Choosing the Right Development Partner for Your Needs
Having a hard time finding the right partner or hiring the best developers for your project? Already started building a product with technologies that have scarce resources, or simply can’t find vetted developers quickly enough?
When you end up finding the right partner for your needs, you’ll realize just how much time you spent and invested on the entire search process.
It’s a huge upfront and long-term cost for many startups. If you are considering working with an agile development company that has the experience and know-how that your team is lacking, or considering another solution as opposed to going down the traditional hiring process… How do you source the right tech partner?
The biggest issue that tech companies face as they search for new partners to help them develop their applications, and grow their software, is lack of communication and integration from these new partners. Most companies think of in-house teams as the ideal scenario. Some have completely written off working with external partners because, traditionally, the relationship has been drastically different than working with in-house resources. Many teams cite that there’s a lack of integration and product control, but this no longer needs to be the case. If you pick the right partner.
What do we suggest doing to evaluate development companies that want to partner and work with you?
We’ve found that when issues do arise, they are usually due to differences in methodology, culture, goals, communication, and time zones. Make sure to speak at length about these topics with any tech partner you are having conversations with.
Check references
It’s important to thoroughly research companies you have in mind as tech partners. Verify that client testimonials are real and, if possible, contact them and ask as much as you can. Try to get answers to the following:
- What was the relationship like?
- Are you still working together? Why/why not?
- What was the communication like?
- Would you hire them again?
- Would you recommend them?
Verify experience/portfolio
Who is behind the business? It’s essential to have an idea of who is managing the business you’re looking to collaborate with. It’s best to know the leaders of these companies and everything about them: what their experience is, who they’ve worked with, where they live, who recommends them or endorses them, etc. Review their LinkedIn profiles!
It’s also critical to verify the company’s experience. You can do this by seeing how many years they’ve been in business, or by checking their project portfolio. This step is a must.
Have them walk you through how they developed a certain project. You shouldn’t just care about what a company has developed. You also should care about the how.
Time zones & communication
Today, the best tech talent is scattered all around the world. If you are considering working with companies like Tecla, that have teams in the U.S. but also abroad, find out where the implementation resources that you’ll be collaborating will be located. What timezones will they be in and when can you expect to be able to interface with them online? Remember, work gets accomplished through close collaboration. Not just through scopes sent over email. Working on opposite time zones is tough.
Gradually increase the responsibilities you assign to this partner
By now, you’ve done extensive research and have your finalists, or maybe you’ve already decided who to hire for your development needs. We recommend that you do a simple test. Start with a straightforward request and monitor the process closely to see if the company responds to your needs. Based on these initial tests, you can choose to work with them at that scale, or continue to grow gradually and give them more responsibility.
Monitor and evaluate progress
There are several ways to know if the results that your partner produces are up to your team’s standards. Everyone knows about the detrimental long-term effects that “Technical Debt” can have on our projects, so we should think long-term. It’s important to completely review the quality of the work your partner team is delivering. In short, review the code beyond just functionality. Your application may work perfectly, but long-term it could wreak havoc. So, we suggest constantly reviewing it with your tech team (maybe by your CTO) and see if best practices are being used.
For best results: a long-term relationship
In conclusion, fulfilling your development needs by enlisting the help of a third party can result in a better product and reduced costs. Without the loss of product control. Building an excellent relationship with your provider is key. In addition, some nearshore development companies offer time-based resources. So, instead of custom development, they offer a dedicated hire model to work with developers, designers, and product managers as if the resources were part of your in-house team.
This model is growing and we’ve seen it be incredibly successful for many startups, first-hand. In fact, this final option is so appealing that using this scheme and leaving your comfort zone behind could create a stronger impact than you expected.
