In outsourced tech development projects, trust is the single most critical determinant of success. This article explains why, and why we put trust at the centre of Verified Teams.

Without trust, development projects risk becoming an adversarial relationship between the client and the developer where everybody loses out. Projects that have solved for trust, however, frees everyone to take joy in the creative process and in building things we're proud of. This is the setup for success.

Verified Teams have learnt that there's no such thing as high- or low-cost tech development. There is only high- and low-risk. And risk = cost. So we put earning trust at the very centre of everything we do.

The Contrast: Projects With and Without Trust

Imagine two scenarios. In the first, a client-agency relationship with deep trust. In the second, trust is absent. Here’s how these two projects play out:

A Project With Trust

  • Minimal Client Engagement: The client can focus on their priorities, confident that the developer has understood what the client needs, that they will do their utmost to pursue those needs, and will reach out when uncertainties arise. There is a rhythm of inspection that the client and developer knows and there is minimal time spent meeting and planning meetings.
  • Better Budget Alignment: The client sets their budget and the developer gives their best estimate of what scope can be achieved with this based on their experience. The client has the opportunity to not proceed if they realise there isn't enough budget. If the developer finds savings, the project will come in under budget and the client saves too.
  • Higher Quality Work: Earning and preserving trust by delivering consistent and high quality work wins the developer the long term rewards: Repeat business and positive referrals thanks to a success story. They get a more steady and predictable income stream upon which they can gradually grow their business. Importantly, they don't want to take on projects that risk being failures, so they turn down bad ideas.

A Project Without Trust

  • Overpromising: Agencies that aren't trusted find it harder to win more clients and revenue, so they feel compelled to underquote, overpromise, and hope they can either make it all work out down the line, or just find a new client afterwards. They're gambling! Their revenue is lower and less predictable, and their developers are likely working with less job security and motivation, and there less likely to see the project through.
  • Excessive Oversight: The suspicious client feels compelled to inspect, question, and micromanage more. Not only does this take up productive time (that the client is paying for), but more decisions are being made by a non-expert, increasing error, missteps, and overspend. More back-and-forth means more possibility of miscommunications.

How Trust Costs Less Despite Higher Rates

Dependable developers charge higher rates for their time. This makes sense. They've got the expertise to do good work, but they've also invested in building their reputation for reliability and accountability. They have clients that come back to them and refer them, and they also have Verified Teams vouching for them, so there's a lot of demand for their limited time.

But why should you feel happy paying higher day rates? Because minimising the cost of mistakes, including scope creep, will eventually cost you much less.

A dependable developer helps you save money in three broad ways:

  1. They set a realistic quote, which enables the client to better plan the broader context of the project and reduces the possibility that the project ends due to lack of funding before its objectives are achieved.
  2. They clarify the scope of the project before commencing so that there is less possibility that the resources are spent pursuing the wrong direction or reworking.
  3. They simply make fewer blunders, meaning less delays and budget overruns.

In short, at Verified Teams, by solving for trust, we're reducing risks, and therefore we're maximising the possibility of success and delivering true value for money.