Contributor: Mushtahir Aziz Rahman
Hiring an outsourcing partner is a challenging task. There are hundreds of outsourcing companies and you have to be thorough in hiring one. Often clients contact us expressing interest in outsourcing software development. Following are some of the questions they ask most.
Ask questions before outsourcing your software development
 Have you done anything like this before?
Clients want to see similarities. They ask if we have done anything before that is similar to their idea. Previously, we have developed sites where users can find wedding photographer (SnapKnot), browse tourist attractions (DayTripFinder), receive location-based offers in a ship (Smyril Line), find a life partner (Biyeta.com), purchase goods from local farmers (Farmilio) and so on. If a firm has experience and rich portfolio, chances are that we would find similar modules.
Could you show me some of your work?
To get more ideas about the firm, clients may request to see previous work. A client may want to see a simple demonstration of existing works or request to see the previous code. You can check out Nascenia’s portfolio from our website to see our existing work. But we cannot show code as we are contractually obligated not to disclose other client’s code.
How many people are there?
The answer to this question helps clients understand the overall condition of the firm. They want the outsourcing firm to have a healthy work environment. It should have the required communication, development, project management expertise and a culture that promotes creativity and flexibility.
How do you work?
Work method helps a client to understand how collaborations and development work. At Nascenia, we develop in agile (SCRUM). Â We divide the entire development task into sprints. I manage the project in Trello. But other teams of the firm have also used Pivotal Tracker and JIRA. Work process is an important part of the development and the client wants to be acquainted with that.
What is your working hours?
One of the key reasons for outsourcing is to get more things done in a day. Sometimes 8-9 hours a day is not sufficient for the client. If they outsource to another company that can continue to work parallelly, clients get 16-17 hours of work done in 24 hours.
What project management tools do you use?
Project management tools are the important part for any development. Trello, JIRA, Pivotal Tracker – these all are good project management tools. Clients and developer may be comfortable with the certain type of project management tool. They should find a common ground and select the one that gives the most comfort. Picking the right project management tool is crucial because it drives communication, monitoring, and control of development.
Can you give me an estimate?
Asking for estimate or quotation is very common. Based on tentative requirement we give users an idea on how many man hours it will take to develop and how many resources need to be engaged. When it comes to quotation, it is better to keep in mind that everything is “tentative”. It is better to finalize the ins and outs of the project before development begins.
I hope that helps. I have written some other blogs on the web and mobile app development. Please have a look.
