[Note: This is a paid review from ReviewMe. All attempts have been made to be constructive in the comments.] One of the problems I’ve found with blogging all week is that I never have a lot of time left over to develop all the “great” web application ideas floating around in my head. And that’s true despite my programming background.
I’ve considered outsourcing development, but for an experienced programmer like myself, it’s an alien idea. But there are firms like DEV3 who have experience in their offering of various development services. This includes website development, e-commerce solutions, custom web applications, database design and more.
Now while DEV3 does have a list of clients that include Fortune 500 companies, it’s not clear what custom web applications they’ve built, nor what coding platforms they use. So my advice to them is to list that. (Ruby on Rails, for example, is very hot right now for web apps, though I’d rather have PHP or Perl, for example, because I can get in there a tweak things if necessary.)
So if you use them, do remember to ask about their platforms. Whether you use DEV3 or some other partner, however, there are at least a few things you should expect of an application developer:
- Is willing to provide proof of portfolio work.
- Sticks to the agreed upon delivery schedule.
- Manages to stay on budget.
- Recommends a suitable development platform because it’s the best for your proejct, not because that’s the only one they know.
- Understands what scalable application means.
- Isn’t afraid to say that some feature or other cannot be done with in your budget.
- Won’t steal your idea and use it themselves.
- Is willing to do upgrades (for an additional cost, of course).
- Supplies all final code.
Did I miss anything? Of course, you also have to do your part in being a good client:
- Don’t have an expanding scope.
- Don’t change your mind every other day.
- Know and convey upfront what you need functionally, even in near-future versions.
- Know and convey which features will be released in which phase.
- Be willing to pay on time, as agreed in your contract.