10 Simple Steps For Choosing a Software Development Company

Before doing software outsourcing the right way you need to know how to choose the right software development company that will bring you to success and never let you down.

Software development company/team choice is one of the hardest things that companies can face. It is like getting a group of people that work for the same goal as you do and that you have trust and reliability in.

This is the case when your wrong choice can cost your money, and most importantly your TIME. So we have put together all the important steps that will easily help you verify your software development partner and make the best choice that promises to take you to your project’s success.

Step 1: Forget about Finance

Never start your choice by filtering companies by price. In any case, you will start by comparing hourly rates. An hourly rate is a very relative thing. If it is higher that will not mean that overall the project’s cost will be higher or in another case that you will get more value. That’s why it doesn't make sense to compare hourly rates while you don't know what value you will get during that hour. Obviously if you choose to filter by hourly rates first there is a risk that you will miss many other good options. So let's forget about this criteria for now and watch more important factors.

Step 2: Get your technology experts

If a small/medium software development company does a lot of languages then probably it does all of them at least not good. If you want to work with  smaller companies it is better to choose the one that works only with the technology of your software. This kind of companies are more preferable because they are focused on one technology, they are strong at it and know everything from the root to the core. If you want a front-end in React, then find a company specialized in JavaScript and working in React. If your software requires Java then you need to start from Java experts. Big companies can mostly handle all the tasks well but they might fail at delivering high-level customer support and individual approach.

Step 3: Consider a few

Researching, reviewing, interviewing a company at a time takes too much time, especially when at the end you may find out that you don't fit. Start reviewing a few companies at the same time from the start. This also gives you the opportunity to compare the candidates. And it will be easier for you to make the right choice.

Step 4: Watch the expertise

Here is the factor that will guarantee the quality. Ask for recommendations and portfolio, see what they have done and how. You can even contact the previous clients or request the review of their previous works. Downloading apps developed by them and browsing through their portfolio websites to see how they function also is a variant. These are great ways to check out how good and professional they are. NOTE: it is important to learn what part of the work they have done not to confuse and misunderstand their expertise.

Step 5: Consider Timezone and culture

Outsourcing is also for saving time but if the time-zone difference between you and your software development company is big then it will probably not be so helpful, in terms of time. When researching, choose a company that is located in a country with a little time difference from yours. Good geographical choice can guarantee the minimal time-consumption for your project, so when comparing candidates pay attention to their time-zone. The next thing that matters is the culture. Learn about their culture and how suitable that company can be for your working style. Everyone is different but some people are away more different than others. The reason? Of course, the culture.

Step 6: See their plans

Good companies know their plans and what is in the future of the company. They know exactly where they are heading and they strive for growth. Ask them about their company vision, perspectives and how they see their company in a few years. Be sure, a trustful and reliable partner always knows the answer to this question․

Step 7: See how they communicate

This is the key to the professionalism. Professionals not only do good software but also know how to communicate. Their English language skills are good and they can provide you a quality service whenever needed. They love to share with you what they do, how and when. It is the development management models that are important here. Agile development method is now used by the 80% of software development industry. SCRUM/Kanban daily standups, sprints, meetings and talks, Asana, Trello and any task management tool engagement is a must to know what is done and what is in the process. This is a guarantee of trust and that they know how to work with partners the right way. Read more about management models to have an idea how this all works.

Step 8: Exclude yes-men

Professionals not only know how they do, they also know exactly what they do. They are not a yes-man. They measure how much quality they can give to their customer and act accordingly. If they cannot provide what the customer asks they say NO or agree on doing only what part they can exactly do. So there is something fishy behind those words when they say a number of yeses in a row without asking a single question.

Step 9: Remember about finance

As you have some candidates that are experts of your technology, are communicative and experienced it is the right time to remember about finance. You should estimate your budget and your bearable finance to know exactly what kind of investment you can afford. This is to save your time and nerves. Also you can research engagement models how software companies work and what model is the best for your project. Now most of soft development companies work with two common models: Fixed-Price and Time & Material. Read about them and try to figure out what can work for you the best.

Step 10: ask many questions

After you got to the interview point of your hiring process, ask them a lot of questions-general, technical and business ones. Tell them frankly what you expect to see at the end and ask them if they can provide you it all. Ask them lots of questions, make everything as clear as possible before starting the project development. Ask them also about their insight on your product and if they are good and smart they will give you quality technical advice, too.

Final word

If you outsource software development it means you seek an economy variant for your project's development, expertise that your company needs or just some short-term help to deliver faster results. Of course, you also want to gain some more time to think about your other problems. But before starting a partnership you need to measure your expectations. Set the most important factor for you that is necessary to get from that partnership. It may be a lifetime partner, good technical team, or maybe just a cheap service. After taking into account all these patterns whenever you say “this is what I think I want” you can go ahead and get it! 

Once you made your choice, signed contracts and your project is about to start, you can read these 6 software outsourcing tips on how to be a good partner for your technical team.