Practical tool: how to choose a dedicated software development partner

Practical Tool: How to Choose a Dedicated Software Development Partner

15 min read

You have decided to entrust your project to a third-party software developer. Excellent! 45% of organizations that outsource at least part of their project development process report an improved time-to-market.

So, now someone is responsible for all technical issues, and you can relax. But is it? It would be best to take care of several points to avoid additional time and money spent on development or a complete failure of the project.

This guide helps you prioritize what matters most in finding the perfect partner for your software projects.

Click here to download the guide in PDF format.

Table of Contents

ABOUT TEAM
Project management system
Team structure
Qualification requirements for specialists
Understanding the logic of your business
Does the company outsource third-party developers?

ABOUT TECHNOLOGY
What aspects of the product will be tested?
Who does the testing?
Project tech stack

ABOUT MONEY
What should the project budget estimate show?
What additional costs will you incur?
After-development support

ABOUT TEAM

Project Management System

Talk to the company about:

How their management system will allow your project to stay within the agreed budget and deadlines.
How, within this system, the company will manage possible project requirements changes.

How their management system will allow your project to stay within the agreed budget and deadlines.
How, within this system, the company will manage possible project requirements changes.

Now, the most popular system is Agile. But you need to remember that if you hear "Agile," - this is not a guarantee of project success, and this system is far from ideal for all projects.

There are several important points here:

Not all companies declaring Agile work know how to work with it.
Agile should be used by a team of experienced professionals. It will not work with unskilled beginners.
You will need to give constant feedback throughout the process, as the project's success depends on how well the development company responds to your changing needs. Answer honestly to yourself: Are you ready for this?
Agile projects focus on the client's constantly evolving needs, so if your project has static goals or objectives, you will be better off without Agile.

Not all companies declaring Agile work know how to work with it.
Agile should be used by a team of experienced professionals. It will not work with unskilled beginners.
You will need to give constant feedback throughout the process, as the project's success depends on how well the development company responds to your changing needs. Answer honestly to yourself: Are you ready for this?
Agile projects focus on the client's constantly evolving needs, so if your project has static goals or objectives, you will be better off without Agile.

Team Structure

Specify how the development company team is structured. It is essential not only to have developers in it but also testers and QA engineers.

These are all different roles, and they are all critical. With developers, everything is more or less clear—they write code. What about the rest?

QA engineers are people who help development teams produce quality products.

The QA engineer's task is to prevent the product from failing to meet the requirements. A QA engineer measures a product's quality and knows its current state and what needs to be done to raise it not only at the testing stage but also at the development, design, or requirements stage. After all, everybody understands that the earlier a bug is found, the cheaper it is to fix it.

Testers are not involved in the entire development cycle.

They only test the finished product at the last stage of development, checking its quality. Their task is to validate the product and inform businesses and developers about its compliance with the stated requirements.

Qualification Requirements for Specialists

It is essential to understand that no one adheres to a single performance qualification standard. Each development company understands the qualification in its own way, as it is convenient. Therefore, it's better to check with your contractor what qualification requirements for middle and senior developers and QA engineers are accepted in their company.

For example, in some companies, middles can be considered people with 1.5 years of experience. This is possible, although this is the exception rather than the rule.

Understanding the Logic of Your Business

A sales manager will most likely attend your first meeting with a contractor. Ask also to include your future project manager—a business analyst. The sales manager will sell you the dream and the business analyst—the reality. By the way, the technician will "sell" you just the process. Consider this and buy "reality."

Talk to a business analyst. Will he be able to describe the business logic of any of the project processes and justify the effectiveness of the proposed method for its implementation?

A business analyst must understand your idea, pursue it, and develop it—at least partially. All development should aim to increase your profit or the value of your product. Listen, and you will understand—whether this is your player.

Does the Company Outsource Third-party Developers?

Suppose the contracting company's scale does not match your project's scale (the company does not have enough developers in the state). In that case, it may involve third-party developers (freelancers) performing specific project work.

The customer must understand whether the developer company intends to involve developers who are not its official employees. In this case, people who are not legally liable under the contract you have concluded will have access to the project data. This may make it impossible to hold the developer company responsible in the event of, for example, data leakage.

Explore the nuances of team management in the article linked here:

Helpful tips to guide your project team towards great success.

ABOUT TECHNOLOGY

What Aspects of the Product Will Be Tested?

You, as a customer, of course, do not need to delve into all the technical features of testing. However, it will be helpful to ask your questions to the contractor.

