Web Development Outsourcing
Plan, Benefits, Success Tips
In software development since 1989, ScienceSoft offers fast, quality and hassle-free web development for businesses in 30+ industries.
Web Development Outsourcing: the Gist
Web development outsourcing allows businesses to hand over all or some development activities to a self-managed vendor while preserving the desired level of control over the web development project/projects.
- Types of web development outsourcing: staff augmentation, dedicated team, full web development outsourcing.
- A team for web development outsourcing: a project manager, a business analyst, a software architect, UX and UI designers, web developers, DevOps engineers, QA and testing specialists.
Web Development Plan
Below are described the typical steps we at ScienceSoft take to deliver corporate web applications and customer-facing solutions, web portals, ecommerce applications and SaaS products. The development plan can vary depending on the complexity of the future software, the required level of security, and more.
Step 1. Discovery
Duration: 20-30% of the project.
- Getting a clear vision of major business needs (e.g., facilitate communication among employees, systemize corporate data, improve the brand’s image, attract new prospects).
- Identifying the target users.
- Drawing up high-level functional and technical requirements to web software.
- Conducting a feasibility study. Creating a business case including NVP and ROI.
Step 2. Web application planning
- Defining and prioritizing detailed web software functional and non-functional requirements.
- Creating a software requirements specification (SRS).
- Deciding on the architectural style (modular, monolithic, cloud-native, serverless, etc.) of new web software.
Here is a quick overview of common architecture types:
Monolithic architecture
Key benefit: Units are closely bound, making it is easy to test, debug and maintain software.
ScienceSoft recommends for: Simple software with few modules unlikely to be scaled.
Service-oriented architecture (SOA)
Key benefit: The enterprise service bus (ESB) serves as a point of touch between all services, so a damaged service won’t affect others.
ScienceSoft recommends for: Complex enterprise software with a priority on high reliability (healthcare, financial services, etc.).
Microservice architecture
Key benefit: Software components can be developed, tested and deployed simultaneously.
ScienceSoft recommends for: Complex systems with services built in different languages and likely to be scaled.
Cloud-based architecture
Key benefit: Decreases or removes a company’s dependence on the on-premises server, storage, and networking infrastructure.
ScienceSoft recommends for: Evolving mid-scale and large-scale projects.
Serverless architecture
Key benefit: Hosted by a FaaS provider, each function can be scaled automatically upon calls. Payment is charged only when a function is called.
ScienceSoft recommends for: Software with considerable traffic fluctuations, so there’s no need to pay for services during idle time.
- Choosing the technology stack.
- Drawing up an integration plan.
- Planning the QA process:
- Outlining the scope and types of testing (functional, performance, usability, compatibility, security, compliance).
- Defining the testing schedule and a test team lineup.
- Deciding on the ratio of automated and manual tests.
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Tatyana Sidorova, Lead Test Engineer and QA Consultant at ScienceSoft, shares a tip on automated and manual testing: ‘We recommend using an optimal combination of automated and manual tests to achieve prompt verification of new builds in Agile projects with the embedded CI/CD process. We typically automate functional regression and integration tests, cross-browser testing, performance testing’. |
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Step 3. Project planning
Duration: up to 5% of the project.
Note: Thoroughly performed discovery can significantly reduce project planning time.
- Creating the software development project roadmap with major milestones, established timeframes and budget.
- Setting KPIs to assess project health.
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Sample KPIs:
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Step 4. UX and UI design
Duration: 10-20 % of the project.
- Researching wants and expectations of the target audience via focus groups by employing questionnaires or conducting interviews.
- Building UX wireframes or mockups.
- Working out GUI elements.
Step 5. Front-end and back-end development
Duration: 50-80% of the project.
- Establishing development and delivery automation environments (CI/CD, container orchestration, etc.).
- Writing server-side code and APIs.
- Turning static user interface mockups provided by UI designers into the fully functional GUI.
- Conducting unit tests.
Step 6. Quality assurance
Duration: up to 20% of the project.
- Preparing the test environment and test data.
- Creating test cases and combining them into test suites.
- Setting up test management and defect tracking software.
- (if needed) Developing test automation scripts and configuring test automation tools.
- Running tests and reporting the results, sending the revealed issues to developers for fixing.
- Retesting.
Note: Testing usually runs in parallel with development.
