Introduction

Are you a business owner, a manager or an IT Consultant? Well, chances are at some point you have had your team bring up the need to build web/mobile applications, custom IT products, automate certain business processes, or look for unique solutions for existing software development challenges.

The more your company grows the more you may face the need to develop your own software solutions and build an in-house team. But this contains many challenges as developing software is quite costly and the risks involved are quite high.

Hiring competent engineers, providing them with proper training and ensuring development success is simply too much work. What if you are not ready for having an in-house tech team yet?

The second option you may turn to are off-the-shelf solutions. This will work if you are looking for less expensive “one fits all” options.

But is there a middle ground? Luckily, there are professional companies offering custom software solutions that you can trust highly complex projects and expect phenomenal results.

A simple Google search will bring up thousands of companies offering best-in-class custom software solutions. Overwhelming, right? Hold on, we are just getting started. We will help you narrow down your choices and land the perfect custom software developer for your business.

Targeted Researching

Use Specific Keywords

The key to finding the right software development partner for you is to use highly specific keywords. Even with seemingly general projects, we suggest specifying the industry, type of software, or the business area you’re looking for.

Instead of searching “Custom Software Solutions”, try looking up “eLearning Software Development Solutions in UAE” or “Web-development companies in Armenia”.

Let’s say, you have recently founded a new Startup in Germany, and for high quality-services and affordable rates you are looking to outsource to UAE. You can look up “Dubai Custom software development company for Startups in Germany”.

Finding the Ideal Company: What to Look for…

Let’s say, you now have a list of 10 companies. Investigation is right around the corner. The process can feel daunting and time-consuming, so here’s what to look for in the first place!

1. Team size: Depending on the scale of your project, you may need to identify the number of software developers. For companies with less than 10 team members, executing large or complex projects might be a challenge. Meanwhile, powerhouse companies may not be the right choice if you are a Series A startup and don’t require that many resources.

2. Client and Company Employee Reviews: Web pages such as Glassdoor gather employee reviews. To get an overall idea about what to expect, quickly check if employees are satisfied with their company and overall culture. The better the culture and the more satisfied the employees, the higher the chances you can rely on the team and trust your project to the company.

3. Next up, search for customer reviews at platforms like TechBehemoths, DesignRush or Clutch. Are their clients satisfied? What challenges have they had with the company? What are the software vendor's strengths?


4. Relevant Experience: If the company has worked in similar industries before, or has partners from your geographic area is a telltale sign that the collaboration can lead to successful results.

5. Project Cost: Check whether your budget expectations align with the costs displayed. Feel free to request individual software developer rates.

6. The overall fit: This is a criteria many people overlook, but you may want to exclude development companies you personally find untrustworthy. Trust your instincts!

Verifying The Software Development Partner

Say, you narrowed down to a single software outsourcing company, at this point a number of technical and non-technical questions arise. What kind of information should you initially request from your development partner?

Standard working process description. Ask about the workflow implementation processes to the software agency. This is crucial as standard workflows are often applied to every single project including yours.

Things you should focus on are:

1. How the product release process is organized
2. How the communication chain is organized
3. How change requests are handled
4. How project quality is ensured

Established software development companies should be ready to provide the following information and understand your needs before rushing you to sign any contracts.

• Set Clear Project Expectations

Once you have answers to all these questions, it’s time to discuss your projects in more detail. To understand how the project will be implemented, your responsibility is to prepare a short description of the project’s business area, goals, limitations, scope and ask the company about the developers that will be involved in making your project successful.

The software company, on the other hand, should provide a list of their employees’ expertise, level of proficiency in programming languages, and technology solutions used in previous projects.

• Project Analysis

Here are some things to look for during the project analysis phase;

1. Do they take interest in your business goals or simply request formal requirements?
2. Do they document all the information or things get lost on the way?
3. Do they ask for project assumptions and restrictions?

Don’t forget to check if the final document will include non-functional requirements such as:

1. Ability to fully commit to your project in the given timeframe
2. Security requirements
3. Supported platforms

• Proof of Concept (POC)

Once budget estimation and project timeline are set, it’s time to dive deeper. PoC helps you determine if the idea can turn into reality. It requires committed involvement from both parties and gives you a better idea of how the contractor will perform throughout the project.

In short, it’s time to “test” the company to find if they are the pathway to your project’s success!

1. Workflow — Is the response rate quick enough? How are they handling change requests or how well do they understand tasks formulated on a business level?
2. Conflict resolution skills — Soft skills also play a critical role at this stage.
3. Business orientation — Check if the company keeps your business goals in mind.
4. Product quality-The quality of the product should remain consistent at all times.
5. Predictability — Check their ability to follow their estimations and timelines, whether they can release new product versions in a predictable manner.
6. Planned vs real expenses — Check if the actual expenses match expectations and fall within the budget set aside for the entire project.

Signing the contract

Did you sign the contract? Hopefully, you did not forget about NDAs to protect your privacy. And remember, the key to your successful project is by working with the right people. We trust you found them!

Have questions related to Software development outsourcing or need a Free IT Project Consultation ? Contact us via business@scd-company.com