Product-focused team vs Body leasing. What’s the Difference?
Product-focused teams and body leasing are popular software development models in the IT sector; however, their operational dynamics are as different as day and night.
The former prioritizes permanent staffing, while the latter relies on temporary staffing.
Now, when you hire staff on a temporary basis, which means they could be gone anytime soon, tell us what sort of commitment levels they’d bring to the table. Think about it! Won’t it be half-hearted? Or maybe one-fourth-hearted?
Hiring teams that won’t go the whole mile will likely result in product failure.
Granted, body-leasing teams comprise super specialists who are really good at their task, and if someone is looking for just a short-term association, a body-leasing model should be the right choice.
So, before we jump to any conclusions, here’s a brief overview of the two software development models to help you decide which suits your product goals.
What do you Mean by Product-focused Teams?
Product-focused teams consist of specialists who excel at different areas of the product development process, be it design, engineering, or marketing. These professionals gladly cross-collaborate, rub ideas off each other, prepare product roadmaps, test prototypes, gather user feedback, and finally, round off with product development and deployment under the continuous vigilance of a product manager.
The entire team actively engages in product development and iteration processes to ensure the product meets market demands.
What do you Mean by Body Leasing Teams?
With body leasing, businesses can temporarily lease (hire) an individual or multiple IT specialists from a third-party vendor. These professionals could be UX designers, developers, testers, QA specialists, or any other specialist to address specific project needs.
Businesses generally choose body leasing services when their existing team fails to fulfill a specific requirement or when their project timelines are short. For such companies, the best way out is to hire a professional team from an external agency offering specialized skill sets. This saves businesses from unwarranted long-term expenses often associated with in-house hiring.
But then, remember, body leasing is just a temporary arrangement.
If you want a team that’s serious about both product ownership and quality and considers code confidentiality equally serious, then you have no choice but to choose product-focused teams.
Here’s what a product-focused team offers over a body leasing team.
Why Bank on Product-Focused Teams Over Body Leasing?
Hiring a product-focused team over a body-leasing team has distinct merits. For instance, they function like a start-up and take full charge of the product, unlike body-leasing teams.
Let’s learn all the pluses of product-focused teams, including the product-ownership feature, in-depth.
#1. When Product-Ownership-Mindset Is What You Are Looking At
If product ownership is on your mind, getting the body-leasing model off your mind is better. Why? As it turns out, leased professionals generally don’t use their heads; they just follow orders.
Wondering why? For one, in the body-leasing model, the employees know that ownership rests on the product manager’s shoulders, not theirs. Another is that their employment is contractual, which can be called off anytime. So, they don’t bother themselves too much when it comes to getting the product right.
Product-focused teams, on the other hand, work with an ownership mindset. They know the buck stops at their door! So, no matter what, they are heavily invested in every aspect of the product development cycle and battle bottlenecks and efficiencies like true warriors…always on their toes and at war footing.
Such high commitment levels can seldom be found in body-leasing teams, making product-focused teams the safest bet.
Now, product ownership is just one thing. The product has to fit well with the company’s vision and values, which brings us to the next point.
#2. When Product Goals Have to Strictly Align with Company’s Vision and Values
Product-focused teams don’t miss the forest for the trees. In other words, team members are privy to the company’s purpose and goals and use them as a compass to guide their product development workflow. Innovation-and-iteration are followed non-stop to not only keep up with product goals but also to align with company’s vision and values.
Quite contrarily, body-leasing teams work in silos and perhaps hired from remote locations. Getting such a scattered team to operate with a uniform mindset to align with the company’s vision, mission, and big-picture goals, I daresay, is like herding cats. You can never be sure that everyone is pulling in the same direction.
#3. When Innovations and Iterations are Non-negotiable
Product development is a marathon. For instance, features must be upgraded, and bottlenecks must be ironed out through several iteration stages and continuous testing sprints, without which you won’t be able to keep up with evolving customer demands. (At the cost of sounding mean a bit, your product, in all likelihood, will go the Nokia and Blackberry way if you are late to the innovation table.)
