How to choose the best software developer for your needs.

Need a software developer that understands and supports your business objectives? Outsourcing software development can be your key to faster, greater success.

5 Tips to help you find the right custom software development outsourcing partner.

You’ve got an amazing concept to launch your new business idea online or a plan to modernise existing operations to propel your business, increase efficiency and delight your customers through digital innovation. To see your ideas materialise into reality takes the technical and business skills of an experienced software development company who understands not only your technical environment but also your business objectives and limitations.

So how do you source the right software development company to support your specific requirements? Maybe you’re not technical at all and require the guidance and experience of a software developer who talks your language and you can trust completely, or perhaps your existing development team doesn’t have the capacity or unique skills to fulfil your new technical goals. We’ve put together a simple guide of 5 key considerations to choosing the right custom software development company for project success.

Knowing what you want
Once you have clear idea of your business objectives, prepare an outline of your needs, current technical environment and the problems you are trying to solve. The pathway to delivery of a superior product begins with an informed and authentic discussion with potential development partners to find the right fit.

Consider these 5 criteria when looking for a successful technology partner:

1. Business skills

Does the software development company have the skills to understand your business requirements and objectives?

Technology knowledge and technical skills alone are not enough to ensure you’ll end up with a useful, reliable software solution. A successful, cost-effective solution can only be delivered when your software development partner fully understands your business goals and objectives. It is crucial that there is a clear understanding of areas of responsibility, expertise and expectation. Your software developer needs to consider all stakeholders and help you in driving the project forward to completion. Having mechanisms in place to measure progress and success, and transparent reporting on outcomes is key to ensuring development is on the right track and risk to your business is reduced.

To determine if a software development company has the right stuff to become your technology partner, ask questions about their business operation:

• Why should I choose you over other software development companies, what makes you different?
• Do you have any experience working with clients in my industry?
• Have you completed a similar project to mine regarding technical environment and product features? How successful was that project?
• How do you determine our business needs and turn those into realistic project objectives?
• How do you ensure we know when things go wrong?
• How easy is it for you to scale your team of software developers if required for our project or if your workload increases with other clients?

2. Technical Skills

Does the development team have the right technical skills to build software features that add value to your digital ecosystem?

No one can be expert in everything. Choose a development company that has experience with a technical stack that can confidently deliver all the features you need, suited to your environment. Partner with specialists to avoid ending up with an expensive, untimely outcome that doesn’t do exactly what you need.

To ensure you’ll be investing in a quality software solution ask:

• What programming languages and technologies are your software developers most experienced in?
• Do you provide technical documentation in a workable format suitable to our business procedures and useful to all stakeholders (technical and business stakeholders)?
• Will I own the source code?
• How do you ensure software quality? What is your review and testing procedure?
• What security measures do you have in place for the protection of sensitive information?

3. Flexibility

A flexible approach enhances your ability to drive digital innovation and transform your business operations.

You’re looking for custom software development rather than an out-of-the-box solution so it’s fair to assume your business operation needs are specific and unique. A professional, qualified custom software development company requires an agile, flexible and collaborative approach.

To determine if your businesses are the right fit to work together ask:

• How do you prefer to work? Is your approach individually tailored?
• How much contact and collaboration is involved during scope/development/deployment phases?
• What collaboration tools do you use?
• What procedures do you have in place so we know what’s happening – progress, updates, testing, bugs and errors, releases?
• What do you expect from us? What resources do we need to have in place?

4. Communication

Open communication and collaboration reduce risk.

Do they speak in terms technical and non-technical stakeholders can understand? Is there a team or dedicated point of contact appointed and are they readily available? Good software development requires collaboration across the entire project for real transparency. Clear understanding by all stakeholders allows the development company to provide practical advice, efficient problem solving and effective technical solutions. Good chemistry makes the experience more enjoyable and the project outcome more time and cost efficient.

Following your initial discussion with a prospective technology partner, consider:

• Did they listen and make an effort to really understand you?
• Did they answer your questions clearly? The biggest sign that you are being lied to is when a consultant can’t answer your questions clearly. Being able to answer questions especially when it comes to understanding your business requirements and specific technologies is a key way to prove they can be trusted.
• If they were not immediately able to answer your questions, did they care to do their best and find out more? Admitting they don’t have the answer on hand and are resourceful to come back to you with a response after further investigation shows honesty.
• Did they follow through with things they have promised?

5. Trust and Integrity

Location and Company Culture matters.

Being able to relate to your appointed software development company not only saves time but makes your life a whole lot easier. Understanding and availability to communicate where there is no language barrier or time zone issues is important for avoiding pitfalls and reducing risk. The relationship should be one of partners where the aim is to succeed together. Working towards a shared goal with constant and consistent collaboration and understanding throughout the entire project is key to success. Being able to build a good connection and lasting relationship drives better quality performance and higher productivity.

• Are your software developers in-house or outsourced and located remotely?
• Do you provide after-sales support?
• Do you provide ongoing support and maintenance services?
• Ask about existing clients. Can they provide references, reviews, testimonials?

Finding a trusted and reliable custom software development company makes reaching your technical goals easier. Employees can perform better and customers enjoy a better experience. Digital innovation propels your business. Hopefully these tips help you to determine if a software developer is the right fit for your business needs and sets you on a pathway to success.

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