Rob Walling, principal of the Numa Group in Altadena, CA, and a big advocate of the human side of software development, advises businesses on how to go about choosing a company to build your software. As more and more small businesses embrace technology and build their own desktop and web applications, the more important it is to find fantastic people to create the best software.
Rob says:
Building software is a complex process, and hiring your 17-year old brother-in-law to build an interface to your accounting package is like handing a hammer to a 3-year old - they might hammer in a nail, or they might destroy your home.
Here are tips to keep in mind to find and evaluate software firms, according to Rob:
- Ask for work samples (a good website will tell you a lot)
- Check references
- Consider offshoring if you can specify your project to a high level of detail, in writing
- Certifications and publications show is developer is involved
- Smaller firms will give you more one-on-one attention than larger firms
- Developers with public faces, such as bloggers and those who publish books and articles, have more accountability since they are in the public eye.
One added tip from my personal experience with working with developers is to find a developer who has an intuitive sense of user needs - that will make it so much easier to create a winning product. One of the best developers I've worked with also was a writer, and had a great feel for the user interface (in fact, he ended up quitting to become an international correspondent, but that's another story...).
If you want help from experts with your developer search, the Numa Group offers candidate evaluation for technical hiring -- they will evaluate software developers for you in a 25-minute phone interview.
Technorati tags: software development
digg this: Guide to Choosing a Company to Build Your Software by Rob Walling
I have found out that some small businesses don't get the best advise when hiring web developers. It is best to spend as much time as necessary with the developer during the requirements analysis. I believe a website should accurately define and represent the current state of the business. If the business does can not support ecommerce, there is no to develop an ecommerce website and hope that it will one day be useful to the company. My pet peeves include non-functional pages on a site. It makes the business look incomplete and ultimately incompetent.
Posted by: Akwasi Adjei | February 01, 2007 at 06:17 PM
Akwasi, thanks for your insightful comment. I too have seen developers push functionality that is not necessary, but I also have seen businesses that "don't get it" ignore a developer's suggestions and opt for a brochure site that doesn't make use of any of the Web's interactive capabilities. I would advise that business owners really think through what they want from their website (and overall web presence) before going into a first meeting with developers.
Posted by: Shara | February 02, 2007 at 01:37 AM
Always look out for recent demos. Recent demos that work. Also do not forget to check out the references, talk with the references in great detail and only if you are fully satisfied, hire a web developer firm.
Posted by: Web developers | February 02, 2007 at 07:45 AM
Thanks to you all for sharing these important points. We're working on re-invigorating our website here at Durango Nature Studies and because we are such a low budget non-profit, we've asked our local college web development class for help. I'll keep you posted as to how it goes.
Posted by: melissa paxton | February 05, 2007 at 09:44 PM
"Web developers", good point about seeing a recent demo that works. Melissa, will be interesting to hear about your experience with the web development class.
Posted by: Shara | February 06, 2007 at 11:10 AM
For SMB, the best solution is to use SaaS (Software as a Service). Hiring IT, buying Software and hardware is too expensive. And it's safer and securer to let professional IT company to host data and software for you. (http://www.nenest.com/yform/Threads.3902)
Posted by: Tony Y. | March 29, 2007 at 09:43 AM
hire web developer / designer for 10 USD per hour http://www.meetadeveloper.com/hire-a-programmer-hire-a-dedicated-developer-hire-a-web-developer-india.html
Posted by: John | April 24, 2007 at 03:16 AM
hire web developer / designer for 10 USD per hour http://www.meetadeveloper.com/hire-a-programmer-hire-a-dedicated-developer-hire-a-web-developer-india.html
Posted by: John | April 26, 2007 at 10:47 PM