MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT Exploring Costs & Finding the Right Team For You SOURCEBITS
EXPLORING MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT COSTS IN-HOUSE VS OUTSOURCED TEAM
INTERNAL TEAM MOBILE DEVELOPMENT FIRM When it s time to get a mobile application built, companies have two choices: Sr. Mobile Designer Visual Designer UI Designer Recruit and hire an internal team UX Designer (contractors or FT employees) Find a mobile development Mobile Dev Mobile Dev company Mobile Dev Mobile Dev QA Engineer QA Engineer Project Manager Product Director Project Manager Consultants
Recruiting Takes (A Long) Time INTERNAL TEAM MOBILE DEVELOPMENT FIRM It takes an average of 6-8 weeks just to fill a job requisition for a qualified engineer - let alone get them ramped up. TIME 3 MONTHS TO RECRUIT AND ONBOARD 1 MONTH TO EVALUATE COMPANIES Once you ve invested a great deal of time (and money) to carefully hire the perfect team (if such a thing exists), there s no guarantee things will go smoothly. The loss of a key team member, especially when you re running lean and people wear many hats, can seriously hurt your timeline and budget.
Hiring Costs Add Up Quickly Some potential hiring costs you need to factor (beyond salaries and benefits): Advertising your job listings TIME INTERNAL TEAM 3 MONTHS TO RECRUIT AND ONBOARD MOBILE DEVELOPMENT FIRM 1 MONTH TO EVALUATE COMPANIES The cost of running background/work eligibility checks Hiring a recruiter and their finder fees** Paying employees for referrals Recruiting event fees (if you attend them) Travel expenses for top candidates Covering relocation costs Sign-on bonuses Potential immigration expenses The time - cost for internal staff recruiting/ interviewing COSTS ~ $500,000 ~ $200,000 COST TO RECRUIT + SALARIES FOR 6 MONTHS AVERAGE MONTHLY BILLING FOR TIME& MATERIALS FOR 6 MONTHS
Consider the Risk Factors In addition to factoring the recruiting time, expenses & salary costs of hiring employees vs. an external team, there are 3 other risks to consider. Imagine if your only designer leaves the team. It might take several months to fill this position again. What would happen to your project and timeline? We ve all made a poor hiring decision and had to let go of a recently onboarded employee. Considering the recruiting costs and time, can you afford to make the wrong decision? TIME 3 MONTHS TO RECRUIT AND ONBOARD COSTS ~ $500,000 ~ $200,000 RISKS INTERNAL TEAM COST TO RECRUIT + SALARIES FOR 6 MONTHS MOBILE DEVELOPMENT FIRM 1 MONTH TO EVALUATE COMPANIES AVERAGE MONTHLY BILLING FOR TIME AND MATERIALS FOR 6 MONTHS DEEP TALENT ROSTER You may have a great vision, but the quality of your app is a measure of the quality of your talent. How can you truly vet candidates without working with them first? LOSS OF TALENT STOPS PROGRESS MISFIT HIRES SLOW YOU DOWN QUESTIONABLE QUALITY AVAILABLE PROVEN TEAM SYNCHRONY TEAM WITH VARIED LIMITED TEAM SCALABILITY EXPERIENCE CAN GROW / SHRINK TEAMS AS NEEDED
It All Adds Up INTERNAL TEAM MOBILE DEVELOPMENT FIRM As previously stated, it will take about 2-4 months to build an internal app development team. The cost just to recruit an internal mobile app development team is substantial. If a project needs to scale up/down or make any team changes, this needs to be covered in the recruitment plan and goes through the process again. Considering your budget and deadline requirements, hiring a development company like Sourcebits might make more sense than building an app in-house. TIME 3 MONTHS TO RECRUIT AND ONBOARD COSTS ~ $500,000 ~ $200,000 RISKS COST TO RECRUIT + SALARIES FOR 6 MONTHS LOSS OF TALENT STOPS PROGRESS 1 MONTH TO EVALUATE COMPANIES AVERAGE MONTHLY BILLING FOR TIME AND MATERIALS FOR 6 MONTHS DEEP TALENT ROSTER AVAILABLE MISFIT HIRES SLOW YOU DOWN QUESTIONABLE QUALITY LIMITED TEAM SCALABILITY SOURCEBITS - SAN FRANCISCO BANGALORE PROVEN TEAM SYNCHRONY TEAM WITH VARIED EXPERIENCE CAN GROW / SHRINK TEAMS AS NEEDED
SIX STEPS TO FINDING THE RIGHT APP
6 HIRE NINJAS 5 CONSIDER PEOPLE 4 DETERMINE WORK LOGISTICS 3 EVALUATE TALENT & EXPERIENCE 2 IDENTIFY SERVICES YOU NEED 1 SET A BALLPARK BUDGET
1. SET A BALLPARK BUDGET Consider your budget Draft a very simple estimate Contact development partners 2. IDENTIFY THE SERVICES YOU NEED Design and development services Refine the product concept Business needs 3. EVALUATE THEIR TALENT Team with the right skills Research firm Evaluate website Look at the reviews
4. CONSIDER THE WORK LOGISTICS Operate in a hybrid model or straight-up logistics 5. CONSIDER THE PEOPLE 6. HIRE NINJAS Do you like the people? Battle for your success Smart and knowledgable Research firm Passionate about your idea Care about your success Evaluate website Look at the reviews Run the Beer Goggles test
CONTACT SOURCEBITS Looking for a talented team dedicated to your mobile s app success? Sourcebits is designed to deliver results. Let s Talk Email: info@sourcebits.com Twitter: @Sourcebits