Productivity has become the factor that can decide the success or failure of a project in offshore software development, which is continually changing. On one side, the time zones and different continents where teams are located present their challenges of having seamless workflows and good collaboration. On the other hand, it is necessary to hire the right tools to overcome these issues and attain the desired efficiency. This article will be about the ten must-have tools that will help you in your software development process and will help you manage your offshore software development work successfully.
What Does Productivity Mean in the Software Development Process?
In software development, productivity is a broader concept and is not only measured by the amount of work done. It is, however, about optimal time usage, delivery of quality, and the promotion of successful teamwork among the group members. Productivity also includes keeping on schedule, reducing waste, and constantly improving processes. These activities help teams to increase efficiency and minimise costs while getting the best project result. Teams using tools such as Jira for project management, Slack for communication, and SonarQube for code quality are equipped with a design that supports productivity and efficiency, thus, ensuring successful project delivery in time.
Tools for Offshore Software Development
Tools for Managing Your Dedicated Software Development Team
Dedicated software development teams work remotely in different time zones. This causes issues in coordinating tasks. However, effective management tools are essential to keeping the team focused and staying aligned at all times. Here are some key tools that can help manage your distributed development team efficiently:
Jira
Jira is a powerful all-in-one tool for comprehensive agile management. Key features include:
- Customisable Scrum Boards: Visualise and manage tasks during sprints.
- Kanban Boards: Track workloads and progress effortlessly.
- Agile Reporting: Real-time insights into team metrics such as velocity and burnout points.
- Integrations: Connects with numerous developer tools and over 1,000 add-ons.
Pricing: Free basic cloud version for small teams. The standard cloud version starts at $10 per month; premium version starts at $14 per month for up to 10 team members. Self-hosted version is $10 for up to 10 users.
VivifyScrum
VivifyScrum is a web-based Agile project management tool designed to oversee multiple projects. Key features include:
- Customisable Collaboration Boards: Manage projects and tasks effectively.
- Backlog Scrum Board: Organise and prioritise tasks.
- In-App Time Tracker: automatically generates work logs and productivity reports.
- Integrations: Works with GitHub, GitLab, and Slack.
Pricing: Free basic plan available. Premium plans start at $10 per month or $96 per year for teams of up to 10 users.
Tools for Planning and Managing Your Dedicated Software Development Team
Software development teams are required to have good planning and management in order to be on time with deadlines and to ensure the project is run at the highest efficiency. These are some of tools that you can use to make these processes more efficient:
Toggl
Toggl is an intuitive time-tracking tool that provides a clear overview of project timelines and progress. Key features include:
- Timeline Views: Clear project overview with options for monthly, quarterly, and annual views.
- Milestone Definition: Assign tasks and develop to-do lists.
- Read-Only Timeline Review: Keeps team members updated without unauthorised edits.
- Color-Coded Interface: Simplifies navigation and collaboration with comments and file uploads.
Pricing: Free basic plan for up to five users. The premium plan starts at $8 per user per month (annual) or $9 per user per month (monthly).
Monday.com
Monday.com is a versatile workflow management tool that adapts to various team sizes and methodologies. Key features include:
- Multiple Tracking Methodologies: Choose from charts, timelines, or Kanban-style boards.
- Project Dashboards: Track and manage multiple projects effectively.
- Integrations: Connects with Slack, Google Drive, GitHub, Jira, and Trello.
- User Stories and Sprint Management: Simplify tracking and identify bottlenecks.
Pricing: Basic plan is $8 per user per month (minimum of three users). The standard plan costs $10 per user per month. The pro plan is $16 per user per month. Customisable enterprise plans are available.
Tools for Source Control and Collaboration
Source control and collaborative tools are the latest state-of-the-art version in the digital life of a software development team. Such tools are necessary to regulate code changes and enable the unaffected joint effort. They offer versioning control, real-time collaboration between all the contributors, and even mitigate the risk of unnecessary duplication of tasks. Below are the essential ones for Git and for teamwork through Version Control:
Git
Git is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in source code. Key features include:
- Distributed Version Control: Tracks changes across multiple virtual repositories.
