Questions to Ask When Hiring a Software Development Firm

Whether your business is new in the market or already scaling heights, choosing the right software products can make a huge difference. It can streamline processes and enhance productivity, to name a few. A report says that nearly 17% of software and IT-related projects fail due to several internal reasons. This has the potential to affect your business reputation and bottom line.

Going for the best software development firm that serves all your business needs is a long-term plan that will save you a lot of money and effort. Before hiring a software development firm, though, make sure that you ask the following questions.

Do You Have Technological Expertise to Develop Different Applications?

The software development firm you are choosing for your business should have solid performance records. They should be a team of professionals who are experts on the technology front.

Ask them the tech-related questions, such as the programs and platforms they have experience working with in the past. For example, asking about their expertise in developing mobile applications is a good start, considering that global mobile-app revenues are expected to reach $935 billion by 2023.

For a better analysis, you can do some research beforehand. Visit the agency’s website to learn about their clients, their existence, the completed projects, etc. Also, check if the firm provides prototyping, MVP development, business analysis, UX/UI design, mobile app development, RoR web development, quality assurance, and testing.

Remember, 50% of the reasons for project failures include missed timelines, insufficient expertise, and change in scope.

What Goes into the Process Timeline?

You should definitely know beforehand how long the project will take to complete. The businesses today are moving at a relatively high pace as far as technology is concerned. Large projects need over 6 months for completion due to the complexities involved, but a smaller one shouldn’t take more than 1-2 weeks.

Your software development firm should ensure this and be efficient with timely deliverables in their work. They should adhere to the business deadlines in compliance with the overall goal. At the same time, remember that you need one week for scoping per two months spent on development. So, don’t rush the deadlines if you need an in-depth solution.

How Much Should Your Budget Be?

Budget is an essential factor that should be appropriately consented upon at the time of any contract or agreement, with utmost disclosure. Ask questions about the costs involved in their services.

Ask them to be specific about any hidden costs that will come attached, along with the product or the project that may be charged later. The best software development firm will acknowledge your budget requirements and provide you with the solutions within the budget. Experts advise start-ups to go with a minimum viable product approach to analyze customer behavior patterns towards the product.

What Is Your Experience in Project Management?

When outsourcing the work to a third party, it sometimes gets difficult to have face to face interactions with the team, and this might hamper the project management. It is essential to develop a communication channel with the software developing firm for synchronized working. You should ask the company about the coordination solutions while working on the project with your business and whether the project management professionals are PMP-certified.

The firm may provide an additional solution like a project manager to intermediate between the firm and the business for filling the communication gap. In some other cases, the company may provide solutions to such intermediary software as Teamwork or BaseCamp. These software products will help track the status of the project by all the parties involved.

Will They Provide Any Comprehensive Maintenance Support Services?

The services of the software company should ensure end-to-end working in the process. In case of any discrepancies after completing the project or any performance-related problems in the software, the company should develop relevant maintenance solutions.

You should ask your company about their working on the issues that arise later, after completing the project, and if they offer any additional services like cloud auditing to overcome the hindrances or product life cycle support.

Will You Sign Important Documents?

To protect your business’ confidentiality, you must ask the company to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Another important document that you should ask the company to sign is – the Statement of Work or (SOW). Both these documents will protect the integrity of your business.

Hiring a third party for software development is a smart business decision to increase productivity, facilitate workflow management, and boost your bottom line. So, make this decision wisely after asking them the questions above.