The Challenge:

For most entrepreneurs and companies, searching for Web and Mobile App Developers to bring their ideas to life is always going to be a consistent challenge. This is because developing software of any kind is a continuous task. It never really ends until you discard the entire project. Companies as big as Microsoft consistently have engineers constantly working on software that has existed for decades like Microsoft Office products. You need great developers involved all throughout the entire lifecycle of the project. The second challenge is that there are so many companies funded by venture capital and angel investors which means that the competition to find the right engineers is not always going to be easy. As a standard operating procedure if you follow these 4 steps you stand a very good chance of securing the best that the industry has to offer.

1.       Know your requirements.

The starting point is always to know exactly what you need. Be as clear as possible about every single detail of the functionalities. This means putting down on paper the designs, the text, the font, the sketches of what the final product would look like. This needs to be based on the objectives that you’re trying to achieve. Think about what your company is trying to accomplish, for entrepreneurs it’s about thinking of the problems that you are trying to solve. However it is also about keeping it realistic. Don’t try and ask for outrageous functions.

2.       Search for the right developers.

There are plenty of places where you can begin your search. Online platforms like Upwork, Freelancer and Peopleperhour to name a few offer a huge range of developers from around the world to choose from. However, although you can read reviews about them and view the projects that they have worked on, it is highly recommended that you avoid this approach.  This is because it is hard to verify the nature of the working relationship and work done just by reading reviews. There are plenty of horror stories of companies that have outsourced work to these ‘highly reviewed companies with disastrous results. The best approach is to reach out directly and ask for recommendations from other individuals and companies that have developed projects which you admire or enjoy using. One of the best ways is to reach out to the wider network of Business Accelerators and Incubators, as they tend to be a hot bed for talent. You can also reach out to companies like Imobilize who have a solid track record of working with highly established companies and delivering for the likes Sky and startups of all shapes and sizes.

3.       Carry out background checks on the Applicants

In order to avoid or minimise the risk of hiring cowboy developers, you need to ensure that your chosen candidates or companies have the right skill sets and experience to deliver on your project. There are three factors to take into account when vetting. Firstly it is absolutely important that you speak directly to any references that they have may have listed as previous clients on their website. Secondly ensure that the developers have attained some sort of certification or partnership with big vendors. Some of these can include the ISO 9000 certification which covers the compliance, best practice and quality control procedures. Another important thing to look out for is evidence of affiliation with bigger organisations like, “Microsoft Partner” if they have completed a certificate process–usually that means they have sent their developers for training at the company. Thirdly, always enquire about the size of the company. The fear is that small companies if too small might run out of resources before the project is complete or worse still struggle to deliver on time when they receive more work.

4.       Draft and discuss a contract terms.

The best thing to do here is seek legal advice on how to draft a solid contract. In general, the contract should cover about four major aspects. Firstly the requirements. Secondly the costs. Thirdly, the nature and frequency of support. And fourthly the course of action(s) should things not go according to plan. A good legal professional should be in a position to do this for you. If you’re able to adhere to these fundamental steps, then there’s a very good chance that you will minimise when hiring the right company to develop your website or app for you. For any more questions and advice on how to go about doing this, please feel free to reach out to us at info@imobilize.co.uk we’ll be quite happy to help in any way that we can.