Before you hire a Software Developer

If you are on the purchasing side of a software development project this article will help you prepare for the process. This article is intended to help educate business owners and stakeholders when engaging with an application development team.

Hiring a development company can be a daunting task. Unless you have a strong technical background the nuances of the project can be overwhelmingly foreign. You have to be able to trust your team and make sure you are all on the same page when it comes to expectations.

The following list will help ensure your project runs smoothly. The process in a nutshell is this:

• Define your team.
• Create a Scope of Work document.
• Create an RFP (Request for Proposal).
• Set a discovery period.
• Review the proposals.
• Select the developer.

Define Your Team

There will normally be several stakeholders involved with your project. You should choose a project manager to be in charge of coordinating the engagement process. They will be the primary contact with the firm and route all communications between your organizations.

Scope of Work Document

Before you approach a vendor you should have a completed scope of work. The scope of work document will create the parameters for the project.Your scope of work should contain

1. The overall goals and reason for building the software.
2. A list of all functions and features in the application.
3. Identify the users and how they will use the system.
4. Any back-end and administrative areas, automated processes.
5. The limits of the project scope, what it will and will not do.

There are several great examples and tutorials on how to create a scope of work, so I won't go any further into that here. The important thing is that you have a clear idea of what exactly you need.

Remember: The scope of work does not need to try and solve technical problems or present the solution. That is what a good development team does. The scope should identify the issues in terms of the real world.

Creating the RFP (Request for Proposal)

The RFP is what you will send out to potential vendors. This should supply them with the information they need to bid on your project (aka return a proposal). The scope of work document will be a large part of your RFP.

Your RFP should include any expectations and requirements the development firm must meet to qualify. It should identify the key people on your team and what their role will be in the project. It should also contain background information about your organization. There are plenty of great guides to writing an RFP.

One thing I see missing in most RFP guides is an engagement timeline. You probably know when you want your project completed, but there are many critical dates to consider:

Your RFP timeline should include:

1. Deadline for a vendor to request consideration.
2. Date the discovery period will begin, first round and response.
3. Date the consideration period will begin and end.
4. Date the project will be awarded.
5. Date the project should begin.
6. Target date the project should be completed and delivered.*

*This should be considered an estimate because: A. You don't know how long the work will take so this is only a guess. B. Projects are often late because developers are usually too optimistic when estimating time.

Non-Disclosure Agreement

Do you need a non-disclosure agreement? It's fairly common to require a potential vendor to sign a NDA before they can view the RFP. If you don't want your competition or the general public getting a copy of your project scope and RFP, then it's best to create a standard NDA.

Posting your RFP

You should research appropriate firms that offer the services you are looking for. You may also want to add your RFP to a procurement website or other distribution service. There are many options available, sites like DesignQuote will distribute your website design RFP to a limited number of potential vendors.

You can also post your RFP on your website. You may want to only post a contact form for potential vendors to request the RFP instead of just sharing it publicly. Publicly sharing your RFP can overwhelm you with responses and potentially expose sensitive information.

Discovery Period

A complex or large enterprise development project will require a substantial amount of discovery. The discovery process usually works like this:

1. The vendor will return a list of questions and requests for clarification.
2. The stakeholder will answer and return the discovery document.
3. The vendor will send any follow up questions for further clarification.

Depending on numerous factors, it may or may not be useful to have a meeting with the potential teams. Sometimes it can be easier to get in a room and meet face-to-face to explain your processes. Sometimes you can get all you need with a discovery document.

You should define the dates and deadlines for the discovery process in your RFP.

Pro Tip: You can learn a lot about your application developer by what questions they ask. You should be able to glean how much the potential vendor actually understands what you need based on the questions they ask. You can learn even more from the questions they fail to ask.

Review Proposals

After your potential developers have all their questions answered, they should have enough information to create a proposal. The proposal (aka bid) should address all the items in the scope of work, define the solution and how it will be delivered, and identify the cost for doing the work.

Here are some things to consider when deciding on a vendor.

A good proposal should include:

1. A clear overview of the firms software development process.
2. What happens with a change order or scope change.
3. What assumptions are being made about the project.
4. Who is responsible for what.
5. How is work presented and reviewed.
6. How are bugs reported.
7. What technology will be used.
8. Who are the team members.
9. How is payment handled.

Conclusion

This should give you a decent foundation and help you navigate through the process of hiring a software development firm. I have been on both sides of this equation many times. I have learned most of this the hard way over the past 20 years in enterprise application development and running engineering departments.

If you are looking to hire a software developer I would love the chance to submit a proposal for your project. I also help companies as a consultant when planning and procuring application development and IT infrastructure. I have a wide range of technical expertise primarily with opensource LAMP stack and AWS cloud hosting.

You can contact me through my LinkedIn profile or through my company website. Here is a picture of me looking kind of like Steve Jobs.