We know everything about offshore development &#8211; for the last five years, we have built 22 such projects. We worked with startups, big enterprises, and even single entrepreneurs. Here is our guide to offshore Java development hiring from the initial stage to after-sales service. 

<h2>Step #1: Determine goals and needs.</h2>
Identifying goals and needs is the first step. Be serious about your choice, as this is the initial stage of your project development.  A clear understanding of requirements will help you in the next stages.
If you have issues defining needs and goals, remember the reasons that pushed you to consider a project. From domain to domain, goals and needs can vary, but here are some typical potential goals or criteria:
<ul>
<li>Maximize the revenue</li>
<li>Minimize the operational time</li>
<li>Minimize operational costs</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-3867 size-full" title="offshore java development" src="http://admin-prod.sombrainc.com:9443/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001.jpg" alt="offshore java development" width="4452" height="2031" srcset="https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001.jpg 1500w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001-300x137.jpg 300w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001-768x350.jpg 768w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001-1024x467.jpg 1024w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001-370x169.jpg 370w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001-352x161.jpg 352w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001-372x170.jpg 372w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001-421x192.jpg 421w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001-100x46.jpg 100w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001-600x274.jpg 600w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-1.-Determine-goals-and-needs-page-001-120x55.jpg 120w" sizes="(max-width: 4452px) 100vw, 4452px" />
Goals could adjust or change as the project develops, but they should always be at the forefront of the decision-making process. After identifying the project&#8217;s needs and goals, the next step in the planning process is to search for an offsite team.
<h2>Step #2: Team Search </h2>
At this stage is easy to overlook important elements of successful cooperation. So be careful and pay attention to all points to avoid falling at the first hurdle.
<ul>
<li>Experience and skills. Look for the previous projects that the team has successfully developed. Decide whether the level of implementation satisfies your requirements. It&#8217;s useful to find some professional references from past clients. You can email them and ask for insights or read reviews on specialized sites such as <a href="http://clutch.co/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Clutch.co</a>, <a href="http://www.upwork.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">UpWork,</a> or even <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Linkedin</a>.</li>
<li>Flexibility. The offshore team should be able to adapt to your needs and requirements. Just settle this question before starting cooperation. From our experience, we know that it&#8217;s possible to work efficiently between two different time zones, you need to precisely define the work process. </li>
<li>Project management. Check the team&#8217;s project management methodology since it can affect your choice. In software development, it&#8217;s important to apply the Agile approach. Thanks to the flexibility, it allows developing a product in iterations and enables making changes during the development process.</li>
<li>Communication. Since offshoring involves remote work, communication is the key to understanding, and it has to be built on honesty and trust. Insist on the possibility of contacting your team smoothly and without any obstacles.</li>
<li>Aftersales support. Check whether the agency can provide care for the project after release. You may want to make some changes or improvements. So it’s important to have maintenance services and support for a ready product. </li>
<li>Engagement model. Before hiring a team, you must find out the company&#8217;s customer engagement model. There are three types: <a href="http://project-management-knowledge.com/definitions/t/time-material-tm-contract/">Time&amp;Material</a>, <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/VladimirTursin/pros-and-cons-of-dedicated-team-engagement-software-development-model">Dedicated Team</a>, <a href="http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-fixedprice-contract-21066.html">Fixed Price</a>. Time&amp;Material is the model where the amount of money spend corresponds to the amount of work done. While a fixed price has a predefined budget and scope of work. A dedicated team is a model similar to the Time&amp;Material, where you get not a single developer but a team responsible for your company’s technical resources. Choose the model that suits your budget and needs the best.</li>
</ul>
<img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3778" src="http://admin-prod.sombrainc.com:9443/app/uploads/2018/10/Engagement-models-page-001.jpg" alt="" /><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-3869 size-full" title="offshore java development" src="http://admin-prod.sombrainc.com:9443/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001.jpg" alt="offshore java development" width="4750" height="2900" srcset="https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001.jpg 1500w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001-300x183.jpg 300w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001-768x469.jpg 768w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001-1024x625.jpg 1024w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001-370x225.jpg 370w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001-352x215.jpg 352w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001-372x227.jpg 372w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001-314x192.jpg 314w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001-100x61.jpg 100w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001-600x366.jpg 600w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Engagement-models-page-001-120x73.jpg 120w" sizes="(max-width: 4750px) 100vw, 4750px" />
