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Every year thousands of companies begin their software development journey, only to realize later that their software applications have not delivered what they have initially expected.
Reasons could be anything from use of obsolete or outdated technology or bad execution—complex UI, improper testing and poorly executed app launch.
While looking closely, you will see that there are many stakeholders to your software development idea on whom your app success depends. One of the most crucial stakeholders is your app development company.
We recommend you follow a systematic approach of hiring a software development firm so that you can avoid the common mistakes companies do while hiring a technology team.
5 Things to Consider Before Selecting a Software Development Company
Many business owners select a company solely on the basis of their Google search result performance, which is completely the result of good SEO practice, related to marketing and not technicality of the app development.
Others simply drool over the tall claims made by the salesperson of the software development company. All these ways of selecting a software development company results in bad product, which doesn’t solve its purpose and is costly too.
To help you out, we have created this list of 5 essential factors that must impact your hiring decision.
1. Software Development Portfolio
Many companies claim that they have the experience of working on latest technology. We request you to only believe on such claims when you actually see the work done by the software development company. It is better than spending too much time conversing with the salesperson on their capabilities for software development, directly approach them to provide you with their software development portfolio, which is relevant to your project.
2. Structure of the Proposal
Read the proposal of all the software development companies carefully before selecting the best company for your project. Overlook the eloquence of the writer and focus on how well they have addressed the key concerns such as the timeline of the project, previous track record of handling small and large projects, and strength of the developers and quality assurance team. Evaluate the proposal on the multiple aspects of business requirement, design, development, execution, and testing.
3. Technology Stack
If you don’t have a technical background, then finalizing a technology stack and addressing the concern of each element in the technology stack would be a tough task for you. Initially, from a technology perspective, app is developed at two ends—frontend and backend. Technologies used in the development of both frontend and backend of the app are together called technology stack.
While selecting a technology stack, you need to focus on the type of application that you want to build, time to market, application security, developer community strength, development cost, and migration & scalability.
4. Development Methodology
Development methodology comprises of Software Development Lifecycle and the engagement model such as agile, waterfall, or scrum for the app development process.
When it comes to software development methodology, evaluate the company on the crucial aspects of requirement gathering, design, development, quality assurance, and maintenance. Analyze their approach and how they move ahead in the app development project to determine their capabilities.
5. Software Development Practices
Flexibility is the core of best software development practices. When hiring a custom software development company, make sure to evaluate the company on following factors:
- Scope and objectives
- Role of project manager
- Number of designers and developers in the team
- Communication system maintained
- Tracking and reporting project success
- Ability to identify and mitigate the risk
Along with these practices, focus on the ethics and values they maintain. Whether you have a small project or large, if you are into the business, use of technology will be key to success in the digital era. And so always find a company that is reliable and works with partner mindset.
Author
Siya Carla is the Solution Consultant at Finoit Technologies, a leading custom software development company which provides unique web design and mobile app development services. By creating interactive mobile apps for 450+ customers across the globe, Finoit enjoys a great reputation as a prominent mobile app development company.
