Modern software development is changing. When one team in the Americas wraps up their workday, another team in Asia is ready to pick up exactly where the first team left off.
This new 24/7 development is transforming the way software is built and deployed by utilizing the power of offshore software development. If you don’t know, offshore software development is a practice of hiring developers or an entire development team from countries other than your own country.
However, achieving this round-the-clock development isn’t as simple as it looks. It requires careful planning, the right infrastructure, and, more importantly, the right offshore team.
In this guide, we will explore how to build and maintain an effective 24/7 development cycle.
Critical Components of a 24/7 Development Cycle
The success of your development operations depends on how well you have implemented the key components of software development.
Let’s start with the four major foundations. Remember, each one requires regular fine-tuning to create a seamless cycle.
1. Time Zones
You can implement true round-the-clock operations by establishing remote teams across multiple time zones. For an ideal setup, you can use teams in North America, Eastern Europe, India, and Asia-Pacific regions. It will create a natural workflow that follows the sun.
However, setting up teams in those major locations might not be that cost-effective. So what you can do is create a setup where teams are positioned approximately eight hours apart.
2. Communication
Communication plays an important role in deciding the smooth coordination between your multiple remote teams. You can ensure proper communication through
- Daily meetings between overlapping shifts, if possible
- Standardized documentation formats for everyone involved
- Regular weekly or bi-weekly all-hands meetings
- Dedicated communication channel
3. Structured Handoff Processes
You can ask for a comprehensive handoff document to make project handoffs smooth, precise, and well-coordinated. The document can include:
- Information about tasks completed during their shift
- Overall status of ongoing work
- Potential blockers
- A set of priority tasks for the new team
4. Proper Code Management
When you have multiple teams working in the same code base, managing code becomes crucial. You must work on setting up a proper version control system right from the start.
You can get everyone to follow a consistent way of writing commit messages and reviewing code. It will save so many headaches down the road.
You can also try automating your testing and integration. And make sure your teams sync up their code regularly, waiting too long between merges is just asking for trouble.
Setting Up the Infrastructure
Once you have a proper plan for all the major components mentioned above, it’s time to set up the infrastructure that forms the backbone of your development.
Since your teams are spread across time zones, you must have the right tools and systems in place. Otherwise, you are setting up for failure.
Essential Collaboration Tools
Let’s talk about the tools that’ll keep your team in sync. First up is instant messaging. We’ve found platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams really shine here. The main goal isn’t the messaging but how you structure it.
Create separate channels for tech communications, team updates, and coffee room chat. It keeps communication focused and makes it way easier to find stuff later.
Face-to-face talk still matters, even in our digital world. Make use of Zoom-like tools when you need nuanced discussions or team brainstorming.
Project Management Systems
For keeping your projects on track, you’ve got options. Jira is the most popular one, but you can also explore alternatives like Asana or Monday. Pick what matches your team’s style because the best tool is the one your team will actually use.
You will need setups that let everyone know who’s handling what at a glance. Nobody wants to wake up to a “who’s doing this?” message at 3 am.
Code Repository Management
Speaking of smooth operations, you will need Git and GitHub as well. The secret here is not just having them but setting them right.
- Get those CI/CD pipelines working automatically.
- Lock down your main branches (trust me on this one), and let the system handle code review assignments.
- Try code quality tools that’ll flag issues before they become problems.
- And, write down your branching strategy, your future self will thank you.
Documentation Practices and Knowledge Base
Here’s something that might surprise you: your most valuable asset isn’t your code, it’s your documentation. Whether you are team Notion, Google Docs, or working with Confluence, you must nail documentation.
Keep technical docs fresh, document your processes, and maintain a solid troubleshooting guide.
Monitoring and Alert System
With development happening 24/7, your development never sleeps, and neither should your monitoring.
Set up tools that watch your system’s performance, builds, deployments, and works. But be smart about the settings. Create alerts that inform the right team based on the time zone.
Security Infrastructure
Finally, you need rigid and future-proof security because one breach can undo months of work. VPNs and two-factor authentications aren’t just nice to have anymore, they’re must-haves.
Set up proper access controls and keep those security scans running regularly.
Measuring Success and ROI
As you can see, it requires a significant investment to maintain a 24/7 development team. This makes measuring its success an important step to justify your approach and identify areas for improvement. Let’s see what are the key metrics and methods you can implement:
1. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
You can start by setting some delivery metrics, like
- Time to market – compare project completion before and after setting an offshore team
- Sprint velocity – track the number of story points completed per sprint
- Code commit frequency – monitor the distribution of commits across different time zones
- Deployment frequency – measure how often you can release to production
- Bug resolution time – monitor how quickly issues are being resolved
2. Quality Benchmarks
While your development speed matters, you cannot sacrifice quality for speed. You can track these quality indicators:
- Customer reported issues
- Number of bugs per line of code
3. Cost-benefit Analysis
You can consider both direct and indirect cost savings. For example,
- Reduced time-to-market contributing to direct revenue, savings from geographical wage differences, and reduced overtime costs for urgent projects are some of the direct cost savings.
- Faster issue resolution, better talent acquisition, and improved disaster recovery capabilities will result in indirect cost savings.
Based on your organization and goal, you can prioritize different metrics. However, always establish some baseline metrics before implementing your offshore team.
Common Challenges
While we have covered the major requirements for building a 24/7 development team, let’s look at some of the common challenges you might face in the process.
- You might see misinterpretation of requirements due to different communication styles and cultural norms.
- There will be very limited hours for overlap due to different time zones. It can cause difficulty in scheduling inclusive team meetings.
- There is a risk of information loss due to inconsistent or conflicting documentation practices.
- It will be a challenge to maintain code quality and consistency with distributed teams.
- Local government policies and laws might affect your work culture, resulting in conflict among team members.
Building a 24/7 development cycle is not about having teams across different time zones, it’s about creating a proper offshore system.
We’ve explored how proper communication, planned infrastructure, and clear processes can transform your development cycle. The future of software development is increasingly distributed, and mastering this approach will give you a significant edge.
So start small, measure your progress, and keep refining your approach. With the right strategy, you can build development operations that truly never sleeps.