Though easy it may seem, choosing the right software house has never been a simple task. On the market, you can find a lot of active software houses offering their services. Nevertheless, not all of them can boast of high quality and effectiveness of implemented projects. The question is what mistakes to avoid when choosing a software house?
Have you ever wondered, why so many companies use software house services? Whether we are talking about custom projects, outsourcing or consulting, in all of these areas cooperation with a software house should be beneficial to your company. Why?
First of all, it is a cost-effective solution that allows managers to save a lot of time. They do not have to waste time organizing an in-house team and carrying out both long and difficult recruitment process. Now it’s a software house that must have all the necessary competencies that are required to make your project completed with the highest quality possible.
According to a report by Coding Sans, 52.5% of companies that have used software house services in the context of developers’ outsourcing, confirm their satisfaction with the effects of cooperation. What's more, 33.5% of managers appreciate the possibility of this solution due to the difficulties associated with recruitment. In their opinion, this usually turns out to be one of the biggest challenges when organizing your in-house team.
The research also shows that managers emphasize the efficiency of outsourcing. On a scale of 1-10, up to 30% of respondents rated the efficiency of outsourcing at the '8' level.
You already know, why cooperation with software houses is effective and profitable. Therefore, it is just high time to answer the question of what mistakes you should avoid when looking for a future partner. We can specify a few basic rules to always keep in mind. And here they are:
The fact that a software house offers you relatively low rates does not mean that you will be able to save. On the contrary. You must know that in this situation there is a serious risk of a quality loss. Software houses that have been operating on the market for many years have qualified developers and international experience usually propose higher rates.
However, if you choose one of them, you can rest assured that the product will meet your expectations. In addition, you will avoid possible delays, resulting even from the need to introduce any corrections or eliminate bugs. And the extended project duration also increases budget expenses. Therefore, remember the first rule - cheaper does not mean faster and better.
It's important to work with a software house that understands your business needs. In this way, you will get helpful feedback on the product’s features and appropriate consulting in case you have any doubts - for example, regarding the choice of technology. Do not forget about the experience of a software house. If it has international experience and in the past implemented a project similar to yours, you will be sure that there are an appropriate background and knowledge to conduct your project with the highest quality.
It is a common mistake to omit a software house verification. It's worth checking out customers’ reviews and see how other companies rate their services. The ways to do this? The first and basic solution is a website where customers' recommendations are usually presented. It's worth verifying reviews in other sources as well. In the case of software development projects, the popular portal is clutch.com. There you will find reliable customers’ opinions along with a detailed assessment of individual elements of a project.
In software development projects, the method of project implementation is a matter of great importance. It is important that the software house you are working with will work in accordance with the Agile principles. According to a survey conducted by Coding Sans, 57% of software houses work at Agile.
In addition, the project management methodology is important, as will affect even the way a client and a software house communicate. In this case, the Scrum methodology is a choice number one, which is ideal for Agile project management.
In this article you could find out what mistakes you should avoid when choosing a software house. Though, in case you are not fully convinced of how important the right choice is, you’d better read our brief case study.
Since 2015, we have been cooperating with a well-known media group in Sweden - Mittmedia. It is the largest group in Sweden, issuing eighteen daily newspapers, twelve free newspapers, broadcasting through radio and Web TV and running various digital projects.
See how Tomas Sundgren, Head of marketing and advertising solutions, summarizes the most important aspects of a successful project.
- Understanding of the industry needs, fluid communication and high reliability. I can strongly recommend this approach.
- The project we are working on with the Codest team right now is the Reacher tool and platform, which they are doing in a very good way. We are having a full front and back end team from Codest, with a product manager in Sweden and it is all going great. The cooperation between the product manager in Sweden and the team in Poland is done by a Scrum method and exactly in the same way as in Mittmedia, working with the in-house team in Sweden: with planning, grooming, dailies and retros from the Scrum perspective. And daily communication is done in Jira and Slack.
- Though we are working remotely, we have really good communication with their team. They understand our business and stick to the schedule. They are loyal and hardworking. Plus, they’re open-minded when it comes to finding solutions. They often know the best direction for our product.
