The Establishment of a Nearshore Software Development Team for DRSdigital AG.

1.
Case
Study
Nearshoring
2.0
–
Own
Team
Model
The
Establishment
of
a
Nearshore
Development
Team
for
DRSdigital
AG
Contact
Mr.
Frank
Rennekamp
CTO
DRSdigital
AG,
Frankfurt
(Germany)
www.drooms.com
Technologies:
Ruby,
JavaScript,
Android
Number
of
developers
as
of
December
2013:
5
“With
InterVenture
we
were
able
to
extend
our
development
team
op7mally.
Due
to
daily
SCRUM-­‐mee7ngs
our
team
in
Belgrade
is
completely
integrated
in
all
our
projects.”
Frank
Rennekamp
CTO,
DRSdigital
AG

2. Overview
• DRSdigital
AG
(www.drooms.com)
is
a
fast
growing
German
company
and
market
leader
in
the
field
of
virtual
data
rooms.
The
company‘s
soQware
products
are
used
for
highly
secure
storage,
access
and
exchange
of
confidenSal
documents
during
due
diligence
projects
within
M&A,
Corporate
Finance,
Real
Estate
and
Banking
transacSons.
• The
soQware
plaWorm
is
mainly
developed
in
Ruby
on
Rails
and
JavaScript.
• The
growth
of
DRSdigital
was
hindered
by
too
long
Sme-­‐to-­‐market
due
to
the
local
shortage
of
qualified
soQware
developers,
especially
in
the
field
of
Ruby
on
Rails.
The
company‘s
previous
aZempt
to
outsource
parts
of
the
development
failed
mainly
due
to
problems
in
communicaSon
and
mutual
understanding.
• Prior
to
contacSng
InterVenture,
DRSdigital
has
tried
in
vain
to
find
adequate
soQware
engineers
for
about
nine
months.
• The
primary
moSvaSon
for
choosing
our
Own
Team
Model
was
the
need
for
an
own
and
permanently
dedicated
team,
where
specific
knowledge
and
experSse
could
be
accumulated
and
uSlised
on
long
terms
in
an
agile
environment.
• The
agreed
iniSal
nearshore
team
size
in
Belgrade
included
three
full
Sme
developers
–
two
Ruby
on
Rails
and
one
JavaScript
developer.
• Two
months
aQer
the
iniSal
contact
with
InterVenture,
DRSdigital
had
the
first
Ruby
developer
si`ng
in
our
development
center
in
Belgrade.
Within
the
following
month
the
remaining
two
team
members
were
recruited
and
added
to
the
team.
• Formal
educaSon
of
the
starSng
Team:
2
Masters
in
Computer
Science,
1
Master
in
MathemaScs
with
all
developers
having
5+
years
of
working
experience.
• AQer
expanding
the
development
team
with
InterVenture,
DRSdigital
was
able
to
reduce
Sme-­‐to-­‐
market
considerably.
The
company
announced
further
team
add-­‐
ons,
both
seniors
and
juniors,
to
push
the
development
of
addiSonal
products,
parScularly
in
the
mobile
area.
Page 2 of 4

3. RecruiSng
Process:
2
rounds
• Required
skills
and
experSse:
AQer
receiving
from
DRSdigital
the
specific
requirements
regarding
the
technical
know
how
of
the
desired
candidates,
we
have
started
the
search
process
within
our
internal
network
and
free
labour
market.
• PreselecSon:
Internal
first
round
interviews
with
promising
candidates
were
organised
at
the
InterVenture
nearshore
center.
Our
Team
Manager
and
HR
primarily
focus
here
on
technical
know
how,
command
of
English
and
soQ
skills,
like
moSvaSon
and
ability
to
proacSvely
work
in
a
team.
During
this
process
the
candidates
were
also
given
more
informaSon
about
DRSdigital
as
well
as
about
their
future
role
and
responsibiliSes.
• RecommendaSon:
The
CVs
of
the
candidates,
who
have
successfully
passed
the
first
round
interviews,
were
forwarded
together
with
our
assessment
summary
to
DRSdigital
for
review
and
feedback.
• 2nd
round
interview:
Candidates,
who
were
shortlisted
by
our
client,
were
invited
to
a
second
round
interview
at
our
development
center.
The
CTO
and
HR
Partner
of
DRSdigital
lead
here
direct
interviews
with
the
individual
candidates
via
video
conferencing.
AQer
this
a
homework
test
was
sent
out
to
all
candidates.
• Decision:
The
final
selecSon
of
the
right
candidates
was
made
by
DRSdigital
by
taking
the
suggesSons
of
InterVenture
into
account.
Transparent
CompensaSon
• AQer
the
first
round
interviews
InterVenture
noSfies
its
clients
about
the
individual
salary
expectaSons
of
the
corresponding
candidates.
We
also
make
suggesSons
regarding
fair
salary
offers
by
reflecSng
the
local
labour
market
development.
• The
InterVenture
management
fee
applies
to
all
employees
and
comes
on
top
of
the
direct
salaries.
All
components
are
shown
transparently,
which
allows
DRSdigital
to
compare
the
performance
within
the
team,
manage
work
expectaSons
and
reward
good
individual
results
–
the
same
way
as
with
in-­‐house
employees.
Page 3 of 4

4. Everyday
CollaboraSon
• The
in-­‐house
and
nearshore
teams
are
technically
and
organisaSonally
completely
integrated.
They
work
together
in
a
distributed
scrum
environment
as
one
department.
• All
colleagues
have
the
same
@drooms.com
email
extension
and
are
connected
to
the
same
development
environment
via
dedicated
VPN
link.
• Daily
morning
meeSngs
via
video
conferencing
ensure
that
everybody
is
up
to
date
with
relevant
informaSon.
• All
team
members
are
permanently
online
and
available
for
discussing
the
daily
issues.
• The
local
team
lead
in
Belgrade
scales
the
addiSonal
informaSon
flow
with
the
CTO
in
Frankfurt
and
makes
sure
that
all
tasks
are
correctly
understood
and
put
into
perspecSve
with
the
“big
picture“.
• Weekly
internal
briefings
between
all
colleagues
and
the
InterVenture
Team
Management
ensure
that
potenSal
issues
of
any
kind
are
idenSfied
and
resolved
on
Sme.
• Occasional
in-­‐person
meeSngs
in
Frankfurt
and
Belgrade
are
organised
to
opSmise
the
necessary
know
how
transfer
and
to
strengthen
the
team
spirit.
For
example,
the
whole
Belgrade
team
was
invited
to
Frankfurt
for
the
company‘s
Christmas
party
event.
• At
the
beginning
all
team
members
spent
one
week
in
Frankfurt
to
meet
other
colleagues
and
to
get
to
know
the
organisaSon,
products
and
processes.
• All
members
of
the
Belgrade
team
work
permanently
and
exclusively
as
part
of
DRSdigital.
MBO
• We
use
in
general
Management
By
ObjecSves
("MBO")
for
defining
objecSves
for
the
developers
so
that
management
and
employees
agree
to
the
objecSves
and
understand
what
they
need
to
do
in
the
organisaSon.
• In
line
with
the
exisSng
internal
processes
of
DRSdigital,
it
has
been
agreed
to
have
an
annual
MBO
review,
which
allows
to
track
the
technical
but
also
personal
development
based
on
defined
and
reached
objecSves
and
to
employ
corresponding
performance
incenSves.
During
this
process
targets
for
the
upcoming
year
are
also
being
set.
Page 4 of 4