Dedicated teams, staff augmentation and ODCs: compare responsibilities
A planning guide to delivery ownership, team structure and the terms to compare before choosing an engagement model.
Planning notes
A planning guide to delivery ownership, team structure and the terms to compare before choosing an engagement model.
Start with responsibility
Before comparing model names, list the work to be done and the decisions your organisation will retain. Identify who sets priorities, manages delivery, reviews technical changes and accepts completed work. Suppliers may use the same label for different arrangements, so compare the proposed responsibilities.
Staff augmentation
This label generally describes people working within a client’s existing team. Ask who assigns tasks, reviews code, approves access and handles performance concerns. Confirm the proposed person’s availability and the process for onboarding or replacement. The label alone establishes neither seniority nor a start date.
Dedicated team
A dedicated team is organised around a product or workstream. The proposal should explain which roles are included, whether they are exclusive to the project and how product and delivery decisions are divided. Record how staffing changes, leave, review meetings and handover will be handled.
Offshore development centre
An ODC proposal may include recruitment, equipment, facilities and operational management as well as delivery work. Confirm the actual team location, employment arrangements and reporting lines. If a future transfer is proposed, its scope, conditions and costs need to be explicit rather than implied by the model name.
Compare the agreements
Use the same scope when comparing proposals. Check roles, working hours, fees, expenses, access controls, IP and licensing, notice and handover. There is no universal team-size threshold or cost ranking that determines the right choice. Cloudini’s registered office is in London; arrangements for a specific engagement need to be confirmed in its proposal.
Further reading
For questions about information access and international processing, see ICO international-transfer guidance. For questions to assess a cloud service, see the NCSC cloud security principles.