Web development projects rarely go exactly according to plan, and it’s crucial to have a strategy in place when you face unexpected hurdles or just need more resources. In many of these challenging situations, having extra hands on deck would make a big difference in speeding up a project and/or getting it back on track.
The quandary? Figuring out where to find experts who can provide that help quickly, consistently and reliably.
The Ideal Solution
Contractors are often not an ideal fix when you need to expand your web dev team to meet a need that is likely temporary. You will need to vet them to make sure they have the skill set you need, and they definitely won’t be familiar with your organization, much less your project; getting them up to speed is time-consuming. Onboarding temporary contractors is costly and lengthens the process of getting the project moving and completed within the proposed timeline.
On the flip side, it often doesn’t make sense to create new full-time web development positions when you know the need for extra resources is finite.
Fortunately, there’s a far better option: Team augmentation services offered by web development companies provide you with on-call help from a wide range of experts who are familiar with your organization and your projects. This service provides short-term or long-term programming help, so you’ll receive consistency from a partner you trust that provides flexibility and availability when you need it.
How Does it Work?
Caktus offers the help of a team of experienced developers who are Django and Python experts, including front-end developers.Our team members are available for mid- to long-term projects such as the one that CustomMade brought to us not long ago.
CustomMade’s website is designed to help individuals buy and sell custom goods, and the company originally built its website for speed, not for scale. They soon found themselves with a website serving thousands of makers and as many as 100,000 buyers; with 30% monthly growth, this Google Venture start-up knew it needed to scale itssite.
The original team that built the code for the website was no longer with the company, and the existing team was stretched beyond capacity. CustomMade needed to find a team of Django developers that could both integrate well with their existingteam and also understand the technology stack.Caktus was happy to help.
Augmenting Success
We assigned three developers to augment the CustomMade team, and they worked on-site at the company’s Cambridge, MA, offices before shifting to working remotely for a longer period of support. They truly became an extra arm of the team: They participated in daily meetings and used CustomMade’s preferred project management and messaging applications.
CustomMade was happy to have the help of the Caktus team, and the collaboration led to great outcomes, including 90% faster page loads and a much-improved capability for ramping up new developers quickly.
Next time you’re facing a tough challenge, remember that staff augmentation is a savvy option. Knowing that you have skilled, trusted collaborators ready to jump in and save the day when needed brings peace of mind, efficiency, consistency and ultimately, success.
