5 Mistakes you should avoid when Outsource Software Development

With technological advancement, software becomes the backbone of every business. The problem is that it is very expensive to hire a team of software developers. The right way to go about it is to outsource software development.

When looking for a company that can help you with the same, there are high chances that you end up choosing the wrong one. To avoid this possibility, you have to understand the mistakes you should avoid when outsourcing software development.

Today, we will share with you 5 such mistakes so that you can avoid them and choose the right company.

1. Don’t go with the cheapest option

Many entrepreneurs believe that the purpose of getting a request for proposal or RFP is to know the cost of software development outsourcing.

That is not true!

Instead of making the mistake of going with the most affordable option, you have to look at the value on offer.

When you get a proposal from the different software development companies, you have to check out things like:

• The technologies which they plan to use
• The hardware they plan to use
• The turnaround time
• The size and experience of the team
• And so on

Once you consider these factors, it becomes effortless for you to choose the right software development company rather than the most affordable one. Selecting the most affordable one is a mistake.

If you just factor in the cost, you might choose a company that might not meet your deadline or use outdated coding practices. In that case, in the future, you would be able to use your software at all. Either that or you will have to spend a lot of time and money to fix the bugs they have left. Both of these are not cases which any company will prefer. The best way to avoid this is to choose the company which provides you with the most value for money rather than the most affordable deal.

2. Lack of understanding of the scope of the project

Of course, you will explain the scope of the project to all the stakeholders. Stakeholders include the software development company as well.

The problem is that, if they do not understand the scope of development, it will become really difficult for them to develop the software in the right fashion.

On your side, you have to take every effort to explain the same properly.

After that, you have to document all the details. Once you do so, there will be no ambiguity.

Not only that, you have to list down the software requirements and specifications as well before you sign the contract.

Once you submit all this to them, you have to question the scope of the project. Only when you do so you can understand which company has understood the same.

You can avoid this mistake by following the procedure above.

When outsourcing work to a software development company, you should go ahead with a company that understands the scope of the project.

3. Ignoring communication barriers

Even before you choose a software company, you will communicate with them on various grounds. You will have to ask for a proposal; you will have to discuss the proposal with them and clear your doubts as well.

In a nutshell, you will be communicating with them in multiple ways.

If there are any communication barriers, you shouldn’t choose the company irrespective of the cost. Doing so can be a huge mistake.

Communication barriers include:

• Lack of communication
• Delayed communication
• Communicating with a different person each time
• Frequently requesting for more information
• And so on

If such communication barriers exist right at the start, you will not get good service down the line as well. Choosing the software development company despite these communication barriers is a mistake.

4. Not discussing code quality in advance

Unfortunately, there is no specific rule regarding the expectations of code quality.

If you, on your part, also do not know the code quality you need, you will never be able to get the software with good code quality.

Only when you try to customize it or modify it you will realize how bad the code quality is. In that case, you need to shell out a lot of money to improve the code quality.

Not discussing the code quality you need in advance can be a huge mistake.

The best way to avoid this problem is to ask the software development company to provide you with:

• Well documented progress report
• Well tested software
• Debugging and troubleshooting reports
• And so on

When the company provides you with the same, you can be certain about the code quality. Only when the quality is up to the mark, the company will be able to provide you with the same.

Before you sign the contract with the company, you have to ensure that codr quality standards are incorporated into the contract. Only then can you quiet and choose the right software development company.

5. Not taking into account codebase ownership

You need to ensure that you are the code owner once the software development company delivers it. You might be thinking, isn’t it obvious?

The truth is, it’s not so obvious!

When you look at most software development companies’ agreements, you will not find a single clause stating the same.

Later on, when you claim ownership of that quote, the software development company can easily claim their rights.

To avoid all of this problem, you have to put your foot down and ensure that this clause is present in the agreement. Only, in that case, you can use the code as you want, and you can modify it as well.

Of course, intellectual property rights also depend on CodeBase ownership. To ensure that you truly have control over the code, you need to discuss the ownership of the code and after that choose the software development company.

So, when you’re outsourcing software development, avoid these five mistakes. Only once you do so you will have a seamless software development experience. Otherwise, the problems which you will encounter on the way will make it difficult for you to build and launch a software platform of your own.