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###### **A dedicated development team** is a team of software developers and engineers, and can also be Project Managers, DevOps support members, QA specialists, UX UI designers, and other necessary members that are put together to work on the client’s project.

While the idea of your digital product is necessary, the right execution of this idea is not less important. And the execution won’t be possible without the great team. The great teams need to have a magic combination of the right people, environment, and goals.

The building or hiring a strong dedicated team is a right start to set your business up for success. Teams are the foundation of a company. The great dedicated development teams get things done and deliver your digital product regarding the requirements.

It can be challenging to build or hire great development teams. However, the majority of the best teams share certain characteristics. By paying attention to these aspects which we describe below, you are on your way to collaborate with a great team of developers.

![dedicated-development-team-3.jpeg](https://public.amsterdamstandard.com/dedicated_development_team_3_d55170a6d0.jpeg)



#### 1. Professionalism
Obviously, the development team should have excellent programming skills. The dedicated developers should have a certain level of proficiency in related technologies.  

Also, Great development teams understand the importance of innovation and spend time on it. The team members are good at keeping up with technology trends and know how to use that in a pragmatic way to improve their performance. They know it’s necessary to keep up with the rapidly changing environment. 

#### 2. Regular & Clear Communicators
We think that communication is the key to make any team function well. There are two types of communication that are crucial for dedicated teams: communication inside the team and communication with third parties (stakeholders).

- With members of the team

Encouraging healthy communication in teams induces effective processes, tools, and solutions. It’s best for the team to get together when it’s possible and work together. With the development of technology working together is possible even without being actually in one location. Use the necessary tools like Slack, Whereby, Zoom, Google Hangouts, and so on. 

 - With stakeholders

Communication is the key to a successful partnership between parties. With the help of it, we are building our relationship, setting goals, reviewing the process, discussing new opportunities, choosing the right tools, and so much more. Mainly, the product owner is the main person that keeps communication with a dedicated team. The person who is mostly involved in communication with the client from the team is the project manager or the team lead. Make sure the communication is regular (frequency depends on the needs) and clear (there are no secrets, opinions can be shared freely, and all the information is precise for the opponent). Don't hide things and share accurate information from the start. That's the basis for the long term partnership. 

#### 3. Commitment to the Goal
To set clear and achievable goals is critical for any team. Before making long and short-term plans and giving the tasks to the team, ensure that everyone knows what are they aiming for at the end of the project. The team should believe in what they do, and it’s your responsibility as a business owner or a product owner or other responsible person from the business side, to get the team inspired. That’s how you build a software development team you can rely on, and an effective team you’re confident about.

#### 4. Clear roles & responsibilities
In order to function properly, the team needs to know all the aspects of the process, together with their duties, and responsibilities. It’s key to building a healthy team for custom software development.
The team members should also understand how their roles and responsibilities related to the goals of the project.
Everyone on your team has to be committed. Ensuring that all team members share in rewards for success is another key in a good team. This team model gives the team members a sense of responsibility and enjoyment of their work. Your team will feel a lot better about their work and work even harder for the goal. 

**5. A cross-functional and balanced team**
**A cross-functional team** is a team that, as a whole, covers all the necessary skills to create the required digital product or complete the project. 

Great Development Teams not only have a cross-functional composition but also really act cross-functional. The team is focused to deliver a releasable product each sprint as a team. That’s why everyone is doing their utmost to achieve the sprint goal.

![dedicated-development-team-2.jpeg](https://public.amsterdamstandard.com/dedicated_development_team_2_3310c45b71.jpeg)

The balance is the key. In bigger development teams specialists should have diverse experience levels to make the work of specialists more exciting and, at the same time, decrease the costs for the company. And specialists of different specializations to avoid the slowing down of the development process, as lack of specialists in one technology may cause the delay for the rest of the team. In cross-functional teams, members are good at understanding how they can help each other and how they can get help from the other team members.

#### 6. Understanding the business logic of the digital product
Great Development Teams know their real customers. They create the product keeping the end-users in mind. Through the communication with the product owner or/and stakeholders, they truly understand what are the desires of the end-users and are therefore able to make the right (technical) decisions. That's the only way to create successful custom software.

#### 7. Agile approach
Things change during a project, especially, during a technology project. But if you work with Agile software development, you can easily adapt to change. 

Try to minimize the impact the change has on the project and then handle it responsibly. The agile approach to web development accelerates the speed of project delivery, improves the quality of the digital product, reduces risks, increases customer satisfaction, assures delivery with the business objective, and decreases the IT costs. There is much more success chance when the team works with Agile frameworks. 

#### 8. Freedom & Flexibility
Each team member should be free to find solutions for emerging difficulties on his own and/or have the opportunity to give advice on decisions that are choices of the whole team. In a great team, team members have the flexibility to choose tools, and technology stack there are working with. When they are goal-oriented and inspired they try to come to the best possible solution. Having product managers not be too rigid in their specifications also delivers better code and makes for happier developers. A certain degree of freedom for developers to experiment helps them to build a team model with internal processes and culture.

Great Development Teams also have the flexibility in planning their work schedule. Human beings can’t stay productive all day long. They need time to relax, have a chat at the coffee machine, or play some ping pong. All people need some slack to be innovative and creative. By doing so, they ensure high motivation and hereby maximum productivity when it’s specifically needed. 

![freedom-flexibility-in-a-team.jpeg](https://public.amsterdamstandard.com/freedom_flexibility_in_a_team_e4a7b8f547.jpeg)

#### 9. A strong culture
A strong culture is another common characteristic of great teams. They bind closer together and it makes them more effective as a group. It also makes coming to work more fun and boosts morale as a result.

Great team culture is not something you can force, it’s more the natural result of the all described above characteristics; it develops over time in the right environment. 




We hope that these characteristics will help you to hire or build a great development team. There are many other different factors to look at, from how to choose the software development company to the individual parameters related to your field of business, but this article is a good start to your research. If you are searching for the great nearshore dedicated development team, Amsterdam Standard is happy to provide you the team you are looking for. 

What values Lean management can bring to project and team management? Let’s take a look at this together.

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Date 7.2020

9 main characteristics of a great dedicated development team

Main Characteristics of a great dedicated development team

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