On Dev Shops

Companies often turn to software development consulting shops for a helping hand to build or enhance their products. At first glance, this appears to be a rational decision, but hidden beneath short-term benefits, there are darker repercussions with long-lasting implications that can significantly impact both the business and team dynamics.

Consider, for instance, the process of removing a consultant after they have accumulated institutional knowledge. The length of time they have worked for the company makes termination exponentially more difficult. As a result, consulting partnerships can rapidly settle into an awkward, entrenching pattern, and the time it takes to safely end the relationship could drag on for months.

The irony is that as more consultants are added, the consulting relationship expands rather than contracts. In the short term, companies are coaxed into fostering these relationships as they scratch the itch of necessity. However, in the long run, such decisions hinder their ability to evaluate and potentially end a consulting arrangement.

Over-confidence is yet another danger lurking beneath the surface of consultant relationships. Often, consultants are overly persuasive in convincing companies about their capacity to build a particular product or feature. They excel at selling themselves and their technical prowess, but this can lead to unrealistic expectations and inevitable disappointments.

Imagine the confusion a newly hired CTO would experience working alongside an existing consulting shop. Unclear leadership and lines of decision-making authority can prevent the CTO from gaining full control of the company’s technical direction. In such a situation, it is crucial to redefine reporting lines to concentrate decision making under the CTO.

The growing knowledge of your business and its problem spaces within the consulting shop turns into a double-edged sword. On one hand, it seems beneficial to have consultants with expertise in your industry, but on the other hand, it gives the consulting shop substantial leverage in negotiating with your company. The bargaining power they wield in comparison to individual employees can create an unstable environment from a financial and operational standpoint.

Often juggling an array of projects and clients, consultants are unlikely to invest the same commitment and passion into your company’s work as full-time employees do. Consequently, when you unmask the real extent of their commitment and effort, disappointment is almost inevitable.

Lastly, collaboration with an external dev shop inadvertently encourages project management methods that stifle productivity and breed confusion. The interface between the in-house and external teams becomes clouded, leading to tension and miscommunication. The uncertainty originating from this tension may jeopardize the overall project’s success and team morale.