Engagement Models in Software Development
Contract Types
Depending on your requirements, timing, and the budget, we will offer you to choose from the following types of contracts for software development: fix-price, OCD/ODT, outstaffing and time and materials one. All of them include:
- Strong non-disclosure obligations;
- Full transfer of intellectual property rights on the code and documentation, all drafts along with proprietary rights, including all copyrights, moral rights, patent and trade secret rights;
- Payment terms depending on the contract type;
- Statement of Work
- Management and reporting terms
- Maintenance and support conditions
- Other general conditions typical for master service agreements.
Fixed Bid
Ideal for small-size or urgent projects. Fixed bid perfectly works when the project specifications are clearly defined and unlikely to change.
- Working efficiently on the projects with clear, stable, and settled requirements;
- The cost to build an app is fixed and discussed before the fulfillment of the project and doesn’t change no matter how many engineers are involved;
- Only pre-discussed ‘milestones’ of the project are charged, and we expect the payment once it is finished.
Time and Materials Contract (T&M)
In a T&M contract, the customer should be able to estimate the hours needed for a job and negotiate lower hourly rates to reduce the total software development cost.
- Ideal for the projects that are expected to change or don’t have clear requirements;
- The cost of software development is based on direct labor hours at a pre-discussed hour rate;
- Working efficiently when the client requires some parts of the project off-loaded in time.
Dedicated Team (ODT)
This kind of software development model is a perfect solution for any business willing to augment the development productivity, extend current team and/or reduce additional expenses on hiring extra staff or investing into other resources.
Benefits of the ODC/ODT contract type:
- Perfect for all types of projects;
- The team is 100% dedicated and managed by the customer;
- No hiring efforts, lower TCO, ability to quickly scale the team.
Workflow
After choosing a type of software development contract, it is time to decide on the most suitable type of workflow. SCAND engineers are skilled at implementing any kind of workflow requested by the customer. We could split traditional frameworks and use the hybrid approach, taking the best suitable elements from Agile, Scrum, Kanban, and ‘old faithful’ Waterfall.
Agile
Agile development methods are more efficient when the final goal of the project is not defined and the customer wants the development team to react to the changed requirements rapidly and effectively.
- Emphasis on the experimental software development and flexible design pattern
- Oriented on the teamwork environment and collaboration
- Stands for evolutionary development and adaptive planning
Waterfall
Waterfall software development is ideal for static projects, when the customer’s requirements are set and the changes are not likely to happen through the development process.
- Works well for small scope projects where requirements are clearly defined
- Reliable budget and time estimation
- No overlapping as all the tasks are sequential
Scrum
To manage the development of complex software in fixed-length iterations, the Scrum approach could be the best matching. The development process is divided into sprints, and the team interacts with the customer once the sprint is completed.
- Ideal for the swing project development
- Testing is performed throughout the development
- Changes are anticipated along the way
Kanban
This approach is based on Agile but involves a bigger visual component. The benefit of Kanban is that it gives businesses an opportunity to be reactive towards customers’ demands instead of trying to predict the needs.
- Increased flexibility
- Visual component makes it easy to learn
- Optimized workflow
Communication
- E-mails
- Instant messaging
- Project Management Systems
- Versioning Systems
- Reporting Systems
- Guest visits
How to start
- You Ask
- Share your ideas and expectations with us, specify the requirements, or
provide us with an RFP
- Share your ideas and expectations with us, specify the requirements, or
- We Proceed
- We consider your request and reply to you as soon as possible
- We specify the initial plan as well as indicate a number of professionals required
- You Get
- Cost and Time estimations, a brief professional analysis and consultations on your project
- Suggestions on tools, methods, and solutions needed
Free Project Prototype
If you think that the documentation provided could work for both sides, we are happy to create an initial prototype of your project. Once we reach an agreement on the project, we conclude a contract and decide on the best software development methods.