Development outsourcing: dedicated team or staff augmentation
Outsourcing development is a model where RESTART takes responsibility not only for personnel but also for delivering results: a dedicated or managed team—comprising analysts, developers, QA engineers, DevOps specialists, and a PM/lead—works with delivery coordination handled on our side. staff augmentation, by contrast, addresses your team's lack of specialists under your own management. Below is how to choose the right model.
Comparison
| Criterion | staff augmentation | Managed team |
|---|---|---|
| Responsibility | The specialist works in the customer's department. | The team delivers the result with delivery coordination. |
| When to choose | There is strong internal management and clear objectives. | It is necessary to close the flow of work, quality and deadlines. |
| Risk | The operational risk remains with the customer. | Part of the delivery risk is taken by the RESTART team. |
| Compound | 1-3 specialists. | Team: analyst, development, QA, DevOps, PM/lead. |
Outsourcing development: when to hand over a project entirely to a team
GK RESTART provides outsourcing of dedicated and managed teams for corporate IT projects, as well as IT staff augmentation of specialists into client teams.
When it suits
The task is separable and measurable by its outcome; current delivery management is insufficient—need to close the work stream with quality and on time.
Team composition
Analyst, development, QA, DevOps, and PM/lead — per product, release, integration, or task stream.
How it is controlled
Delivery coordination on the RESTART side: roles, planning, workload control, reporting, quality, and regular synchronization with the customer.
Payment models
Fixed Price, Time & Materials, or a dedicated team for an agreed period — pricing principles.
Experience in team work within customer environments: ALM platform and support service for a bank, Tessa EDI subsystem, development of Sber services.
If you need a turnkey system—with architecture, integrations, and support— Custom corporate software development; if there aren't enough individual people on your team — developer staff augmentation.
What to choose
If you need a specific engineer under your management, staff augmentation is suitable. If you need a flow of results, it is better to have a dedicated or managed team.
Frequently asked questions
What is development outsourcing?
This is the transfer of development to an external team along with responsibility for delivering the result: the contractor himself organizes the work, sets tasks for the team and is responsible for quality. Unlike staff augmentation, the customer does not buy the specialists’ time, but the result.
How does a dedicated development team differ from staff augmentation?
staff augmentation addresses the shortage of specific specialists in the client's team under the client's management. A dedicated team works on a product, release, or stream of tasks; in a managed team, RESTART adds delivery coordination: roles, planning, workload monitoring, reporting, and quality assurance.
Who is responsible for the result when outsourcing development?
Executor. In a managed team, the RESTART team assumes part of the delivery risk; acceptance criteria, reporting, and payment model—Fixed Price, Time & Materials, or dedicated team—are specified in the contract.
Can I start with one specialist?
Yes. If the load grows, the format can be scaled to a dedicated team.
Who manages the tasks?
In staff augmentation, the customer. RESTART adds delivery coordination to the managed team.
What to do if the profile is not suitable?
We analyze the reason, clarify the profile and organize a replacement.
Legal basis of staff augmentation
Legal staff augmentation is possible only through an accredited private employment agency (Chapter 53.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). RESTART is accredited by Rostrud (registration number A006-00124-77/05592414), so the contract for the provision of personnel does not carry the risk of retraining as agency labor. More details.
Let's look at your case
Not sure which option is right for you? Describe the situation - we will help you choose an approach that suits your data, deadlines and information security restrictions.
