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The Questions You Need to Ask Before Hiring a Software Development Team

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Varun Bhagat
The Questions You Need to Ask Before Hiring a Software Development Team

One of the most important choices you’ll make when starting up your business involves choosing your software development team. If you don’t get it right, your chances of success are slim to none, so it’s important to ask all the right questions before hiring someone to create your product or service. Here are the seven questions you need to ask before hiring a software development team.

 

1) How many developers will I need?

It’s never good to cut corners with hiring. If you can’t find funding for 10 developers, start with 5 and add more once your MVP (minimum viable product) is up and running. If you don’t have enough people on your team, you won’t be able to test enough product-market fit hypotheses. So while it may seem like more is better in some ways, having more software developers than you need can end up costing you in wasted time.

 

2) Which programming languages do you support?

There are so many programming languages and so many different software developers who specialize in each one that it’s important you find out if they will be able to work with your specific language. The best developer teams will have enough experience that they can code in all major programming languages, but if you need something niche, such as Ruby on Rails or AngularJS, then you’ll want to make sure they have those skills.

 

3) How do you handle custom development?

When you sign a contract with a company, be sure that they have project managers in place who can provide you with regular updates and respond to your questions in a timely manner. When dealing with outsourced software development, it’s important that everyone is on the same page about what’s being built and why.

 

4) What kind of feedback can I expect during the development process?

Early on in your project, make sure you establish an effective process for receiving feedback on how your application is coming along. If there are any problems, you’ll want to address them immediately rather than later. While it might be intimidating at first, once you’ve established a good rapport with your development team, it’s important that you don’t shy away from speaking up when there are issues.

 

5) How much experience do you have working on this type of app?

The experience of your dedicated development team will play a huge role in determining how efficient and effective they are. If you’re building an app that is incredibly specific, that requires certain knowledge and expertise, then you’ll want to work with someone who has worked on similar projects in the past. Don’t be afraid to ask for details about past projects so you can assess their experience appropriately.

 

6) Do you do prototypes/mockups before development begins?

Ideally, you want your software developer on hire to create some sort of prototype before they get too deep into development. The bigger and more intricate your project is, the more important it is that you start off with some kind of mockup. While developers are often willing to work on mockups, many designers charge for them up front, which can save both sides money in the long run.

 

Conclusion

Being able to answer these questions thoroughly will ensure that you can make an informed decision on whether or not your team is right for you. We hope you find these questions helpful in making your decision! If you have any other questions, feel free to let us know in the comments section below.

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Varun Bhagat
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