Distinguishing and defining the role of a technical leader in outsourced teams developing IT solutions using Scrum

Abstract

Outsourcing software development is gaining popularity and importance. The value of an outsourced team is much higher when this team can be represented by a technical leader. Many outsourced teams use various agile methodologies, Scrum being the most popular among them. Distinguishing specialized roles in teams, such as e.g. a role of a technical leader, does not conform to some agile principles. When building an IT system, it is important for the team to have a technical leader who can communicate with internal and external stakeholders. In this paper the aspects of the communication abilities of a technical leader are considered in more detail based on conducted surveys. Developing successful technical leadership is not an easy task for a company, and that is why career paths of software engineers are an important issue regarding HR competencies and leveraging costs. The paper offers some remarks concerning useful competences of technical leaders based on an example related to databases.