The iUkraine.org

Mobile Start-ups and Developers from Ukraine. iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry.

Why customers overpay?

Why do the customers overpay for software development?

In the field of development of iPhone/Android/BB software one could see a lot of customers (investors) recently, who competently understand their main (native) spheres, but not the software.

Moreover, a lot of them have often a negative experience of collaboration with previous software developers. It is to a large degree due to substantial delays of product delivery, as well as a budget surcharge up many times as compared to initially agreed upon to.

Without hitting the high spots of enumerating typical mistakes let us barely recommend you the following strategy of working with software developers on market; based on our experience it will allow you to get needed result within optimal time-frames and with minimal costs:

1. Define the idea of your project in a plain, user-friendly language;

2. Describe with ordinary words a couple of (at least 3) cases and instances of using the application by average user (the more detailed, the better);

3. Order a detailed draft proposal(technical specification), based on items 1 and 2 of the projects, from a specialist or well-known company which you personally trust to. Notify them in advance that you’re not going to order the implementation of the project itself (normally such work doesn’t cost more than 5% of the REAL budget of the project). Ask also for a preliminary assessment of the budget and time-frames of implementing the project, a description of issues during the latter technical support of the project as well as the approximate qualifying requirements for contractor with respect to developing the software.

4. Make a list of the best-suiting developing companies, available in Internet.

5. Write a letter to these companies, asking to provide you with the confidentiality agreement and draft contract for developing a software;

6. Assess the quality of these documents, meet personally the specialist, inquire feedback in Internet, then send draft proposal(technical specification) for developing a software to the company (-ies) you liked the most (it is recommended to sign first a non-disclosure agreement);

7. Get offers from companies, assess their quality with respect to being specific and meeting the requirements of the draft proposal.

8. Choose the winner based on best price and quality, after that sign a contract with it.

It is no doubt that the list with 8 actions looks extremely burdensome at first, but all you need is just 3-4 days to follow it, while the result (successful project) will be much better than otherwise, without traditional delays and budget surcharge.

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Author:
Vitaliy Goncharuk,
Managing Partner, The VIactivity LLC
(iPhone/Android software development, production, marketing&PR)
http://www.linkedin.com/in/vactivity