Where / how to look for a consultant on building a web development department

Question

PHP

Due to the growth of our company in the last year, we faced the problem of properly building the development department.
There are many questions, both organizational and technical.

I don’t want to step on a rake again, so we decided to involve an experienced developer / consultant. For him to share his experience and criticize our plans :)

But we have no idea where and how to find such a person. It is unlikely that developers who have been working successfully in good teams for a long time monitor job sites or freelance exchanges.

Selective posting on thematic forums did not give any effect.

Maybe someone already faced with a similar search problem? Or can recommend such a person?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

upd:the text of the announcement that was posted on the forums

Input data: we are a small Internet agency that creates / promotes sites, develops our own projects and scripts. Over the past year, our company has grown from 8 to 25 people, the number of projects has increased, and the issue of correctly building a development department has become acute.

We would really like to get answers from the consultant to the following questions:
- how to optimally organize the work of programmers for our pool of tasks (one person - one project / group of projects or vice versa),
- one engine for many sites VS each site has its own engine. Advantages and disadvantages.
- how not to lose remote productivity when increasing staff.
- modular development principle. Comments and criticism of our proposed scheme of work.
- the required amount of project documentation.

We expect the consultant (in addition to excellent knowledge of the technology) to have the following experience:
- development of multi-site platforms for portal-type sites,
- management of a team of programmers and creation of a production process,
- cost estimation of developments / improvements / releases.

Geographically, we are located in Zelenograd, we are ready to consider both face-to-face consultation options in our office and remote via Skype.
Payment - by agreement, depending on the volume of the consultation.

Email mail [email protected] / skype svetlana.kuranova

Answer 1

There are some here.
It seems to me that it is easier for you to state a list of questions and difficulties, and then they will answer you.
If you want him to come directly to you, then it would be logical to indicate at least the city, not to mention other contacts.

Answer 2

We would really like to get answers from the consultant to the following questions:
- how to optimally organize the work of programmers for our pool of tasks (one person - one project / group of projects or vice versa),
If you have many small projects, then make a group per project - project manager + resources (programmers + layout designers + who else is needed), while the resources will be shared between other projects, if the projects are serious, then collect a fixed group of resources, with a backlash to distract to help other resources.
- one engine for many sites VS each site has its own engine. Advantages and disadvantages.
It all depends on
1. the projects themselves (what type it is)
2. the skills of programmers
In general terms - understand what (framework, CMS, etc) your programmers know best, divide it by how popular it is in the market. And draw the right conclusions
- how not to lose remote productivity with an increase in staff.
Use resources correctly - you will need a manager who will plan (yes-yes) the allocation of resources. This can be done by both the Technical Director and the Project Manager (which is much worse), even as an option for a support service manager / tester. The question here is what kind of resource you have for this and how busy it
is - the modular development principle. Comments and criticism of our proposed scheme of work.
If all your projects are promo sites, then I wrote it and forgot - use the engine you have chosen above to the maximum. with serious ones, you will need to evaluate code reuse.
- the required amount of project documentation.
It all depends on your projects and clients. In most cases, technical specifications + layouts are written. But the client can switch to a short leg and then you can merge into Agile :)
We expect that the consultant (in addition to excellent knowledge of the technology) has the following experience:
- development of multi-site platforms for portal-type sites,
- management of a team of programmers and creation of a production process,
- cost estimation of developments/improvements/releases.

Well, something like this sviridenko.moikrug.ru :)

Answer 3

It is unlikely that developers who have been working successfully in good teams for a long time monitor job sites or freelance exchanges.

I can only say that project managers (including former developers) and heads of their startups (including former developers) monitor themselves quite well. I've come across a lot of both categories in the month of our oDesk ad. Apparently, there is always a percentage of people who want to change their working conditions: romance for stability (and vice versa), development for management / consulting (and vice versa), etc.