Step 7. Deployment, stabilization and preparation for maintenance
Duration: up to 10% of the project.
- Deploying software in the production environment.
- (often for enterprise web apps) On-site user training sessions.
Step 8. Web app support and maintenance
- Selecting and configuring tools for continuous monitoring and testing of web app performance and availability.
- Establishing support and maintenance activities for the new web app.
To ensure trouble-free operation of a new web application, ScienceSoft usually offers three support levels:
L1. User support team
– to provide software usage guidance and handle basic support cases (e.g., password reset, log in/log out) without an IT team’s involvement.
L2. Technical support team
– to fix software configuration, enhance its performance, resolve security issues without access to source code.
L3. Team of software engineers
– to fix software issues on the code and the database level.
Step 9. Further web app evolution in iterations
Note: An iteration typically lasts from 2 weeks to 3 months.
The development and delivery of new working software modules continue iteratively according to the following scheme.
Consider Professional Web Development Services
With expertise in over 30 industries, ScienceSoft can get down to the core of your business objectives and come up with a tailored web solution. Recognized in the 2022 Global Outsourcing 100 list by IAOP, ScienceSoft provides full-cycle web consulting and development services.
Web development consulting
ScienceSoft’s seasoned consultants will conduct in-depth analysis of your business needs, elicit detailed requirements, design a highly efficient web app architecture, and advise on the optimal tech stack. From UX/UI mockups to a robust DevOps and QA strategy — we will equip you with a foolproof project roadmap.
Web development outsourcing
Entrust your future web app to professionals. ScienceSoft’s team will take over everything: planning the project, designing and developing the app, testing and supporting it post-launch. We work in short iterations with major releases every 2–4 weeks, so you will always have clear vision of the project progress.
Selected ScienceSoft’s Web Development Projects
Web-based Software Development for Aviation Insurance
The modernized solution with refined system’s architecture and enhanced functionality enables the Customer to attract new B2B partners and draw external users’ loyalty and revenue from insurance purchases.
Web Application for Care Team Coordination for 120+ Caregivers
The web app allows assigning care team members to each patient and notifying the selected members about specific patient events in line with the RACI matrix.
Custom Billing Platform For A Leading European Marketplace
The scalable and sustainable software comprehensively replaced previously used billing-as-a-service software and allowed for managing billing-related processes easily and safely.
Well Log Data Tracking Software
The software allows specifying various parameters of the well development workflow, assigning tasks to team members, tracking the tasks and notifying relevant parties about specific events.
Online and Mobile Banking Software for an Asian Bank with 3+ mln Customers
The software supports money transfers using unique generated code, split payments, setting up card spending limits, creating virtual cards and more.
What Customers Say about ScienceSoft’s Web Development Outsourcing
We entrusted ScienceSoft with the development of our web application for AWS cloud users to gather cloud instance monitoring metrics. We would like to point out that ScienceSoft’s team managed to bring to life our web application with full adherence to the requirements and within the optimistic project plan. Thanks to their solid experience in agile development, our web app was deployed in just 4 months. ScienceSoft proved to be a reliable and highly professional software development vendor, we would definitely turn to them for our future projects.
Oisín Curran, CEO, Odyssey Validation Compliance
A Typical Team for Web Development Outsourcing
The following roles make up a sound basis for a web development team.
Project Manager
- Provides time and effort estimates, controls complying with the estimates.
- Establishes and controls dev project KPIs and team performance metrics.
- Controls the quality and timely provision of deliverables.
- Keeps in touch with the customer and reports to them on project progress within each development stage.
Business Analyst
- Elicits functional and non-functional web software requirements by conducting interviews with project stakeholders.
- Analyzes industry-specific compliance requirements (HIPAA, PCI DSS, etc.) a software is to meet.
- Prepares a Software Requirements Specification (SRS) that includes functional requirements and non-functional attributes, project constraints, provisional budget and schedule.
Software Architect
- Analyzes the existing IT environment.
- Decides on a web software architecture considering functional and non-functional requirements.
- Chooses an optimal technology stack for a web solution.
UX and UI designers
- Research web design expectations of a target audience.
- Create UX mockups, wireframes and prototypes.
- Design visual elements, drop-down menus, text input areas, animations, and more.
