Choosing A Software Development Partner

Selecting a development partner can be a minefield. Each quote will be different, each partner will approach your project uniquely, and each one will have different credentials. It can become a time consuming and challenging task — so how do you know you’re comparing apples with apples?

We believe there are a range of important factors which should influence how you choose the software partner for your next project — broadly, they should meet your needs in three critical areas.

Technical skills

The skills a partner brings to your project will need to align to the tech stack your organisation uses, and importantly compliment the technical skills in your own organisation. Consider key factors like the development platforms and accelerators they use, as well as platform and individual accreditation and how thorough their QA offering is.

Working and cultural considerations

How your partner works with you is almost as important as the technical skills they possess. So, bring into the equation the Discovery methods they use, how accessible their people are and even if you’ll be working in the same time zone. On long-term projects accessibility of developers and leaders, and even social contracts will become critical to the success of your software project.  

Compliance and legalities

Never an exciting topic, but an essential one when delivering high stakes projects — the compliance your delivery partner brings should be a non-negotiable. Factors such as whether the software produced for you WCAG2.0 compliant and if your provider offers a warranty on their work are business critical factors to consider. From a contractual point of view, the transparency they provide on project inclusions and how variations are treated will give you a good measure of how you’ll work together.

Make a list and check it twice

There are numerous other factors to consider, but the important thing is to ask the right questions before committing. So to help you, we’ve put together a checklist which includes the attributes too look out for in a software development partner to give you the best chance of delivering a successful project.

The checklist isn’t definitive, but it will be a great guide to help you during the decision-making process. As you progress through the engagement process with a potential partner, simply keep checking off the criteria as you go. When combined with any formal documentation — you’ll be positioned nicely to make an informed decision.

Download our full Development Partner Checklist below.

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