In conclusion, an experienced Java team should be proficient in the following: 
<ul>
<li>popular frameworks, like Spring, Play, Hibernate,</li>
<li>unit testing and debugging,</li>
<li>integrating databases.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Step #3: Preparing for your collaboration</h2>
When the team is chosen, you can start preparing for the cooperation. Here are a few universal to-dos that we defined based on our offshoring experience. You can use those elements in your case, but remember that both sides of collaboration must be committed to the common goal. 
<ol>
<li>Clarify roles. Every team player must know their role and be familiar with the responsibilities to create an efficient and flexible team. To clarify this question, you can frequently review team members&#8217; roles, clarify responsibilities when action planning and relate members&#8217; expectations to the team&#8217;s project purpose. </li>
<li>Define deadlines. The team should understand how much time they have to do the work. To understand time frames clearly, you can make a work plan with a time estimation containing deadlines for every product element. You can agree on a trial period to understand how fast the developers work and ensure that the software contains the features and functionality you need.</li>
<li>Protect confidentiality. Since you will expose your company&#8217;s sensitive information to your offshore, it is recommended to sign a non-disclosure agreement. This step will save you from any exposure to business details.</li>
<li>Make all the materials available. To build software in time team should have uninterrupted access to documentation, statistics, graphs, and designs. Take care of gathering all project-related data in one place and provide your team with access.</li>
<li>Set up communication channels. Efficient remote work is based on smooth communication. Be ready to have calls with the team at least three times weekly. So choosing communication is convenient for you. It can be email, <a href="http://slack.com">Slack</a>, <a href="http://trello.com">Trello</a>. We often use Skype for communication with customers. Also, you can use tools like <a href="http://id.atlassian.com">Jira</a> or <a href="http://sprint.ly">Sprintly</a> to track development progress. </li>
<li>Avoid unclarity. Ask questions when you have doubts or unclear moments, and make the team feel comfortable asking questions in return. </li>
</ol>
<img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3779" src="http://admin-prod.sombrainc.com:9443/app/uploads/2018/10/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001.jpg" alt="" /><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-3870 size-full" title="offshore java development" src="http://admin-prod.sombrainc.com:9443/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001.jpg" alt="offshore java development" width="4750" height="2900" srcset="https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001.jpg 1500w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001-300x183.jpg 300w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001-768x469.jpg 768w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001-1024x625.jpg 1024w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001-370x225.jpg 370w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001-352x215.jpg 352w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001-372x227.jpg 372w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001-314x192.jpg 314w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001-100x61.jpg 100w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001-600x366.jpg 600w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Step-3.Preparing-for-your-collaboration-1-page-001-120x73.jpg 120w" sizes="(max-width: 4750px) 100vw, 4750px" />
Frequently, the offshore agency offers to engage in clarifying the roles and setting up communication channels. A proactive vendor can always benefit you more during the cooperation. 
<h2>Step #4: The collaboration</h2>
Previous steps are time and strengths-consuming, but save some energy for the actual collaboration process since it requires no less effort. Your cooperation will be effective and satisfying when you hire a professional team. But still, if you don&#8217;t have relevant experience, we want to point out what flawless collaboration looks like. 
<ul>
<li>Documentation is key. It should be up-to-date to facilitate both present and future development. We often prepare documentation for the client ourselves, so it’s possible to ask the vendor to handle this process. </li>
<li>Effective collaboration is based on trust and agile principles. The development process can be divided into iterations to analyze the work and reduce risks. </li>
<li>There is no room for distortion. Communication runs smoothly on both sides. People are open-minded and know how to solve problems on their own sites.</li>
<li> As mentioned earlier, a professional team can offer maintenance services and support after the product launch.</li>
</ul>
<h2>In short</h2>
The hiring process will be easier and more productive if you prepare beforehand. Start by identifying the goals and needs of the project to translate them to the future team. Search offshore agencies responsibly, paying attention to their skills and asking for references. When the team is assembled, build a solid ground for cooperation. 
If, after reading the guide, questions still remain, don&#8217;t hesitate to contact us. We are more than happy to clarify unclear moments. 
Related: <a href="https://admin-prod.sombrainc.com:9443/blog/custom-software-development-strategy">Custom software development: 13 Essential Checks</a>

Offshore Java Development: Four-step Guide for Hiring a Team

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