Software plays an essential role in every business. And your software must fit well with your business. This means your software developer needs to understand well what you want to make, and what you can make.
The importance of a software developer can be seen in Porter’s five forces model. This is a method for checking the strength of your business model. Suppliers are one of the five factors you need to look at. The suppliers of software are very important in your business structure, and for the strength of your business. Choosing a software developer that suits you is therefore crucial.
But what are the things you should pay attention to?
1. The structure of the process
How do they work? Is it project-based? Do you submit your requirements, receive a quote, and in six months to a year you get a software package, and then it’s done? Or: is there the option for a long-term collaboration where you can maintain it together, even when the software is already live?
2. The degree of insight into your business
To what extent does a developer understand how your business works? Many developers lack this insight. While it is important that you can spar with them. You want them to also help you on a strategic level. That they not only code but also look beyond: what is your vision? What is your ‘why’? Why do you want a software package? What are your kpi’s? When are we successful? You want them to look carefully at the core of the objective, and always keep that in mind
3. The sustainability of the partnership
What is their stance? Will it be a long-lasting partnership, or a ‘one-night stand’? You are each other’s business partners, but how is the contact? Is it mainly giving specs after which the developer then types it out? Or are you going to look together at the reasons for the project, and how you can be helped on the way to the goal? There is something to be said for a one-night stand. Maybe you find it difficult to commit, then a short-term partnership might be more for you. But in the long term, that is often not efficient. You often come to a better result if you can still adjust along the way. That you start building, and along the way can still determine which way to go. Can indicate what works and what does not work in the software. Which functions turn out to be unnecessary, or which ones you do need after all. At Wise Minds, we enter into a subscription form with the customer. This means that we do it together with you, continue to develop together and work towards long-term goals. This means that the customer ultimately has more control over the end product.
4. Quality controls
Do they have a quality assurance department? Because who is going to test the software in the end? Who guarantees the quality of the final product?
5. The possibilities for further development
What’s next when the software is delivered and goes live? How much does it cost to continue to develop? Because creating a software package is one thing, further development is something that continues continuously. It is important to pay attention to that. How flexible is a software company when it comes to further development?
Since at Wise Minds we work with monthly subscriptions, we provide much more than just developers. With us, you rent development hours, but you get project management, quality assurance, and strategic advice for free. We do not believe in simply typing out software. We want to become part of it.