Deciding on the right product development company is a daunting task. A company you are picking can make or break your new product. It is kind of a do-or-die situation for you.
The bitter truth is you alone can not build a successful product or business. It demands the efforts of tech specialists, designers, expert coders, managers, sales executives, and whatnot! For that, you can contact a product development company or hire developers as your employees.
But how to trust anyone enough to share your unique product ideas? Hiring a random company or developers can put you in trouble.
This article presents some tips on what matters while picking the best product development firm. You will have an idea of how to leverage the best out of hired developers. How did a company or developers help to turn ideas into a successful product?
1. Skills and Knowledge
The development of future-ready software needs a wide range of significant roles such as,
- Front-end & Back-end developers
- UI-UX designers
- Business analysts
- Engineers for Quality Assurance (QA)
- Information Architects
- DevOps
- Scrum masters
- Certified Agile coaches
- Machine learning engineers
- Managers
- Business development executives
- Customer care support executives
Try to look for the company that comprises all the mentioned roles in their teams.
Additionally,
- Evaluate their core competencies
- Best practices for writing code
- How they deal with unforeseen circumstances
- Ability to solve highly technical aspects
- Try to interact with the team members to assess the knowledge
A company must have in-house developers with years of experience and knowledge to build your product. You can also ask about their resumes to analyze their experience and skills.
2. Methodology
Another important aspect is to analyze how they work. Go for a software provider that leverages Agile methodology. It assures flexibility and stress-free cooperation. It also enables requirements to grow through a cross-functional approach. So, clients will have a better idea of how their project is managed and executed.
Try to address these questions.
- How do they work on deadlines?
- What is the development process they follow?
- How do they test and control the product quality?
- How do they define their work culture?
- How do they update their client?
- How do their teams prioritize their work?
- How do they communicate with Plans, Progress, and Problems?
- What technology stack are they using?
It is quite complex to answer all these questions by just looking at the company. For that, you need to assess their portfolio and references of past clients.
3. Transparent communication
The quality of communication directly impacts the results of the project. When looking at a potential provider,
- Do they offer transparent and open communication?
- How swiftly do they respond to your queries?
- What channels do they prefer for communication?
- How easily will you access the team?
A company should provide direct access to all the team members when clients want to communicate. You do not need to contact any mediator like the managers of the team. If you have a question about designing, directly talk to the designer. Ask any questions about quality testing to QA experts. This approach helps with constant contact without any delays.
Constant contact also helps to understand how priorities are changing. It would be easy to discuss the most significant issues.
4. Portfolio of successful projects
Take your time to assess the company’s portfolio. It will help you to determine many things such as,
- Level of expertise
- Technologies they have worked with
- Technology expertise that you need to imply for your project
- Experience in solution development in your industry
It’s great to look for software companies that address all your technical criteria. If you need backend experts in web development, it doesn’t make sense to hire a company that mainly displays eye-catchy web designs in its portfolio.
Keep in mind that each industry needs different technologies for development. That is why choosing a firm by industry segments is significant.
You should pick a firm that is serving an extensive range of technologies. It ensures that your project matches the development teams’ expertise.
5. References
Another step you can take is asking for references from current or previous clients. You can also watch out for social media reviews and real testimonials. It is a vital step while choosing the best product development company.
Try to assess the following areas.
- How was their experience with the firm?
- How do they depict the work principles of a firm?
- Did they deliver within time constraints?
- How do they address all the expectations?
- Did they need any micromanagement?
- How was their communication?
- Were they transparent through the project development?
- How creative and productive were they?
- Did you ever face any conflicts with them?
Try to analyze every single point about the company as it’s all about the success of your project.
6. Provide dedicated teams offshore
Another serious concern that is becoming important in recent years is offshore outsourcing. Many companies are providing offshore services despite the geographical, time, and cultural issues. Additionally, communication can be difficult.
However, a dedicated team will work only on your product. They are not working for other clients and priorities. You can leverage focused teamwork that delivers the high quality of your product.
Dedicated teams are one of the biggest advantages of using a product development company rather than freelancers.
You can ask these questions to your dedicated offshore team.
- Are they able to communicate well about ideas, plans, designs, etc.?
- Can they understand your prospects properly?
- Do they know what their responsibilities are?
- Do they acknowledge your work culture?
7. Cost
You get what you pay for; Especially, when a company serves rapid development, high quality, and moderate price.
Indeed, you do not have to go for the cheapest option. But that does not mean you can choose the expensive one. Concentrate on discovering a firm that offers a cost-effective solution.
Analyze,
- Why are they offering very low/high prices?
- What is unique about them among others?
- Do they offer customization according to your preferences?
- Do you need to pay according to the fixed price or resource-based?
Note that you should go for trust and integrity over cost.
8. Security and Reliability
Well-developed software keeps security at the foremost priority. You can not overlook security and robustness as it can cause a huge loss.
Without any security, you can not even think of signing a contract. It is better to stay safe rather than being sorry. So ensure to keep all the security agreements beforehand.
You want to keep your unique product idea safe. Thus, all you need to do is sign confidentiality agreements before disclosing anything.
Assess their terms and conditions, privacy policy, post-deployment services, who will own the source code, etc.
Analyze everything as you are sharing valuable information with them.
On a concluding note
Selection of the right product development company is not a child’s play. There are plenty of aspects you must explore.
This guide only provides the surface of things you need to consider. Different problems will emerge for different types of projects. However, we have mentioned some tips. It will help you to analyze everything about your potential partners.
