CHOOSINGSOFWAREDEVELOPERS18 pointers to look out for

WHEN THINGS GO WRONGSoftware development can be daunting when things go wrong.

Stretched Budget Unfinished Project Confused Team

Often, it comes down to thehuman factorsThe following list of 18 pointers is divided into three sections:

1. What to consider before meeting potential software developers

2. What to ask during the selection process

3. What to consider as warning signs

1WHAT TO CONSIDERBEFORE THE MEETING

Do your homework on screening candidates

DO THEY HAVE ANATTRACTIVE PORTFOLIO?

Even if the developer has not designed a scrap of the

graphical interface themselves, do their app or web

projects feel like the favourite ones that you use?

Are they smooth or jittery, tight or clumsy?

Does anything look out of place?

1

DO THEY OFFER CLIENTTESTIMONIALS?

If they do, great, but go a step further and ask for

contact details of the clients from their portfolio.

A developer who offers this information willingly shows

they have nothing to hide, and you stand a good chance

of receiving a similar result compared to their portfolio.

1

A developer who is generally interested in you and your

business will add value to your ideas with relevant

suggestions.

This is especially true with those who have many years

of experience in business themselves or have studied

more broadly than the core technology they use.

ARE THEY ABLE TO TAKE ANINTEREST IN YOUR BUSINESS?

1

1

CAN YOU FORM A LONG‐TERM RELATIONSHIP ?

Most successful software needs to be honed to become

optimally functional and should evolve to stay relevant.

Breaking up with your developer could mean restarting

from scratch, causing your timeline to be reset. Choose

carefully from the start, or give them small challenges to

begin with.

Lowest cost option can be more expensive in the long

run. The biggest reason for a failed development is

because the developer completely underestimated the

scope of work, sometimes to the point of not having the

required skills to able to finish the job.

1

DON’T SHOP BY PRICEALONE

1

DO THEY THINK OF THEWHOLE PACKAGE, NOTJUST THE CODING?

If you are extremely successful in finding a good

developer you will notice they are obsessed with more

than just the code, e.g. User Experience. They will also

bombard you with questions to understand how the app

will be used, and what conditions it will be used under.

2WHAT TO ASKDURING THE

SELECTION PROCESS 

Specific questions for interviewing software developers

WHAT DEVELOPMENTMETHODOLOGY DO YOU

LIKE?You should expect a mention of either Waterfall / Agile

or a hybrid of these. Take the time to read up on the

basics if you can. What you should hope is that your

developer knows something about both and can present

a case for which one suits your project most.

2

WHAT IS YOUR QUALITYASSURANCE (QA) PROCESS?

If their answer includes the use of Unit Tests to ensure

that each build they create will go through a series of

automated tests so that they didn’t leave any loose ends

untied, this is a good start.

Be sure to ask them how they conduct usability and

interface testing too.

2

DO YOU USE VERSIONCONTROL?

Ask them which version control system they use,

common ones include: Git, Mercurial and Subversion

(SVN). While you are at it, set up an account with a

source code repository like GitHub or Bitbucket and ask

for access to the code. With this you can also see how

often they are working on your project.

2

DO YOU HAVE ADEVELOPMENTAGREEMENT?

All experienced developers will have one of their own. If

you want to be able to own your future, make sure you

consider the clauses about Intellectual Property (IP)

ownership carefully.

The warranty they offer will also be an important

indication of how the developer values their own quality.

2

HAVE YOU WORKED WITHDESIGNERS BEFORE?

This question will determine if they are effective at

working with other people. These designers could be

good referees of what it is like to work with the

developer. It will also indicate how much importance

they place on how an app looks and feels.

2

DO YOU HAVE A SUPPORTAGREEMENT?

Software will always require additional attention after

its initial release, it is important to know how the

developer will assist you into the future and how they

will respond and charge. This may be included with their

development agreement, otherwise, ask for it.

2

3WHAT TOCONSIDER AS

WARNING SIGNS

Look out for these red flags at any stage of your project

BE WARY OF ANINDIVIDUAL WHO SAYSTHEY CAN DO IT ALL

3

As development includes several activities such as User

Experience, Graphic Design, Interface Design, Databases,

Scalability and Server environments (Cloud included),

finding a very versatile person who can deal with each

of these adequately is possibly quite rare.

THEY DON’T PROVIDE ADEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

3

If you have been provided a quotation, this developer

should also be able to provide you a schedule. Commonly,

your own availability can have a significant effect on a

project.

Thus, this schedule should also factor that in.

TIMELINES ARE DRAWNOUT

3

It is not entirely unusual for a project to escape its

planned schedule. Do expect this as a distinct possibility.

However, if you continually receive “we are almost

finished” as an update, then be concerned. You should

expect a revised delivery date and a demonstration of the

progress actually been made.

THEY PROVIDE YOU ABUDGET TOO QUICKLY

3

Unless it is an extremely simple mobile app, a good

developer will be very reluctant to pull a figure or time

frame out of the air.

This demonstrates that they understand the iceberg

analogy: there is more complexity waiting under the

surface of a simple app idea.

REQUEST A LOT OF MONEYUPFRONT

3

It is acceptable for a developer to ask for a deposit.

After the deposit, ensure that the rest of the budget is

broken up into logical payments, which can be attached

to the delivery and demonstration of a functional area of

the app.

IT IS HARD TO GET HOLDOF THEM

3

Not being able to get a voice call with your developer

from time to time could certainly be a warning sign, even

with those in other geographical locations. That said, you

should also be sensitive to your developer by giving them

room to operate. Too much communication can slow a

development down.

T H A N K S   F O R   R E A D I N G

C R E A T E D B Y

Read full blog post at: blog.enabled.com.au/hiring-devs-dos-donts/