8 TIPS ON MANAGING A TEAM OF IT DEVELOPERS IN UKRAINE
The trend of remote development is certainly just being developed. It’s obvious, considering the development of Web services, which has finally simplified business borders between cities and countries. This principle of project management is an urgent cause of development cost-cutting. Also, the search and recruitment of outside experts will be easier and more efficient, because there will be fewer candidates in one city of the business residence, than in another country, for example, Ukraine.
On the other hand, this form of cooperation involves a high level of self-organization and the responsibility of the developers. It's one thing if you already have a proven team of programming professionals, and quite another if the remote team has not proven itself in any way with a particular customer or type of work. A remote/dedicated team model may be advantageous if the client follows a series of simple but effective points. We emphasized 8 key tips to manage a remote team of developers in Ukraine.
1. EXPECTATIONS AND PRIORITIES
Setting clear expectations at the beginning of the project, along with checkpoints and deadlines, allows developers to make a working schedule and to use time and resources in the most efficient way. When remote staff has a clear understanding of the project terms and reporting dates, they can plan their time, not being surprised by suddenly emerging checkpoints.
When you consider the current and future tasks of your dedicated team in Ukraine, collect reports, assign tasks, and view the status of all current projects, it is easy to forget that you are not all in the same office. Priorities setting lets team members to understand, which issues require immediate attention, and which ones can wait. It is extremely important to actively communicate with the project manager, whose direct duties are to bring goals and timetables to the team of developers.
2. BEYOND GEOGRAPHICAL LIMITS
A dedicated team model has proved to be a good way of setting up a product or service, the core of your business as the owner. However, it creates a new type of relationship between the key man and a team of performers separated geographically. Management of a team in another country, for example, a remote dedicated development team in Ukraine is a big issue, yet not a monumental one. As a business owner, you should praise the benefits of having motivated developers who work in a comfortable environment.
Having a dedicated team without geographical restrictions, particularly in Ukraine, allows you to hire skilled employees without having to worry about maintaining office space and equipment. The use of adequate means for project management will greatly simplify offshore remote work: providing shared access to the documents, the joint development of UX, control overtime reports. Such a ‘shared ecosystem’ provides increased efficiency, clear cooperation, and eliminates delays.
3. MASTER YOUR EXPENSES
A team of IT developers from Ukraine allows Western companies to get a reliable system, project quality, and high dedication of professional developers beyond geographical limits. It is an advantageous choice for long-term cooperation with a large volume of work. Even though the project budget depends on the programming technologies and the required level of experts, it is your objective to provide a planned workload.
There would be no one else to blame and you need a clear vision of the project. In other words, no pricing model would work until you do the job yourself. An offshore development team in Ukraine is appropriate for business owners, who are aware of the complexity and pitfalls of their own project development. For those who are willing to invest in a gradual and continuous development of a quality product. In a wider sense, there is no way for a single ‘money pump' into a project and waiting on the side.
4. A PROJECT MANAGER
The teamwork of the developers depends on how the project manager sets goals and objectives of yours to a remote team. This professional is an important link in the chain of cooperation between you and your dedicated team in Ukraine. Make sure that the PM does not just blindly execute any requirements, but is able to critically take in difficulties and voice variant solutions.
Your team of IT developers would have a better understanding of the process rather than just a set of technical means. A skillful PM is always in touch and solves issues arising from both sides. His/her competence will directly affect the duration of delays or the so-called ping.
5. QUICK RESPONSE AS A HABIT
While working on your business idea, the project manager (see the previous tip) and an offshore dedicated team are more likely to have questions. As far as the owner, you are the only person who can produce adequate feedback: if not you then who. If the mastermind of the business is responding with a delay, your development team in Ukraine may be out of action for days, which is a waste of time and, of course, a waste of money.
Being ‘on the line’ with your PM and a dedicated team and answers without a delay in a course of a few hours is the best option. If the issue demands more time to give feedback, you should inform the team of the situation. Do your best to provide the necessary information rather than looking for the third party responsible.
6. USE OF TIME-REPORTS
What are good indicators to monitor the quality of remote teamwork and the project outcome? As a business owner, you need clear criteria of work, set down on paper rather than just kept in mind.
Well-taking supervision and the use of time reports are for sure a survival means in business in 2022. It implies some unpleasant moments, as in any control means, but a reporting habit is evidently better than passing the blame. Time reports are big-picture means of a remote team of developers in Ukraine. It shows how much time every performer has spent working on the project and what has he or she achieved.
7. CRITERIA OF WORK
What are good indicators to monitor the ‘quality’ of remote teamwork? Keeping time commitments, code quality (where it is needed), team performance in critical situations, and any other measure that is relevant to your particular business. To start with, do not neglect the opinion of the project manager.
While defining your criteria of work, keep in mind that the development team from Ukraine cannot work in the best way when they do not have freedom. As part of the IT product development, freedom means flexible requirements and a sense of dialogue with a business owner.
8. A USE OF ENCOURAGEMENTS
Business owners may choose any popular salary model to supervise software engineering in Ukraine. The truth is you would obviously fail if you treat your offshore team as a group of depersonalized executives.
All while the professionals hardly ever say it out loud, people are generally demotivated when they are treated as instruments in a toolbox. The fact that developers are not in the next room, does not mean that the chief’s attitude does not affect their work process.
It is essential to keep in mind a motivation for programmers: as a business owner, you should regularly share a vision of the project and occasionally praise your development team in Ukraine. Employees will work much more creatively if they are encouraged by the project.
It bears repeating, that it’s not a question of money: any wage bonus could replace the boss, who appreciates their work. Even a symbolic letter of praise significantly increases a team's performance. Turn your next all-team meeting online in a paced coffee break.
THE TAKEAWAYS
- Avoid treating your staff as a worker 1, 2, 3, etc. Ask the PM to personify your team.
- Instead of closing the gaps with cash rewards, favor your remote team in Ukraine with personal involvement.
- Take a closer look at the means of shared management tools. Close the gap between you and your team.
- Get the feel of delegating your authority. Engage with PM, who is armed with critical thinking.
- Providing feedback within 2-3 hours as a superpower.
- Don’t waste your time seeking a punching bag (a guilty party). Use time reports to boost your project rather than scapegoating.
- Leave ‘keeping in mind’ for a grocery list: business praise records and reporting.
- Your team is the most valuable asset of the business and it’s your goal to direct their talents.
- Gradual and continuous development, step by step, rather than doing business on an impulse.
- The remote model of business is not a ‘do or die’ matter. Live a little. Remote teamwork benefits from flexibility.
