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With the cost of IT solutions at an all-time high across the board, especially within North America, many companies are turning to alternative hiring strategies to handle their different software development needs. As one of the most popular software outsourcing methods, nearshore development offers numerous benefits, such as cost savings and access to a wider talent pool. However, it also comes with its unique challenges, requiring careful planning and execution. To overcome these and ensure a successful deployment of a development product made by a third-party team, implementing a software deployment plan is key to ensure everything runs smoothly. This is why a comprehensive deployment checklist is crucial. This blog post will provide you with the perfect software deployment checklist to guide you through the process!
First, The Basics of Nearshore Software Development
Nearshore software development refers to the practice of outsourcing software development projects to countries that are geographically close to your own, ensuring minimal timezone differences and easier communication. Hiring nearshore developers offers several benefits, such as cost-effectiveness due to lower labor costs in these countries, access to a wider talent pool, and improved productivity due to fewer communication barriers. Still, there are common challenges, like time-zona management or cultural misunderstandings. These can be mitigated by undertaking thorough due diligence when selecting a nearshore development company, establishing a clear communication channel, and creating a software deployment checklist to ensure the success of every project.
The Need for a Software Deployment Checklist
A software deployment checklist is truly an essential tool for any system administrator. It serves as a guide to ensure that no crucial steps are overlooked throughout the deployment process, including every step that’s necessary before the product is fully deployed. By following this kind of checklist, you can minimize errors, reduce downtime, and ensure a smoother transition when deploying new software.
Not having a checklist can lead to missed steps or forgotten tasks, causing unnecessary delays and potential system issues. Thanks to the clear roadmap of what needs to be done provided by this list, your nearshore software development team can now save time, prevent any mistakes, and reduce stress.
The Complete Software Deployment Checklist
Creating a comprehensive checklist involves detailing each task required during the software deployment process and understanding its importance. Here's a detailed list of tasks that should be included in every software deployment checklist as part of the project lifecyle:
Key Pre-Deployment Tasks
Review of the Software Deployment Plan: Understand the scope of the project, deadlines, responsibilities, and resources that your nearshore software development team will need to get all the way to the final deployment stage.
System and Software Backup: Ensure that all data related to this project is backed up to prevent any losses of key information during the deployment process.
Risk Assessment and Management: Take time with your outsourced development team to identify potential issues that might occur during the deployment stage and build multiple strategies to mitigate and prevent them.
Communication Plan: Inform all relevant stakeholders and team members about the deployment plan, expected downtimes, and any potential impact on their work.
Key Deployment Tasks
Software Installation and Configuration: In case your in-house staff is handling the deployment, follow the instructions provided by the nearshore software development team to install and configure the software correctly. Otherwise, just let your outsourced developers take care of the process.
Testing and Quality Assurance: You and your team should thoroughly test the new software to ensure it functions as expected and meets the user requirements before it is fully deployed.
Documentation and User Training: Your nearshore software development team needs to provide comprehensive documentation for the new software and ensure that users are trained on how to use it most effectively.
Monitoring and System Updates: Keep track of the software application’s performance and apply any necessary updates or patches before the final deployment stage.
Key Post-Deployment Tasks
Post-Deployment Review: Evaluate the past software deployment process to identify successes and areas for improvement across every step of the way. Take notes and review your findings with your nearshore software development team.
Performance Monitoring: Regularly monitor the post-deployment performance of the new software to ensure it continues to meet user needs. If any issues arise, bring them up to your team to be corrected as soon as possible.
Continual Service Improvement: Implement changes based on company-wide feedback and performance monitoring to continuously improve the software. Also, ask your nershore software development team for their opinion and how they feel about the deployment as time goes on.
User Feedback and Adjustments: Encourage user feedback and make necessary adjustments to enhance user satisfaction and improve their experience with your application. Try to come up with a metric or KPI to be able to measure their level of satisfaction.
Best Practices to Follow Alongside an Effective Software Deployment Checklist
As a system administrator, striving for effective software deployment is crucial. Here are our best tips for any software deployment checklist!
Always keep your software deployment checklist updated with any changes in your company’s procedures or new tasks.
Avoid skipping steps even if they seem insignificant to you or your nearshore software development team as they might cause big issues later on.
Use tools such as configuration management tools, automated deployment tools, and project management tools to aid in the process.
Ready To Hire Nearshore Software Developers With Blue Coding’s Software Outsourcing Services?
As you can probably tell after reading this article, a comprehensive software deployment checklist is an invaluable tool for both any system administrator or project manager and their respective nearshore software development team. It provides a crystal clear roadmap that can guide you through the complex process of deploying new software, ensuring nothing is overlooked. Now, you and your team can use this checklist as a starting point and modify it as necessary to suit your organization's needs. Implementing and using a software deployment checklist will undoubtedly make an outsourced development project more manageable and successful.
While having the right software deployment checklist can make a big difference in the outcome of a project, sometimes you need some extra help to really achieve your goals. That’s why at Blue Coding, as a nearshore software development company, we offer nearshoring services to help you hire the best LATAM developers available for any kind of software project you need to deploy. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can hire nearshore developers and save money on development costs, contact us today to schedule your free discovery call!
