Published on November 30th, 2019 | by Bibhuranjan

Outsourcing your Software development projects – Read this before proceeding

Software development and maintenance can be a real challenge for any company, if it hasn’t got a capable development team. Adding to that, proprietary software development can also be highly expensive to develop and maintain, since a wide range skill-sets are often required from any team to properly develop and keep an app service running, not to mention the continuous recurring developmental costs.

Which is why outsourcing developmental work to 3^rd party Software development companies works out so well for a lot of small-medium sized businesses. Its a cost effective way to develop the company platform without having the burden of maintaining the app or dedicating any unnecessary resources.

Outsourcing Development: What’s the catch?

While there are ‘n’ number of reasons why any company might want to outsource the development projects to, it might not always yield expected results, especially if some important considerations are not prioritized beforehand. This can result in total loss of time and resources and cause massive delays.

Here are a few things that need to be thoroughly considered before you intend to do software development outsourcing to any company:

Planning Errors: “Too many cooks spoil the broth” however too little and you are restricted by a narrow scope of needs. The initial planning stages is where it gets made or broken. You can be surrounded by a sea of over enthusiastic ideas, which while isn’t impossible to execute, can make the end product a bloated mess. Similarly, if you aren’t considering the actual needs of the people that are going to be using the app, you can end up with a dysfunctional output.
Pricing Being a Decider: It is completely acceptable that your organization may not have the necessary resources that are required to hire a development team, or having such a team isn’t part of a longer vision for the company. However that does not mean that you should lend the development of the app to the lowest bidder. While price is never an indication of quality, market reputation definitely counts. Which is why consulting multiple agencies should be prioritized and then after considering their history, you should see which one is most suitable to develop your app in a justifiable price range. On the other end of the spectrum lowballing your estimates could put you in an awkward position. Know that software development is a labour intensive task and it would be unrealistic to build a sizeable platform for $100.
Changing Goals During Development Process: The general norm in app development dictates that companies are very thorough about their goals and objectives for the app to the developer. However if not planned properly, then changes to the project can often be requested midway, making life really difficult for the developer, who might have to discard existing work put into developing the app. This can affect the final output, cost and time required for deployment for the app. That being said, requesting changes to the app isn’t an uncommon practice, especially if the product isn’t living upto the expectations of the company. In any case, proper documentation, communication and review is paramount while outsourcing apps.
Rushed Decisions: A team that cannot coordinate can often fall into smithereens when the going gets tough. As a result the surrounding decision making can be a bit of a mess and this can compound into important decisions made without proper thought. Which is why before outsourcing, it is vitally important to look into the planning stages, set priorities and consult different teams on their point of view on the project. Eliminating rushed decisions as much as possible can lead to a higher quality output at the same time attest to the needs of those who require it.

Things to Look for in a software development company

Market recommendation: The first thing to see is how much of an impact the company has had throught its existence. The more recommendations it has from other companies, the better. This would ensure that the development company has worked on large scale projects previously and is capable of handling your demands.
Costs: Most companies will require you to present an estimate for the project. While the estimate might be adequate or inadequate, depending on what needs to be done, know that always keep some headroom. This will ensure that you have a backup if the project requires capital. However if you think that the development company is asking more than required, you should immediately consult other firms and get a rough estimate.
Non-Disclosure: Throught the process, you might be compelled to reveal the project details to many 3^rd parties. To see if a company is trustworthy, they shouldn’t hesitate to sign a non-disclosure agreement, so that no information, confidential or otherwise do not fall into the wrong hands. An NDA will prevent it and you’ll have legal protection.
Turn Around Time: As a business, you’ll have to meet specific deadlines, which is not uncommon. A good development company should be able to fulfil your demands on time. If they are taking more time than required, then it could only mean that their technical expertise isn’t upto the task and you should bail. As usual, some headroom is definitely necessary as you can never know what goes wrong in between.

Conclusion

By now we hope that you have a fairly good idea of how and where to outsource software development projects. The best advise here is to gather insight into the project and then chart a course of direction.

Tags: app development, coding, company, development, software

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.