Web developers (front-end and back-end developers)
Front-end developers:
- Develop the browser side of a web solution based on mockups provided by UI designers.
- Fix bugs related to user experience.
Back-end developers:
- Develop the server side of a web solution.
- Create and integrate databases.
- Build APIs and set services interconnection, if necessary.
- Troubleshoot and optimize web solution performance.
Testing and QA specialists
- Plan tests, set up the test environment and write test scripts.
- Execute test plans, detect bugs and document findings.
- Provide developers with reports on revealed defects.
DevOps engineers
- Set platforms and tools to provide continuous integration, delivery, and deployment of code.
- Assess and monitor web software performance.
- Maintain the IT infrastructure.
Web Development Outsourcing Models
Depending on the scope of work that needs to be outsourced, you can consider three cooperation models:
Full web development outsourcing
A vendor’s self-managed team is responsible for the complete development process. A vendor’s project manager sets and controls the team’s KPIs to ensure the results stated in SLA.
A dedicated team
A vendor’s team works on the outsourced part of the project, regularly reporting to your PM.
Staff augmentation
Remote professionals join the in-house team, and you coordinate the whole project.
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Note: To get a better insight into the split of duties within each outsourcing model, download ScienceSoft’s comparison table. |
Popular Technologies Used for Web Development
ScienceSoft recommends the tools of the following cloud providers to form a highly secure development environment.
Microsoft Azure
Best for
Applications with strict compliance requirements and enterprise apps with AI needs.
Description
- Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrants for Cloud Infrastructure and Platform Services.
- 200 + services (compute, containers, CI/CD, integration, migration, databases, IoT, AI, etc.).
- 60+ availability zones (distinct locations from which cloud services originate and operate).
- Supports multi-cloud and hybrid implementation approaches.
- Custom script extensions for VMs to streamline installation and further configuration of web software.
- Managed disaster recovery and embedded backup services.
- Microsoft Azure developer tools include a wide range of SDKs for various programming languages, integrated development environments (IDEs) and code editors with multiple debugging facilities.
- Discount for long-term usage (1-3 years): Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (up to 72% discount).
Pricing
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Best for
Large-scale applications.
Description
- Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure and Platform Services for 10 consecutive years.
- 175+ services (storage, databases, containers, serverless computing, application integration, migration, application management, ML, AR/VR, IoT, etc.).
- 77 availability zones.
- Comprehensive offering of scalable data encryption that forms an additional layer of data security.
- Network firewalls embedded in Amazon VPC ensure access control for a client’s instances.
- Developer tools include CI/CD services, code editors, and software development kits (SDKs), allowing developers to speed up software delivery.
- Discount for long-term usage (1-3 years): Amazon EC2 reserved instances provide up to 72% discount.
Pricing
Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
Best for
Building resilient web applications.
Description
- Third in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure and Platform Services.
- 100+ services (storage, serverless computing, operations, migration, databases, container, AI & ML, IoT, etc.).
- 73 availability zones.
- Fully managed Kubernetes environment with containers automation, orchestration and deployment.
- Data encryption by default, in transit and at rest, allowing data access for authorized users only.
- Data storing in buckets with configured data retention policies. Accidentally deleted data can be retained.
- Discount for long-term usage:
- (1-3 years) Committed use discounts (up to 70% for memory-optimized instances).
- (during the billing month) Sustained use discounts (up to 20-30%).
Pricing
Web Development Outsourcing Cost Factors
The cost of outsourced web development differs for each particular project. General cost factors encompass:
- The number and complexity of web application features.
- Non-functional web application requirements (application availability, performance, security, latent capacity and scalability).
- Complexity of a web app architecture (the number of tiers, the number of modules, on-premises/hybrid/cloud-native/cloud-only, etc.).
- Regulatory compliance requirements.
- Advanced technologies used (machine learning capabilities, AR/VR, etc.).
- Uniqueness and complexity of UI design.
- The necessity to migrate data from legacy software.
- The location of the outsourcing vendor.
About ScienceSoft
ScienceSoft is a global IT consulting and software development company headquartered in McKinney, TX. Since 1999, we have been delivering full-cycle web development and consulting services helping businesses launch efficient, reliable, and scalable web software. Being ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified, ScienceSoft guarantees high quality of delivered services and complete safety of customers’ data accessed during cooperation.