- Efficient Data Handling: Reduces errors and supports nonlinear development.
- Branching and Merging: Facilitates easy integration of code changes.
- Widely Used: Adopted by major organisations such as Microsoft, Facebook, and Google. Open-source and free to use. Hosting services like GitHub offer additional features.
SVN
Apache Subversion (SVN) is a centralised version control system. Key features include:
- Centralised Code History: Maintains code history in a central server.
- Merge Mechanism: Efficiently combines codebases while preserving data integrity.
- Read-Only Option: Protects data from unauthorised changes.
Pricing: Open-source and free to use. Hosting options are available if preferred.
Tools for Finding and Fixing Bugs
The fact that errors are always contained in the software development process must be accepted, but with the right tools the process of finding and fixing them can be much more effortless. Below is a list of some of the most effective tools for bug tracking and management:
Backlog
Backlog is a tool for bug tracking and backlog management. Key features include:
- Visual boards simplify data presentation and team collaboration.
- Integration with Communication Systems: Works with Slack for enhanced collaboration.
- Reporting: Provides burndown and Gantt charts for tracking progress.
Pricing: Free plan for up to 10 members and one project. Paid plans start at $35 per month for 30 users and five projects, with additional tiers for larger teams and more projects.
Katalon
Katalon is an end-to-end test automation solution. Key features include:
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: Supports web, mobile, and desktop apps, and APIs across various operating systems.
- Codeless Features: Simplifies testing for beginners, with extensive scripting options for experts.
- CI/CD Integration: Connects with CI/CD platforms for continuous testing.
- Insightful Reports: offers real-time monitoring and feedback.
Pricing: Free version available for individual testers. A commercial license starts at $1,899 per license per year.
BugDigger
BugDigger is designed for effective bug tracking and project management. Key features include:
- Bug Tracking and Project Management: Manages bugs and projects efficiently.
- Flexible Pricing: Various plans to accommodate different team sizes and needs.
Pricing: Plans start at $19 per month for 10 users and 10 projects. Higher tiers are available for larger teams and more projects.
Tools to Continuously Update Code
Agile has a constant learning perspective. It provides the teams the way to set their own course of action and alter it according to the changes. In an Agile project, it is common to receive frequent code updates and adjustments based on feedback. The use of automation tools that help streamline updates, and ensure the project runs smoothly will be instrumental in this process. The most crucial of these tools for continuous code deployment and regular updates is the one that prevents your team from being distracted by minor issues.
Jenkins
Jenkins is a code development, testing, and deployment automation tool. Below are the main features:
- CI/CD: Integration with all major programming and source code management services.
- Many Plugins: You can customise the app using many options.
- Multi-OS Compatibility: Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux distributions that follow Unix-like principles.
Pricing: There are no costs associated with using the open-source product, which allows for an unlimited number of users.
Bamboo
Bamboo is a tool for managing CI/CD pipelines. The applications feature the following essential parts:
- Code Change Detection: It tracks changes made in the code repositories, such as Git.
- Multi-Stage Build Plans: These enable the running of complex build and deployment tasks.
- Testing Automation: It speeds up the uncovering and fixing of problems.
- Efficient Concurrent Testing: Through the provision of quicker feedback, it enhances the quality of the code.
Pricing: The pricing scheme is determined by the number of agents that are used and not the number of users. Small teams can initiate with a plan for $10. The larger teams or those wanting remote agents can either choose the more elaborate ones, starting from $25,300.
Conclusion
The capacity of a tool comes down to the team using it and the team. This article analysed ten of the most powerful software platforms that can help start your journey as a productive individual. However, the best tools can’t produce the right results if they are in the wrong hands. Hence, putting the right software development team you believe is equally important. You need a team that has the proper work ethics, communication protocols, and development experience. Moreover, you have to choose the ones that fill your bill apt.