From which sides the finished project will be tested:
- How individual modules work and interact with each other.
- If the solution meets both technical, functional, and business requirements.
- The compliance of the system with the business requirements and whether it is acceptable for delivery.
What precisely do the planned tests check:
- Verifies if non-functional aspects of a software product like performance, usability, security, flexibility, reliability, etc., are working well.
- How the system can work under various workloads.
- Check that the system is secure and not defenseless to any external threats, data loss, or other assets.
- User-friendliness of the system.
- Make sure the system works as expected on different types of hardware, databases, operating systems, and screen sizes.
- Verify the solution is customized and behaves according to the culture of the country where it is available.
What will be affected by the errors identified in the testing areas.

Who Does the Testing?

Ensure the software’s usability testing is not the developers’ responsibility. This is important for several reasons:

1

A tester is a professional. This specialty is trained separately. Not every developer can write various tests competently, cover all user cases, and automate the process.
2

Finding mistakes in your work is always more complicated than in someone else’s. If the developer thinks that 2*2=5, he will write it both in the test and the code.
3

The programmer sees the product created by his own hands through and through and uses it, having this vision. A typical user will see the application with different eyes. Only a tester who is not involved in product development can look with almost the same eyes as the user.
4

Often, the hours of work of testers are cheaper.

1

A tester is a professional. This specialty is trained separately. Not every developer can write various tests competently, cover all user cases, and automate the process.
2

Finding mistakes in your work is always more complicated than in someone else’s. If the developer thinks that 2*2=5, he will write it both in the test and the code.
3

The programmer sees the product created by his own hands through and through and uses it, having this vision. A typical user will see the application with different eyes. Only a tester who is not involved in product development can look with almost the same eyes as the user.
4

Often, the hours of work of testers are cheaper.

Project Tech Stack

Explore the technology stack that the developer company offers for your project:

Is there a sufficient number of specialists in the market for this stack?
What is the cost of resources for this stack (the cost of an hour of development)?
Who supports the proposed stack - a small number of enthusiasts or large corporations?

Answering these questions will help you minimize the risk that in case of problems with the code, it will be challenging for you to find a developer to support the project, and they will be costly.

Here's something else you may appreciate:

Why technical debt occurs in projects: find out and prevent it.

ABOUT MONEY

What Should the Project Budget Estimate Show?

Everything seems to be noticeable. The cheaper the developers are, the better for you as a customer. However, when you look at the project estimate provided to you, there are a few critical points:

Evaluation of the project in the first place is not even numbers. First of all, the evaluation should point out what parts the project will have or what functionality will be performed to achieve the goal of your project.

The rate per hour is not the primary indicator. Do not rush to choose the company that offers a development cost of $40 per hour instead of $60.

The rate itself is unimportant, but the total project budget—rate*hours. For a lower rate, the contractor may use less qualified specialists who will take more time to complete the task.

The project budget should not be one figure, and it should not contain items with a large number of hours. All planned operations should be detailed and divided into small tasks (at least for one part of the project if this is a preliminary assessment). If the performer takes more than 10 hours to complete a task, in most cases, he either did not understand or did not want to figure out what he would do for you in this task. As a result, you will be asked for an additional budget, or the job will be completed 50% of the time, and you will pay the rest simply because you agreed.

What Additional Costs Will You Incur?

Since the developer company's budget covers only its work on the project, it is essential to understand what additional costs you will have to incur so that this does not become an unpleasant surprise for you. Check with the development company what additional licenses will be required during the project and how much they may cost.

After-development Support

Discuss the after-development support services with the software development company. Make sure they commit (in writing) to providing software configuration, orientation, customization, maintenance, and backup services. Including it is important to clarify the correction of errors as part of warranty service.

To learn more about the project budget, refer to the comprehensive article linked below:

Software development cost: assessing project estimates and budget risks.

In summary, selecting the right software development partner involves assessing expertise, communication, and budgeting. Our company offers comprehensive services, including expert team structuring, advanced technology stacks, and transparent budgeting, ensuring your project's success from start to finish. Contact us for a seamless development experience and reliable after-development support.

In summary, selecting the right software development partner involves assessing expertise, communication, and budgeting. Our company offers comprehensive services, including expert team structuring, advanced technology stacks, and transparent budgeting, ensuring your project's success from start to finish.
Contact us for a seamless development experience and reliable after-development support.

Yulia Sashikhina | Product and marketing manager