Finding and hiring a software development partner is a constant challenge, as they hold responsibility for the final product. Drawing from our experiences, we have compiled a list of key questions that should be asked when engaging with a software development company to establish an ideal and seamless partnership.
What is the Importance of Asking Questions Before Collaborating with Software Companies?
With a global failure rate of up to 70% for software development projects, the search for a reliable software development partner becomes paramount. To streamline the selection process, begin by answering a few straightforward questions to narrow down potential candidates, regardless of their location worldwide.
- Do you anticipate frequent business trips? If so, consider countries with robust infrastructure, including well-developed airports and railways.
- Is accommodating communication delays due to time differences acceptable, or do you prefer real-time meetings for smoother interactions?
- What level of priority does your project hold, and are you open to any potential delays? Keep in mind that unforeseen circumstances like natural disasters, such as hurricanes, might disrupt business processes.
Before delving into specific inquiries with a software development company and diving into the finer details, take into account these essential factors that will aid in making a swift and informed decision.
Legal aspects
Legal considerations play a pivotal role in the tech industry, governing various aspects of business operations. When selecting a software development partner, it’s crucial to verify whether their local government provides adequate support to the market and if there are no legal impediments to the collaboration. Assess the country or company’s measures in place to ensure cybersecurity, data protection, confidentiality, and compliance with essential legal standards such as GDPR, ISO, PSI, and others.
Talent Pool
Now, let’s delve into the technical inquiries to pose to a software development company. The projected number of software engineers is set to reach 28.7 million by 2024, and several countries have emerged as favored outsourcing destinations due to their expanding talent pools in software services delivery.
Explore these nations to understand the accessibility of education (with up to 75% of the 47,744 software engineers worldwide holding at least a bachelor’s degree) and identify the expertise in various technologies that thrive in these regions.
Before Initiating a Partnership, Which Questions Should You Ask Software Development Companies?
While partnering with a software company offers valuable business benefits, it comes with its fair share of challenges. To navigate this process effectively, consider these helpful tips on which questions to pose regarding cooperation with the software company. During the decision-making process, don’t hesitate to ask any of these essential inquiries.
General Questions
Prior to finalizing any agreements, you have the opportunity to inquire extensively about the partnership with the software development company during the engagement process. These general questions may encompass their delivery principles, the scope of their services, the structure of cooperation, the necessary documentation from your end, and more. Feel free to ask as many questions as needed to ensure a clear understanding before proceeding.
Reviews & Company’s Experience
The mark of a thriving company lies in the feedback provided by its former partners. When evaluating a software development company, it’s essential to inquire about their reviews and portfolios. Clients often share their independent and verified evaluations, reflecting their experiences of working with the company, whether positive or otherwise. To find reliable resources for reviews, we suggest checking platforms like Clutch and Pangea. These resources can offer valuable insights to aid in your decision-making process.
Experience with Similar Projects
Opting for a company with prior experience in your industry holds great significance. Therefore, an important question to ask a software development company pertains to their projects portfolio. When presenting your project and outlining your requirements to the software company, it’s essential to inquire about their past engagements with projects that share similar requirements to yours.
While a software provider may assert having ample experience and an impressive track record, words alone may not suffice. It becomes vital to request case studies and portfolios of their previous projects, granting you a clearer understanding of their past work and capabilities.
Timelines Estimation
When exploring cooperation with software developers, one of the crucial questions to address is their approach to calculating software development time. Transparency is key, so it’s essential to have a thorough discussion about this aspect right from the beginning. Additionally, inquire about the company’s methodology for estimating costs in relation to the timeline, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the project’s timeline and budget considerations.
Cooperation Model
The key to a successful partnership with an offshore software development team lies in selecting the appropriate cooperation model.
- Rent-a-Team: In this model, the customer pays for the time and materials used during the product development phase. It allows for flexibility, enabling changes or additional requirements to be incorporated during implementation.
- Project Team: Opt for this model when all requirements and acceptance criteria are well-defined and can be communicated to the team. Payment is made at a fixed price, agreed upon by the team before project commencement.
- Dedicated Team: This model suits those with long-term projects who seek to hire a dedicated team of engineers to work on the entire project from start to finish. The client enters a contract to pay a monthly salary for the workload of the dedicated software development team.
Project Management Style
One of the crucial questions to inquire about when engaging software developers is their project management style, as it plays a significant role in the success of the collaboration. Whether it’s agile or waterfall, it’s essential that their approach aligns with your company’s working style.
The software company’s response will provide insights into the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) model they follow to navigate the stages of software development. Many developers adopt a hybrid approach, combining elements of agile and waterfall methodologies. Agile employs an iterative process, breaking development into smaller sprints and allowing for frequent changes and feedback incorporation. On the other hand, Waterfall adheres to a traditional sequential order, structuring the development process into distinct stages.
Understanding their project management style will also help determine the level of involvement they expect from you. Agile practices typically require more client engagement and feedback at every iteration, whereas the waterfall model typically requires clients’ involvement mainly in the initial stages of software development.
Intellectual Rights
In the realm of custom software development, it is customary for providers to retain a license to use the software they create. It is essential to inquire about the intellectual property (IP) rights of the software development company, specifically regarding ownership and exclusivity. Understanding these aspects will ensure clarity on the usage and control of the software’s intellectual property.
Trust EZTek as Your Reliable Partner
At EZTek, we pride ourselves on conducting full-cycle product development and offering a comprehensive range of software development services for both startup projects and established companies.
Throughout the initial conversation, both clients and vendors gain valuable insights into each other’s expectations and potentials. This transparent dialogue allows for the discovery of whether the client and the vendor form a perfect match or serve as a stepping stone for future successful collaborations. We encourage those with excellent ideas they wish to implement to reach out to us without hesitation. Our team is ready to provide valuable insights and support for your ventures!
