Background:

SaaS inventory management software provider wins government contract

Their software solution provides inventory management and asset tracking, and formed the basis for modernizing asset tracking at a branch within the US Department of Defense. The project did not involve classified data, but all software customizations, production data, and production environments could only be handled by US Citizens. The software development and devops work required could be performed remotely, as long as it was done within the borders of the United States. This posed a challenge for our client, as their software team has historically been located entirely offshore!

The Problem:

A Government contract requires domestic talent - what to do when your engineering team is offshore?

Since our client has historically had private sector clients utilizing its SaaS software, the global locations of its teams have been manageable. Prior to the government contract, their entire engineering team was located offshore in Europe. Now they had to serve the needs of a US Military branch - for this project, only US Citizen developers based in the United States could touch code customizations, data, and the deployment environment. Our client determined that they needed a single senior full-stack .NET / C# engineer to effectively deliver the domestic portions of the contract. Given their history using offshore resources, how could they meet this need in a cost-effective manner?

The Solution:

Work fractionally with a senior US-based developer who has prior experience working with US Department of Defense agencies

Fraction has seen increased demand from the public sector, including military, federal, state, and local government clients. In many (sometimes all) cases these organizations cannot work with developers outside the United States, and they cannot allow data to leave the country either. Even when Security Clearance is required, quite often developers are allowed to work remotely within the United States (some military and higher security roles still require 100% onsite work).

Since Fraction focuses exclusively on US-based senior developer talent, we were ready with available resources when our client explained their needs. Within our developer pool we identified a senior .NET developer with over 15 years of experience and with prior experience delivering a project used by a branch of the US military. She onboarded with the client immediately and was able to work flexibly with both the offshore team and domestic counterparts to get up to speed and start to deliver.

Since our fractional developer had prior experience working on a military-related project, this reduced startup transition time. Related domain expertise can be crucial for software developers, and it's one of the strengths we've identified within the fractional model since Fraction is able to work with underutilized personnel across the workforce. Government and public sector employees typically lack restrictive non-compete agreements as well, enabling fractional work in this arena.

The Results:

Successful on-time project delivery, with the potential for future support

Fraction's initial engagement with the client involved code customizations, getting the client's DevOps and deployment environment set up, and proceeding with deployment and data migration. From a cost perspective, Fraction's solution cost… well, a fraction of a full-time hire! As the initial phase of the project is coming to a close, with production launch expected soon, how will ongoing support proceed?

Fraction provides flexibility in supporting projects post-launch. Keeping a connection with developers preserves the knowledge base they've built, enabling rapid bug fixes when the inevitable operational issues arise. During the build cycle, Fraction developers typically work half-time, but we've found that quarter-time is a great way to support projects thereafter. As the client moves into ongoing maintenance, Fraction's quarter-time coverage will offer cost-effective ongoing bug support and maintenance, backed by the same PM and software architecture guidance as every engagement.