Partnering with a software development firm is usually a must to build and deliver new software to your users. To guarantee your project has the highest probability of succeeding, you need to make a well-calculated decision before you hire a software development team.
Cost is always an instant deliberation, but what else should you discover? Stick with me for the next 5 minutes, and you will get to know the most crucial questions to ask your future development partner.
Table of Contents
Questions You Must Ask to Pick the Best Software Development Team
1. How Do You Evaluate and Hire Your Development Team?
When you’re looking for a new development team, it’s essential to give them the right opportunities to show their skills to prove they are the best fit. If your business is looking for a new team or contractor, look beyond just price.
A cheaper option may mean you are sacrificing quality. Many freelancers offer a range of services, so make sure your freelancer can do the work they initially applied for. When hiring, ask to see previous projects that are relevant to your project’s needs. Look at their portfolio and ask about some of the challenges they faced on those projects.
You don’t want to work with a new team with only experience on hobby projects that may not be relevant. If they’ve never worked on any commercial projects, it may be hard for them to estimate what they can deliver in terms of pro69+duct functionality and timeline.
You should also ensure the software developer on hire has had some experience working with the technology you’re looking for. The more experienced, the better! If they have a portfolio with successful projects that show off their skills along with references from past clients, then they are likely good candidates for your project.
2. Which Programming Languages Do You Generally Use?
Different programming languages and tools lend themselves better or worse to varying types of projects. To ensure that your outsourced development team has languages in their stacks that will help you create successful products, ask them about their tools.
This will also allow your prospective partner to demonstrate their experience and competence. By hearing them discuss the technologies they’re versed in, you can get a sense of their work style, abilities, and strengths.
Here are the most popular programming languages as of 2021, as per Statista
3. Can You Provide References for Previous Clients?
References are crucial because they provide insight into how your prospective outsourced development team really is. If the team doesn’t have any connections to offer, it can be seen as a red flag since they haven’t worked on any live projects. That said, you should always check references, and this can be done through your networking connections and by checking them on the web.
4. What’s Your Experience Like in This Niche?
Experience in a specific industry or niche is essential. If you want to create an app about the diet and nutrition industry, make sure your development team has experience in that area. Look at the portfolio and find out what they’ve worked on in the past if it’s relevant to your project needs before hiring them.
5. What Does Quality Assurance Look Like to You?
Quality assurance is super important. Make sure that the outsourced development team has a good QA process in place. A combination of doing QA yourself and checking in with your team regularly should help you identify when there are problems. If relevant, ask your prospective partner for proof that they have passed third-party QA processes.
Customer service is key to any business, and you must find an outsourced development team with whom your customers can connect. Part of this will be asking for references from previous clients. You might also want to ask how the outsourced development team will handle support and the number of support channels they provide.
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6. What Methodology Do You Use?
Different methodologies or development approaches can also make a difference for your project. For example, if you want to build an Agile team with one CTO and 2-3 UX/UI devs, make sure your prospective partner knows what you need. The outsourced development team must have good communication skills not only with the business side of the project but also with you.
7. How Many Years of Experience Do You Have Working with Businesses in My Region?
Experience working on projects with companies in your region is essential. If you’re based in New York and want to create a global company, you’ll need an outsourced development team who can speak English well and has worked with American businesses before.
You should also ensure that the outsourced development team has experience working with other cultures as your customers may be from different parts of the world.
8. How Regular Is Your Team in Meeting Deadlines and Conveying Needs?
If your outsourced development team is still growing, you might want to ask about their staff turnover rates and how often they’re hiring. Generally speaking, a high attrition rate can be an indicator that something isn’t right.
9. What Does the QA Process Look Like?
You want to make sure that your outsourced development team has a good QA process in place. A combination of doing QA yourself and checking in with your team frequently should help you identify when there are problems. If relevant, ask your prospective partner for proof that they have passed third-party QA processes.
10. How Much Involvement Do You Demand from Your Partner?
As an outsourced development team, you want to know your prospective partner’s level of oversight and involvement in your project. The less they have, the better since it means they’ll be more flexible and responsive.
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11. How Do You Communicate with Your Partners?
Communication is super important, so you want to ensure that your outsourced development team has a good way of communicating with clients. The main things to look for here are:
- How Frequently Do You Send Status Updates?
You also want to check how frequently your prospective partner sends status updates. If they’re not sending any, ask them if that’s simply because there isn’t much work to report or if it’s something more serious.
- What Is Your Methodology Like?
Different developers use different methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall, etc.). Ensure that your prospective outsourced development partner is using the method you want to use to ensure everyone is on the same page and has all the relevant information.
- Is Pair Programming a Part of Your Workflow?
Pair programming is where two project members work together to solve problems, write code, etc. Larger teams usually use it to ensure that everyone has input into important decisions, documents their work clearly, and shows that everyone is accountable for their actions.
12. Could You Show Me Testimonials and a Portfolio of Your Previous Clients?
As a prospective client, you’ll need proof that your outsourced development team has reputable developers in their ranks. The best way to execute this is to ask for a portfolio and testimonials from previous clients, and this will give you a good idea of whether they’re the right outsourced development team for your project or not.
13. What Makes You Special from Other Development Teams?
You might also want to ask about anything that makes their outsourced development team stand out. Different developers have different strengths, so you’ll want to identify which apply to your project. An example of this might be if they’re great at helping clients with UX issues, etc.
Additional Questions to Assess a Software Outsourcing Firm:
Indeed these might be the crucial questions you need to ask before you hire a software development company. But there are some other queries too that you cannot neglect, such as:
- How big is your company?
