Finding a trustworthy, reliable software developer is the holy grail of tech startups. If only we could just conjure a top-class development team with strong leadership skills, incredible technical knowledge, and a solid grounding in agile methodology.
It’s not always like that.
It may take more time than you think; it may demand a higher price than you’d hoped for. Still, finding the right developers for the job is imperative – let us tell you how.
1. Do they specialize in your area?
First and foremost, hire a development team with experience in your field. If you’re building a game, hire game developers. If you’re creating a high-reward investment app, hire developers who can deliver the best HYIP script. The quality of your product rests on these people – make sure they’re experienced professionals.
Arrange a phone interview. Make a list of questions pertinent to your field and makes notes of the answers you get. If you think someone’s being evasive or won’t give concrete answers about their experience in your area of interest, hang up.
2. Are their promises realistic?
Realism is something you want from any business partner. Honesty is the fundament of all good working relationships. Sounds trite, no? While these slogans happen to be true, ad phrases like these are how bad companies sell you their services without realistic numbers or timelines.
Here’s your question sheet.
- How long will the project take to complete?
- Can you break down what you’ll be doing and when?
- How can you afford to offer your services for such a low price?
- Who will be working on each part of the project?
- Can you send me a draft of your project plan, so I can run it past a colleague who works in the field?
The last one is deliberately aggravating. However, skilled professionals who offer realistic timelines and quality work know that their plans are sound. Equally, they’ll accept constructive criticism professionally.
Companies out to make a quick buck hate it when you ask if you can have someone double-check their methodology. You don’t even need to have a colleague who can quality-check their work. If they claim there’s no need for quality control, steer well clear.
4. Do they outsource their work?
This one is complicated. After all, aren’t you outsourcing your development needs? Sure. But that’s because you have an idea that needs a tech team. It’s not because you have a fully qualified tech team to hand but would rather have someone else do the grunt work.
The further away from home, the work is being done, the more difficult it is to communicate with the people working on your project. Your development team doesn’t need a development team.
Ask if the work is done in-house. Ask for the credentials of the staff doing the work. Questions, questions – so annoying, and yet so worthwhile when it helps you weed out sub-par development teams.
4. Do they have good reviews (if any), and how real do they look?
Any smart developer will keep track of positive feedback and reviews they’ve received. You need a smart developer, so if someone has tons of reviews that they can’t find… don’t hire them.
It’s not just vanity, it’s business sense. Developers live and die by their reviews. Some even falsify positive reviews (shock, horror! You can’t trust everyone you read online) to make their services seem more attractive.
Again, questions are your friend. Ask to be put in touch with previous satisfied customers. The more work you make a potential scammer do, the more likely they are just to leave you alone. Top developers will simply send you a list of contacts as proof, no questions asked.
Summary: Question Time
Never be afraid to ask questions. It’s your project – a good developer knows that and wants to deliver the best possible outcome. If they don’t answer, they’re not worth asking.
