Why your OutSystems team develops quickly... but your project still stalls
Team Resilience
OutSystems
Pro Tips
Your smart business processes make the difference in the market. Whether it is your efficient purchasing process, your lightning-fast logistics, or your customer-oriented marketing. They form the secret recipe with which you bind your customers to you.
That is why you were done with these valuable processes being stuck in legacy ERP systems. Systems that were cumbersome: for every process step you had to go through countless actions, and every adjustment was a major chore. You were ready to move forward, but your systems pulled like anchors on your company.
When you heard about low-code platforms like OutSystems, it sounded like the perfect solution. The promise was crystal clear: faster development, more flexibility, and finally software that perfectly aligns with your unique business processes. Low-code would make it possible to develop four to five times faster than with traditional methods.
Meanwhile, OutSystems itself has gone a step further: the platform no longer positions itself solely as a low-code platform, but as an agentic systems platform, in which AI agents take over an increasingly large part of the development. The question that this article answers only becomes more urgent as a result.
The reality is more challenging
Now that you have been working with OutSystems for a while, you notice that reality is more challenging than the promise. The promised speed is not yet fully realized, and sometimes it even feels as if adjustments take just as long as in your old systems.
The results fall short of expectations on another level as well: the applications do not always align optimally with what your end users need. The user experience stutters here and there, processes do not run smoothly everywhere, and the value you expected from your platform has yet to materialize.
Recognizable? You have already invested in OutSystems, which is no small step, and it is logical that you are wondering how you are actually going to fully capitalize on that investment.
Where's the friction in practice?
In our work, we see the same pitfalls in low-code implementations time and again.
The pace issue: runners and walkers
Pace is often the first issue: your development team can build lightning-fast with OutSystems, but if your business is still operating at the old speed, everything grinds to a halt. It's like a runner and a walker trying to cross the finish line together. That simply doesn't work. Requirements arrive too late, forcing developers to wait or make assumptions. Feedback takes weeks to arrive, while the development team is already three iterations ahead. Acceptance tests are delayed because the business hasn't freed up time, right when the developers are ready to push ahead. The result is a team that constantly has to work in 'stop-and-go' mode, which is not only frustrating but also negates the benefits of the platform.
With the rise of agentic AI within OutSystems, this pace gap is only widening: AI agents now generate code faster than human teams can review, validate, and approve it. The runner gets even faster, while the walker remains just as slow.
Old habits in a new world
In addition, many companies bring their old high-code habits to OutSystems, causing them to miss out on the platform's true power. They continue to build overly complex solutions instead of making smart use of what the platform already offers. Developers write custom code while OutSystems already has ready-to-use components that do the same thing. Teams sticky to rigid waterfall processes in a platform built for agile development. Architects design complex data structures that are perfect for Java or .NET, but actually cause slower performance in OutSystems.
Half-hearted commitment, half-hearted results
And then I often hear: "We have this Java developer help out with OutSystems two days a week". A guaranteed recipe for disappointment. Low-code requires full commitment, not half-hearted attempts where people keep one foot in the old and one foot in the new. You cannot learn to speak two languages fluently at the same time. Developers never truly master the platform and apply inconsistent coding styles because everyone brings their own method.
The approach with which we deliver on the low-code promise
At Team Resilience, we tackle the development process differently from day one:
1. The Heartbeat: synchronous rhythm of business and IT
Traditional scrum masters primarily facilitate ceremonies and ensure a good atmosphere. Nice for the team, but not always very efficient. Therefore, we do not work with a scrum master, but with a delivery lead who takes charge of the entire development process.
The Delivery Lead understands the pain points of both IT and the business and ensures the ideal connection between these two worlds. This doer facilitates short, effective workshops and feedback loops that align with the speed of low-code. This way, business decisions and feedback are available just in time and not weeks later when the team is already three sprints ahead.
2. The OutSystems perspective: starting from the platform
We break with entrenched patterns of old code by first centering the power of OutSystems. Our tech leads and developers know the platform inside and out; they even dream about it. They know exactly what the platform can do so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel unnecessarily. We don't use complex data structures from ancient times, but simple, effective models that perform optimally in OutSystems.
3. Full commitment: the power of focus
We believe in dedicated product teams that focus 100% on one platform, allowing them to develop a consistent coding style and truly become skilled. Therefore, we deploy developers who are fully committed to your OutSystems project. No half measures, but complete focus.
At the same time, we provide a clear training path for your own colleagues, allowing them to gradually transition fully to the new platform, not with one foot in each world. This ensures a uniform approach and maximum return on your OutSystems investment.
The result: company-specific processes that work
With this approach, you immediately see progress in your OutSystems projects. Developers are more productive because they do not endlessly wait for input or decisions. Feedback is processed within days instead of weeks. And new functionalities? They reach the market at a pace that would make traditional development teams envious. This leads to a natural collaboration between business and IT. No more 'us-versus-them', but a shared understanding of what is possible.
Ready to accelerate your ERP replatforming?
Do you recognize the challenges? Are you struggling with an OutSystems implementation that is not delivering what you expected? Or are you at the beginning of a replatforming journey and want to get it right from the start?
Whether you want to speed up a low-code project or make the transition to agentic development within OutSystems, let’s talk about how the Team Resilience approach can improve your specific situation.