Innovation is synonymous with product-focused teams. They go to great lengths to ensure the product's success, which means they take feedback on their chin, constantly evolving, innovating, and refining their approach to deliver the best product results.
To this end, they even track customer success stories for valuable insights and, more importantly, keep the communication channels open with the sales team. This will help them gain further insights into product features that truly resonate with customers. This two-fold approach helps them innovate and iterate following market demands.
Nope, product-focused teams don’t stop at that. Harnessing the power of new market trends and technologies, they put in their best efforts to scale your product to the next level.
In contrast, body-leasing professionals only do so much regarding product innovation because they do what they are told to do—nothing more, nothing less.
#4. When Intellectual Property Rights Matter
It needs no telling because it’s obvious that when you hire leased professionals from third-party vendors, the chances of compromised confidential codes are relatively high. In contrast, working with a product-focused team means the code stays within the organization, ensuring the highest level of intellectual property protection.
#5. When Time-to-Market is Crucial
Product-focused teams are often housed under the same roof, which makes it easier for individual experts to come together and enjoy a shared vision and purpose for a product.
That’s just one part of the equation, though. What has been observed thus far is that such models prompt strong collaboration, minimize miscommunications, and streamline development processes, which ensures faster product rollout and more marketing time.
On the other hand, body-leasing teams often lack the same level of collaboration and shared purpose. Members may be spread across different territories, working in different time zones and managing multiple projects simultaneously, leading to miscommunication and misalignments, thus delaying development and marketing time.
#6. When You are in for the Long-Haul
When you know for sure that your product development process will be never-ending and that you need to upgrade the product often to keep up with changing customer demand, a product-focused team is undoubtedly the safest bet. Collaboration and communication become smooth and, more importantly, cost-effective in the long run.
Conversely, body-leasing teams might struggle with their focus and agility. Frequent personnel turnover can hinder development, meaning the product fails to meet market requirements. This now-on-now-off development process could significantly increase costs, leading to delayed rollout and hurting your ability to deliver high-quality products.
Product-focused Teams vs. IT Body Leasing: Key Differences
The table below perfectly summarizes the key differences between product-focused teams and IT body leasing.
| Feature | Product-Focused | Body-Leasing |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Absolute focus on Product development & success | Focus on the Development of specific features |
| Team Composition | Product Manager, Product Designer, UX designers, Product Engineers, Project Manager, Product Marketer | Developers and Engineers |
| Ownership | Strong Product Ownership | Focus on task accomplishments, so limited ownership |
| Communication | Seamless Collaboration & Communication | Scattered teams can lead to Communication Gaps |
| Quality Control | Quality Control will be a top priority | Quality control will entirely depend on the service provider |
| Time-to-Market | Streamlined and Speedy Development, Ensuring Faster Product Rollout and Maximum Marketing Time | Product Roll-out can take time due to Integration Challenges and Lower marketing Duration |
| Innovation & Iteration | A Culture of Innovation and Iteration encouraged | Limited Opportunities for Iteration and Innovation |
| Intellectual Property | IP rights stay within the company | Codes can get compromised |
Product-focused Teams V/S Body Leasing Teams: Why Product-focused Teams Should Be Your First Choice
When you plan to outsource your software development project, and you know 200% that the project development will be an ongoing task, get a product-focused team to take charge of your project. They’ll act as an excellent sounding board for your ideas and won’t just echo back them. Plus, such teams take full product ownership, work in tune with organization goals, won’t mind 1000 iterations, guarantee code confidentiality, and are prepared to roll out the product faster. All in all, they are to sweat out and, more importantly, ready for the long haul.
How does Accesto Go About Building Product-focused Teams
Accesto has a full-fledged product team in place to take care of your product development requirements. The Product Manager, Product Designer, UX designers, and Product Engineers are known to take on the roles of detectives, architects, handymen, and mechanics to ensure your product vision sees the light of day.
