The inefficiency of your company’s existing software or the need for specialized software features particularly suited to your business may lead you to seek the services of a software developer. Your business may require custom software for applications like contact management, billing, or inventory. The mere thought of selecting a developer can be daunting if you’re not technically minded, but rest assured that your role in the selection process is to evaluate the developer, rather than to evaluate the software technology. Successful software development largely depends on a strong partnership with the developer. Therefore, choosing the right developer is crucial and the following tips will help you hire a reliable and competent developer.
Set your software requirements
Software development cannot happen without a clearly defined and well-structured set of your company’s software requirements, as the work is, at its core, a process of addressing needs and solving problems. Consequently, the success of development will largely depend on the time and effort you put into this stage of the process. Only by analyzing needs and desired features can a developer provide you with as accurate a job proposal and cost estimate as possible.
Be extremely thorough and precise at this stage, including input and needs from key employees, and compile a comprehensible requirements document, separating mandatory from optional needs. Build a list of potential developers by asking employers you know for recommendations or by researching web directories. Send them your requirements document, as well as information about your company (such as business goals) and your budget, so they can provide you with a job proposal and quote.
Evaluate candidate developers
A preliminary evaluation of the developers’ written proposals and quotes should give you a good indication of their suitability to address your needs, but the final decision should also be determined through in-person interviews. Meeting face to face is crucial to assess not only the services of the candidates, but also their personalities and communication skills. The last two are vital aspects to ensure a strong collaborative partnership with the company, which will largely determine the success of software development. In your evaluation of potential developers, consider these factors:
Experience and expertise
You obviously want to hire someone who is proficient in the field and keeps abreast of the latest software technology trends and discoveries. Make sure the candidate is a genuine software developer who can suggest solutions to your problems, and not just a programmer who wants exact instructions on what program to write. Also beware of developers who care about your particular area of technological expertise at the expense of your particular needs. A good developer should provide you with the type of technology that best suits your needs.
It is preferable to choose a developer who has experience in their own domain and is familiar with your particular industry. The reason for this is that they will be aware of common types of needs (both clearly stated and implied), issues, and general expectations in their line of work.
Visiting a candidate’s website should give you a good indication of these aspects, but the best and most direct way to determine a candidate’s experience and knowledge is to contact current and past clients. Ask them specific questions about the development company’s overall service delivery, response to issues, and the efficiency of the developed software.
You can ask to see software samples and try it yourself to see if it’s easy to use (although remember that training will be provided) and effective.
Industry awards are also obviously a good indication of a company’s experience.
Size
There are advantages and disadvantages to both large business and sole proprietorship situations. A large company may house all the necessary skills and services for your needs, but you risk getting lost among many clients. The opposite is true for a small business or sole proprietor. Therefore, size is not a major deciding factor. Rather, make sure the developer you choose can cope with the size of your company and cover all your requirements or be able to outsource specialized skills to trusted contacts.
Personality and communication skills.
This may seem trivial, but your instinctive liking or disliking of the person or group matters in the selection process. You’ll be working closely with the developer, discussing issues that can get exhausting and difficult, so it’s vital that you hit it off. The ability to communicate clearly and patiently, without much jargon, is also a must. Software development involves the developer translating his description of needs and problems into working solutions. Misunderstandings are inevitable in such a complex communication situation, so make sure a good basic level of interaction is evident from the start.
Also consider your interest in the job and its vision. Passion for a subject will generate creative problem solving.
Support
Your company will need technical and administrative support during and after the implementation of the software. This includes staff training, user manuals or help documentation, and software debugging. The company must also commit to overall improvement of its software, and the software must support integration with its existing core applications and systems, and be cross-platform compliant. These issues, along with specifications for the amount of support provided, should be clearly stated in the contract.
Price
This is another factor that should not solely determine your choice of developer. Software development is a complex process and you should expect to invest a substantial amount of money in the process.
The most important pricing issues when choosing a developer are costing methods and charging for changes. Avoid companies that charge hourly rates without specifying the amount of time the job will take. A good developer should be able to come up with a fairly accurate cost estimate that constitutes flat fees, provided their requirements have been clearly and fully stated. Be prepared, however, for possible additional costs later in the development process if changes are needed (which they usually are). Changes cannot be predicted, but make sure you understand the developer’s means of handling and charging for changes (this should also be stated in the contract).
legal issues
An important aspect that must be included in the contract is that of the granting of licences. Make sure you’ll be able to use the software on as many computers as you need, and be aware of any specific copyright claims the developer may have.
A guarantee as to the effectiveness of the product should also be stated.
start development
After considering all of these factors in evaluating candidates, you should be able to hire one with whom you are satisfied. After signing the contract and beginning development, remember that communication is key. Address issues and announce any necessary changes as early in the process as possible. The beginning of development will involve a deeper analysis of the needs of your company by the developer. This can include interviews and observation, and should take up a fair amount of your time. However, keep in mind that this is the most crucial phase of development and therefore a good investment of time. The developer then needs to provide you with a functional specification of your requirements, which can be approved to start the project. However, make sure that approval of the requirements does not bind you to them, but allow changes to be made for an additional fee. The rest of the process involves prototyping, testing, deployment, and post-development training, support, and maintenance.