With the vEmployee model, we are breaking the outsourcing mould. We allow our customers to build their own global teams. Thousands of startups and SMEs across the globe are already benefitting from the vEmployee model.
We don’t want to bind ourselves to any particular domain or any particular technology – our primary goal is to provide cutting-edge technology solutions to our customers. In light of this goal, we constantly build expertise in newer technologies and have also built separate practices around each technology such as Drupal, RoR, Front End Technologies, Big Data and so on. While hiring and training expert developers is a good starting point towards building a practice, it is not enough to build – there are a lot of more things involved in building the practice maturity.
We have built a Practice Maturity Model which helps us to achieve 100% practice maturity within a span of one year. Instead of theoretical concepts, this model focuses on offering practical advice to the practice leads as well as the developers to help them achieve their set goals.
I am writing about this model here with the objective of sharing our learnings and best practices which have worked wonderfully well for us. I am also providing the templates and dashboards for you to use – please feel free to download and use these for free : -)
Let me briefly explain the model.
To start with, we define the timelines and targets for achievement.
We do understand that setting the targets is only the first step. We need to provide the teams some practical guidance to help them achieve these targets. We have set up 5 levels of achievements - These include Incubate, Develop, Sustain, Mature and Strategic Business Unit. The next step is to have attributes which need to be worked on. For our model, we have defined 17 attributes in total (including aspects like methodology, code quality, processes, training, recruitment, certifications, partnerships, etc.). For each level, there are specific set of activities for each of these attributes and each attribute has a weightage associated with it.
See the sample below - You can also download the template here
Well, the details don’t end here. For each of these attributes and level matching, we also provide a more detailed to-dos. With such clear item list and guidelines, it becomes easier for the practice leads to implement the model in no time.
Here is a sample – Download the complete template here
Once the implementation starts, we also have a ready template for the dashboard which allows the management to get a quick snapshot on the overall progress.
We have implemented this model for multiple practices and have seen very positive impact through it. Since the time we have started following this model, we are able to develop the practices at a much quicker pace and have also been able to build scalability, better quality control, reusable practice assets and better feedback metrics. We have also seen a very positive response from the team for this model because they have clear directions to work on, have scope for innovation, can themselves see the progress being made and evaluate their contribution in the overall progress.
Templates available for download
Feel free to use these templates for developing any technology practice at your organization – whether you are a startup or an established business, this model should be useful for you.
I would also be keen to hear from you if any particular practice has worked well for you – we would love to add it to our maturity model and refine it further!