- What technologies are you trained in?
- How many resources can you give to my project?
- What do you do during an urgent project delivery?
- What is my part in this entire project timeline?
- What if my needs change, or I want iterations?
- What is the general structure of your team?
- How much time does your software development team take to build software?
What If You Choose a Wrong Software Development Team?
Although developers have several options to choose the right company or development team, it is essential to consider that choosing the wrong company can be dangerous. You can lose even millions!!!
Here are a few significant repercussions of choosing the wrong software partner:
1. Failure of Meeting the Deadlines
One of the major repercussions of choosing the wrong software partner is the inability to meet deadlines. In this case, you have invested so much time and resources in training agents or staff on a system that will not work by a deadline.
This means your business will be totally at a standstill until the company rectifies this situation. There is no need to mention that this can lead to huge losses and, in some cases, bankruptcy.
The wrong software partner might leave you in a lurch by breaching your confidentiality or changing the data without your knowledge. This is one of the most dangerous repercussions when dealing with a software development company.
Most companies invest so much time and money in gathering information or data that they need to protect. Losing this information can be very dangerous, especially when you are dealing with banks or other businesses. This could mean losing business and credibility at the same time.
It is not easy to know how reliable an operating system will operate before taking it for a test run. You cannot assess the efficiency of the software until it has been tested and used to run your business. In this case, you have wasted so many resources training staff on a system that might not be efficient enough for the business needs.
2. Slows Down Business Growth
Choosing the wrong software development partner can hinder business growth, and it can lead to a total standstill for the company as no one will do anything to the system until it is fixed properly. In this case, you have lost the files and resources you used to create an efficient operating system from scratch, which could mean losing a lot of market share and customers at the same time.
With so many software development companies offering various products and services, it is not easy to tell the good from the bad. Before you sign a contract with any company, it is essential to conduct a thorough research about their history, customer feedback, and other aspects that could give you an idea of how efficient they are.
This will help you make an informed decision before signing a contract to avoid inconveniences in the future. It is all about taking the right step at the right time. You need to be very careful when choosing a software development company or team to work with because it will define your business operations for years to come. It is paramount that you choose generously to avoid the five significant repercussions above.
3. Time Consuming
It is incredibly time-consuming dealing with the wrong software development partner. You have to read through so many websites and business reviews to tell the good from the bad. In addition, you have to take a lot of things into account before you can even sign a contract with them. This means you will spend most of your time doing research instead of working on your core business.
Choosing the wrong system can hinder convenience and efficiency in your company. There is no saying what will come next after you invest so much time and resources training agents, operators, and staff on using the software. You may need more than six months to rectify the situation if it gets out of hand. This means you will have to deal with a system that hinders your business efficiency for a long time which is not something any company wishes for.
4. Loss of Essential Documents
Loss of essential documents and resources can hinder business growth as no one wants to start from scratch again. In this case, the software development company might change your data without your knowledge or leave the computer system with vulnerabilities that could lead to the loss of crucial documents. This can also be very disastrous, especially when you are dealing with banks or other businesses.
5. Loss of Reputation
Loss of reputation and credibility is one of the quintessential repercussions when dealing with a wrong software development partner. You risk losing your customers, market share, and brand value at the same time when you choose the wrong company.
This is because they will spread bad reviews about their experience with your business which could lead to losing customers and other important factors that define your business growth. Inability to operate can be frustrating as it hinders convenience in the company. In this case, the software might not be able to run on any.
Final Thoughts
It is all about being vigilant when choosing your software development partner. If you are not, you might end up with a broken operating system that will hinder convenience and efficiency in the company.
You need to know what you should do before signing a contract because it will define the future of your business operations for years to come. This means you have to be mindful about how you go about things. Did I miss anything important? Let me know in the comment section below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ques. How does a Software Development Company work?
Typically, a Software Development company works on projects for clients over the course of several months to years. Once they are done developing your project or product, they will hand it back to you with full documentation explaining how to operate it. They usually have experienced staff members who are available 24/7 for technical support.
This is because there are times when you might need to go over things with them, especially if it’s your first time using the software or system. You can also seek their help during emergencies that could compromise your business data or other vital information.
Ques. What Makes a Good Software Development Team?
- They are responsive during business hours.
- They have experience in the same industry as your company.
- Their rates are affordable for you based on what they offer.
- They have good relationships with other companies in your industry, as well as a network of professionals to pursue advice and support.
- Their work is high quality, on schedule, and exceeds expectations.
- The team can show you examples of tasks they’ve completed successfully for another client.
- They offer full-service development, as opposed to just coding or design.
Ques. What is Agile Development?
Agile development is a type of software development that you can use to speed up your project release. This means instead of focusing on designing the whole system, you only have to plan for certain stages and let the Software Development Company do the rest. You can find this method applied in most web applications nowadays.
Ques. How Often Should a Software Development Company Deliver Updates?
A Software Development Company should deliver an update at least once every two weeks, depending on your budget. Some companies will ask for monthly payments with the provision that they can release an update (or several) every now and then. You can choose to do this if you already have another way of testing the product before releasing it to the market.
Ques. How Do I Choose a Software Development Team?
There are many steps you need to pursue to hire a software development team:
- Do market research.
- Pick the Region to hire a development team.
- Read the company’s former projects and reviews.
- Carry out interviews with candidates.
- Sign a contract and NDA.
- Examine the transparency.
- Begin the development process.
Your blog proved very helpful for my company in hiring a dedicated development team. Thanks.
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One of the most helpful blogs I have read. Kudos to the writer.