Selecting a technology partner: 5 Questions to Ask before Starting Cooperating
By deciding to ensure your company’s online presence, you are bringing your business to a new level. This important step should be secured by the cooperation with a reliable tech partner who will assist you and render web development services. This is a pivotal step, which to a significant extent defines the future success of the product. Thus, be scrupulous about selecting a contractor; blindly googling is a very bad idea.
Choosing a software development team could be tricky if you don’t fully understand what to base your choice on. In order not to feel at loss, ask five basic questions to your potential contractor. Their answers will be a guiding light for you.
Five Questions to Ask a Tech Partner before Starting Cooperating
1) Are You Experienced?
In this context, this legendary phase implies several sub-questions, such as, “Have you already worked on projects like this?”, “Where can we check out your portfolio?” A high-trained team will be ready to prove their valuable experience by providing you the links to the websites and app stores. In such a case, the quality and relevance of the project will carry more weight than the quantity of the apps developed by the team. The best option is when the contractor extensively uses the same technology stack you stick to.
2) May I Have The References?
Fortunately, these days we can research pretty much everything before going for it, and IT business is no different. Prior to finding a software development provider, familiarize yourself with other customer-’s’ opinions about the company. Know what they think about the team’s life from within, the general atmosphere in the company, employee turnover, the level of support and communication they offer during and after production, the ability to understand what a customer really needs — all these and many other important points can be gleaned from the clients’ feedbacks. You can contact such individuals and companies directly or read their opinions at corresponding resources. It often happens that a firsthand experience shared by the clients is much more valuable than tons of polished official information.
3) How Will We Communicate?
A well-oiled communication is a prerequisite for the project’s success. Pre-negotiate all the communication means and terms you will be using during your cooperation. Articulate which of them you will use and how often. For instance, non-urgent issues are discussed via email, weekly meetings are held via Skype, and urgent questions are resolved by telephone.
4) How Will My App Be Tested?
Since the testing stage is a very important one, a reliable partner will provide you a comprehensive information about the testing of your future app. When hiring a development team, have a closer look at those who will be testing your product, since their work is as essential as the one the developers do. Their task is to ensure the quality of the product and guide clients on how to perform their own tests. You can read more about A/B testing in our article on that topic. Highly qualified contractors understand the business and its rules; they are ready to adapt to your aims and needs and offer you the most effective solution.
5) Do You Offer Other Services?
Does your tech partner render additional services like consulting or UI/UX design, for example? On the one hand, having a contractor who offers a wide range of services can be beneficial: you may order some complementary or additional ones without going to other third parties. On the other hand, the diffusion of the team’s focus may negatively affect the project’s delivery. Do not hesitate to ask whether the team is currently working on other projects. You don’t want any lags on your way, do you? In any case, make sure you know the priorities of your team, and they know that your project needs a dedicated approach.
Choosing the tech partner for your business, especially if we speak about a startup, is a vitally important decision that should be taken seriously. A right development company will find ways to suit your venture’s needs and establish reliable and long-term relationships with your company. That is, you should primarily understand your goals and growth directions very well. Remember that changing strategies and technological partners may be pricey and difficult, so think out everything in advance.
When you hire a contractor, what do you ask them in the first instance? Were you eventually satisfied with the result of their work? It is interesting to know the opinions of all you guys who cooperated with a web or mobile developing company.
