Partnering with an App Development Company: A Client’s Guide

Partnering with an App Development Company

Moving your business to the next level with mobile app development is challenging. As an entrepreneur, I’ve had my fair share of running around searching for a suitable mobile app development company. Thousands of companies in the market offer mobile app development services, and juggling their offerings, scope, budget, and requirements was an overwhelming process.

The scaling of a business depended on the mobile app’s success, and for that, partnering with a reliable company was a crucial decision. Therefore, I conducted in-depth research and evaluation to find the best company for my project. With that, my team decided to hire Successive Digital, one of the prominent companies with knowledgeable and dependable staff. Having made the right choice, why not share how we found them and hired them? In this way, you will avoid the challenges I had to deal with.

So, if you want to build a successful mobile and are looking to hire the right mobile app development partner to rely on, I have made this guide to assist you in this process so you don’t have to handle everything unplanned. Instead, you can take these tips and strategies, list what you seek in the app development team, and tick it off to onboard the right one to turn your idea into a profitable app.

Step-by-Step Process of Selecting the Right Mobile App Development Company

Before diving into the steps below, remember that your app objective and requirements play a vital role in the development. Hence, it influences the company you hire to build an app.

Step 1: Assess Your Project Requirements

The first step is to clarify your app idea, objectives, and desired results. It will help you define your business goals, needs, and what you expect to achieve. You can list the following details to hire a company that aligns well with your requirements.

• Objective of your project
• Target audience
• Project scope
• Initial budget
• Collaboration requirements

Note: Whether or not you come from a technical background, it is essential to understand the tech stack, features, and third-party integrations. It will help you assess the company efficiently.

Step 2: Conduct Market Research and Competitor Analysis

After defining your app idea and ensuring you understand all the necessities, it is time to explore the market trends. Get a clear understanding of the following parameters:

• UI/UX design trends
• App development tools and technologies
• Mobile app development process
• Features and functionalities
• Rules, regulations, or compliances
• Security measures
• Quality assurance
• Launching guidelines

List your competitors working on a similar business model to understand better what is already working in the market.

Step 3: Select the Suitable Engagement Model

Next, decide what engagement models cater to your requirements. App development companies generally offer three types of models for hiring developers.

• Fixed Price: If you have a clear understanding of the app objective, scope, features, technologies, etc., this model is the suitable one for your needs. In this model, your team will work on defined deadlines and budget.
• Dedicated Team: You can hire a dedicated team to work on your project for a week, month, or year. You will benefit from this model, including more control over the development team, increased productivity, and enhanced collaboration.
• Time & Material: Under this model, your team development will work as per the time (hours) and materials spent. This model is more suitable if your project scope changes per the requirements.

Step 4: List the Companies that Match Your Criteria

By following the above three steps, you can get the details of your app. Hence, you can align your requirements with the mobile app development company you hire. Based on that, you can look for a company that provides your desired services.

• You can search for a company on Google through keywords like top/best/leading mobile development company.
• You can go to listing websites like Clutch and Goodfirms, where you get the compiled list of various companies.
• You can also search for blogs related to your app niche. For example, “how to develop an eCommerce app, how to develop a healthcare app, cost to develop an app like…” to find the companies investing in research and development.
• Filter out companies based on technology, location, team size, and price.

Step 5: Initiate the Initial Screening

Now, it’s time to assess the companies based on their competencies. Go through the companies’ websites to find out details like when it was established, the number of working professionals, portfolio, clients, services, and case studies. Further, narrow down your search criteria by selecting the companies with striking profiles.

Reach out to the selected companies and ask for an initial price quote as per your project requirements. Choose companies for the interview round after assessing proposals and quotations.

Step 6: Conduct an Interview with the Development Team

Select at most 3–4 proposals and conduct a virtual interview with the prospective teams. Gain deeper insights into their approach, app development style, and level of expertise. You can ask for the following questions during the interview:

• What will be the final budget of the project?
• What will be the timeline, assigned tasks, and workflow strategies?
• What are the number of projects you have handled?
• Have you worked on a project similar to mine?
• What is your technical expertise?
• Do you sign an NDA?
• What is your development process and allocated team size?
• What will be our mode of communication?
• How often will we connect, and how will I get updates about my project?

After thoroughly evaluating your company in the interview, you can make a well-informed decision as to which team will best meet your unique needs for mobile app development.

Step 7: Select and Onboard the Team

If you find the team meets your project requirements and has the domain expertise, you can finalize it. You can also ask for more prospects from the company.

Once you are satisfied with the development team, you can start onboarding by signing contracts, providing essential details, and facilitating communication. After onboarding, you can start working on your project and deliver results.

Conclusion

Hope this article will help you choose a reliable mobile app development company best suited to your needs and requirements. Keep in mind that you have to define the work scope, requirements, and budget before you start finding the developers.

Additionally, plan well how you reach out to the company, explain your requirements, carry out the assessing process, and set up the meeting. The question you ask developers will play a vital role in evaluating the skill set of the development team. Parenting up with a technology-driven company will not only offer technical support but also accelerate their app development goals.

Good luck with your project!