10 Questions to Ask Potential Development Partners
Tagged with: Outsourcing & Staffing, Strategy & Consulting, Technical Tips & FAQs
Suppose you have determined that you need custom-built software to meet your business needs, automate a business process, or because the existing commercial software just doesn’t cut it. In that case, you’ll need to find a development company to help. Many web development companies will offer custom development services, but they just customize existing software rather than build software from scratch. This can make it challenging to know which direction to take when looking for a development company.
Compared to the number of web development companies, few companies offer proper custom software development solutions. As you know, a custom development project is a significant investment in both time and money, so it is vital to the business that you partner with the best custom development company and team to complete the project.
The following is a list of basic questions to ask custom development companies during your initial contact to help determine who should be on the shortlist of potential partners.
- Have you been in business for over 30 years?
- Do you have back-end and full-stack developers working on custom development projects? Do they have an average of over ten years of experience?
- Will a project manager be assigned to me? Will they be available for me throughout the time my software project is being developed?
- Do you offer ongoing/long-term support once my project has been completed?
- Do you offer night and weekend support hours?
- Do you take on any size of custom project?
- Will your development team complete a discovery project to help understand my business and software needs before any code is written?
- Do you offer new ideas to help us improve our capabilities? Will you advise on what works well and what doesn’t? Do you match technology to my project’s needs?
- Can you handle changes in requirements once the project has begun?
- Will it be easy to set up and train users? Will you come to us for the training?
Choosing a development company to create custom software for your business is a big decision and can be quite a process. After all, they aren’t just installing a new program; they are building new software that will become a vital part of your business and its future. Knowing which questions to ask prospective companies before hiring is an essential part of the process.
You want a custom development company that answers “yes” to the above questions and follows up with examples of how they have done this in the past. This will reveal the company’s adaptability and the level of service and support you can expect from them.
Suppose they have satisfactorily answered all of your questions and seem reliable and adaptable. In that case, you can take the next step and begin discussing the requirements of your project to see if they think it’s a good fit for their team’s capabilities.
Contact Unidev to partner with our custom software development team on your project.
