Choosing the right software development company – Essential checklist

A report by the Standish Group has found that around 49% of software development fail, are challenged 47% of the time and successful only 4% of the time. These staggering statistics are not to scare you away from investing in software projects to better serve your clients, improve internal processes or bring a new offering to the market. Investing in technology is becoming a necessity for many organisations, however, getting a software development project to succeed is key.

In this article, we present you with a checklist of questions and factors you need to consider to ensure you are choosing the right software development company for your business and project to ensure your project is successfully completed within time and budget.

The right set of technical skills

The company must offer you the right set of skills in line with your project requirements. For example, if you are looking to build a cross-platform mobile app, the developers should have proven skills in the relevant technologies including the likes of Xamarin and Flutter. Additionally, if you have a preferred technology stack, do they have the proficiency in those technologies to effectively build your software?

Relevant experience

There are two types of experience that the company should possess. Firstly, they should have a considerable amount of experience in software development as a whole. Secondly, they should have relevant experience similar to your project. This includes the type of software, the technologies used, the functionality and the scope of the project.

Proven track record of success

If you are not able to find proof of success on the company’s website or online presence in the form of success stories, testimonials or reviews, then ask about it. The company should be able to provide a range of successful projects to demonstrate their reliability and credibility. Some questions to consider asking are:

• Do you have any clients that are similar to our business?
• What experience do you have in relevance to our project?
• Can you provide any reviews, or testimonials from existing clients?

Investment in the right technology stack

Technology is always evolving and there are new versions of technologies launching all the time. Does the company actively invest in the right technology stack in relevance to your project? For example, if you are developing a software product and Angular is the front-end technology of choice, then you will want to adopt the latest version of Angular for your project (currently in Jan 2023, the most current version is Angular 14). If a software development company is not consistently investing in the learning of the latest technologies, then it might be seen as a red flag. Some questions that may gain you some valuable insights into a software development company's technology initiatives are:

• How regularly do the developers engage in training and development?
• Does your organisation have any technology-related accreditation?
• What are some of your most recent certifications?

Excellent communication

The company should have an excellent communication structure in place and should accommodate your specific requirements. Find out how the company communicates with their existing clients, in form of frequency, times, and channels. Then you can outline your preferred level and channel of communication. If you are able to find a middle ground and they can meet your requirements, it is ideal. You may require daily updates on large-scale projects or weekly reports, so ensure these are communicated well ahead of choosing the right software development company. Some questions you may want the answers to:

• How often are updates provided on the progress?
• Who will first/second line of contact
• What channels are typically used to communicate
• Is there a timeframe for when communications are expected

Process-driven approach

If you want to work with a company that will deliver thier services consistently without comprising on quality they should have process-driven approaches to the entire project. This includes communication, project management and delivery. If they do not have process-driven processes in place there can be room for error and failure. The following are some questions to help you establish how a business works:

• What processes do you have in place when it comes to communication
• What process to you have internally to build, test, and deliver projects?

Robust project management and delivery

The way a project is managed will have a significant impact on its success of it, so it's essential to find out how the project is managed and delivered. Some questions you might want to consider asking are:

• What approach do you take when it comes to project management and delivery?
• Are there certain frameworks or structures in place?
• How is a project usually delivered, in phase or one big release?

Cultural fit for your organisation

Getting to know a company on a cultural level is incredibly important as you will be working with them for weeks or potentially months. Additionally, you want to ensure they are a good cultural fit as you do not want to be associated with a company that has values that do not align with yours. For example, if you are a company that is going green with efforts to reduce the negative impact on the planet, however, the company you are working with has no such measures in place, they may not be the right for your company. Some questions you might consider asking:

• What CSR measures do you have in place?
• What efforts are driving your image as a responsible business?

Ardent software development services

We started as a software development company in 2008 and have been providing excellence in software for over 15 years. Our software developers are proficient in world-leading software technologies including the likes of Angular, .Net, Python, Flutter, React and more. If you are looking for a software development partner that you can trust, has a proven record of success and can help bring your vision to life, we can help. Explore some of our success stories:

• Making logistics simple with fine art storage and preservation software
• A complete recruitment software product to get the job done
• Service quality management software for IT projects to offer world-renowned brands

Get in touch to find out more, or feel free to ask us the questions listed to get started.

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