Many of us remember the grade school game Telephone. It was funny to see how a simple message would get garbled as it was passed along from person to person. But it’s not as funny when that message is a critical business requirement that will be turned into software that will power your business. Yet, this is the way some teams choose to work, passing messages along from stakeholder to business analyst to project manager to software developers. 

Volano has simplified the model: stakeholder (you!) directly to our software developers. 

Sure it’s hard to find great developers that also have strong communication skills, but that is one way we feel we are different from other companies. We hire developers not only for their outstanding technical skill, but their ability to deeply understand our clients’ needs, and communicate with them on their project. The outcome of this collaboration is a better process and a better product. Another outcome is the relationship built between our clients and developers. Once that bond is created, the project becomes less transactional and more personal. In conversations with clients asking them about their experience working with us, several have said “it’s like working with friends.” 

Another benefit is the natural transfer of the domain-specific knowledge that applies to your project. Direct collaboration with the development team provides the opportunity for us to pick up on the specific functions, operations, and language of your industry. This domain-specific knowledge allows us to develop expertise and makes us more valuable as we partner on future projects. 

It is important to note that each project always has a project manager and executive oversight. However, these roles are supplementary to the benefits of direct collaboration with software developers and not wedged between them.