
Expanding the team is a strategic process, meaning an integrated approach to it is necessary. It’s not enough to find new pros; it is also necessary to integrate them into the team, maintain productivity, and regularly analyze the efficiency of growth.
