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Choosing your developer and getting the quality of software

Choosing your developer and getting the quality of software When you do decide to embark upon having software development it is important you choose the right developer. We have a fact sheet to go with this which is gives 10 questions to ask but there are other things that can help the whole process go smoother.

When you seek to get quotes from a developer you need to be able to tell them want you want, the more information you can give them at this stage then the better quotes you will get. While developers can work with you to work out your requirements you should have written a business case for the system and have outlined:

• The major task it is to achieve
• Who in the company will be using it
• The data you wish to have stored
• The outputs you want from the system

So again the better the information you can give at the early stage then the smoother the whole process will be.

A meeting is essential with potential developers to make sure they are the sort of people you can get on with and find out about them and their company. Ask them to demonstrate some of the things they have developed.

They should be interested in what problems you are trying solve and what solution you are interested in getting rather than talking too much about what they can sell you.

“Talk about the 10 questions here”

You should then get a proposal where developer outlines their plans for the proposed solution as well as costs, method of payments and timescales. You should get them to right up on their project management and ask for people you can speak to about their work.

You may then look for another meeting if you have narrowed the field down just to make sure you are happy with a choice. But again remember it is important you get on with the people as you will need to work closely with them.

Also it is important to realise there will need to be a significant time commitment from yourselves in ensuring you get the software you require. There also will need to be time and commitment from the people who will be using the software as they will also have to test it and possible put up with annoying bugs in the early days.

On a final note it is worth making sure you staff are aware of what is going on and what you are trying to achieve in the business. Sometimes there can be fear that a new fancy system will cost them their jobs or that big brother will now be watching them.

They may not realise themselves the extra work that may be entailed with the testing and perhaps parallel running alongside current system.

Briefing the people who will be involved in the project is often essential. Getting them enthusiastic about a new professional system can go a long way to making the whole process a lot smoother.