Have you ever witnessed the frustration of employees who needed to train themselves in a new field because their company was expanding business? The countless hours of learning a new skill, along with their regular responsibilities, leave them drained at the end of the day. It takes a few months for them to master the skill. Meanwhile, the employer’s investing a lot of money, not knowing what the final result will look like. It’s a long and painful process for both the staff and the employer.
A delivery team can help you escape all of that. The senior experts in these teams know exactly what to do at all times and can deliver value as soon as they start working with you. But for that to happen, you need to know how to unlock the potential hiding inside delivery teams. Here’s how you can do that. But, before doing so, let’s review some key terms.
What is a delivery team?
A delivery team is a group of skilled individuals who bring their special abilities and expertise to a particular project, delivering great solutions, fast. With it, you’ll have everyone you need for the project you’re tackling. Delivery teams can take care of the entire project or just parts of it — you define what you need it for!
The experts in a delivery team will vary depending on the tasks at hand, but there are several essential roles that are often part of them:
Product Manager
The product manager understands the product and ensures that the project is aligned with business goals. They advocate for the customer and keep track of the scope and priorities of the project. They also give regular feedback and suggestions for improvement.
Developer(s)
Developers write the code, and that should be their main activity. Some of them can also take up other roles, such as designer or QA, depending on their skill set. However, their main focus should remain on writing the code for maximum delivery team performance.
UI/UX designer
The designer takes care of the usability of the product so that users can seamlessly enjoy the app. They know how to achieve business goals based on the target audience’s needs. Their main goal is to keep the software simple and accessible for the users.
Quality assurance (QA)
QA analysts are the ones in charge of making sure that the development team is following the best practices. QA analysts should be included in the project from the beginning for the best delivery team performance. That way, they’ll know everything about the project and can participate in the decision-making process.
Besides them, you might also need:
- DevOps engineers, for deployment automation and application performance tracking.
- Software architect, who understands how parts of the software fit together. They ensure the software’s technical aspects work properly (e.g., APIs, languages and frameworks, security, performance, reliability).
The smart working model
Smart working is an organizational model based on flexibility and trust. It takes advantage of modern technology, giving team members independence and responsibility for managing their time effectively. The main goal is to allow people to enjoy a better work-life balance. In this model, team members are more efficient because they focus on the goals rather than on hours spent on work.
Smart working is result-oriented and values quality over quantity. Its goal is to improve productivity, collaboration, and interaction between team members, so they can deliver the best product in less time. The work process is focused on planning, prioritizing, delegating, organizing, and improving time management. Smart working uses several approaches to finishing the task, often delivering a project ahead of deadlines.
It’s based on agile performance management that implies regular and open communication, problem-solving, risk-taking, innovation, creativity, and integrity of team members. People in agile teams are problem solvers who embrace change and pursue excellence. They generate new ideas, and give and receive constructive feedback regularly, building trust among each other.
The benefits of smart-working delivery teams
Hiring a smart-working delivery team has many benefits, such as:
- Access to a global talent pool
- Fast deployment
- Quick adaptation to market shifts
- Less supervising stress
- Happier employees
- Approach to different perspectives and in-depth expertise
- Competitive advantage (because you’ll have the best solution, fast)
Key factors for smart-working delivery team performance
Here are the key factors that influence successful delivery team performance:
1. A shared goal
A shared goal is the most important part, as it sets the direction for the whole process. Everyone needs to know the exact goal they want to achieve as a team so that they can focus on individual tasks more efficiently. A shared goal enables everyone to share the same vision and keeps them motivated throughout the process.
2. A clearly defined process
A clearly defined process keeps things organized from the start. As smart-working delivery teams have more autonomy, a defined process provides them with a structure that ensures consistency. If everyone knows what you expect from them, they’ll be more focused and deliver the results faster.
3. Regular communication
Smart-working delivery teams need to maintain regular communication for the best results. That means having regular interactions and short and frequent meetings. The goal is to feel connected and focus on improvement. You can do that by giving and receiving constructive feedback, sharing ideas, and solving problems. Regular communication influences motivation and leads to better delivery team performance.
4. Taking responsibility
Smart-working delivery teams are autonomous, meaning everyone needs to take full responsibility for their part of the project. If people feel responsible for what they are building, they will be better decision-makers and have more confidence. When they feel they are in control, they’ll also have more work satisfaction and show better performance overall.
5. Automatization
It’s important to automate processes wherever possible. Repetitive tasks kill productivity. This means you’ll have to remove unnecessary tasks, paperwork, and meetings, as well as reduce inefficient work practices. Also, you should break the project into smaller tasks and use agile management methodologies. That will save you time so that you can focus on the more important parts of the process.
6. Organization
Keep the project organized by using unified tools for project management, communication, and task sharing. Everyone needs to have access to tools, resources, and tasks that are important for the project. Using one organized system that everyone knows how to use will keep things consistent and organized for everyone involved.
7. Continuous support
Everyone must take part in building a positive culture, like developing professional bonds, and supporting and respecting each other. Building positive relationships that encourage people and give them recognition has a huge impact on the overall delivery team performance. If people feel supported, they tend to cooperate better and have better communication, including giving and receiving feedback.
Anticipate the future
Smart-working delivery teams are the future of performance management. The question is, will you use them to your advantage? By hiring a delivery team, you’ll get the best quality product fast, and quickly gain an advantage over your competition. And all that with having less supervising stress and retaining happy employees.
