FELINESOFT

HOW TO CHOOSE A WEB / BESPOKE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

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Choosing the right company to develop your website or back office business software is not easy.

You need to be able select from a group of companies that know much more about development that you need

to.

Introduction

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This is a plain English guide on how to select a development company.

It will provide you with the some of the questions you should ask. It also suggests a way to separate the wheat

from the chaff.

Purpose of this Guide

Questions

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No

• It will be outsourced• Software systems are loosely

coupled• We want full service including

long term support

Yes

• You have an in-house team• We often use contactors• We need deep integration• We have a defined technology

stack

Does the technology matter?

Php vs dot.NET vs Java

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An outsourced team need experience in:• The technology they recommend• The type of problems your project has

• N.B. these might in a different vertical but that is ok• Supporting systems as well as building them• Solution design not just build

• A developer is ok but most systems fail due to poor design• Business process analysis • Information architecture

Experience is important, but not the sort you think

It’s not my first rodeo

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• What are the certification requirements?• Pay some money• Qualified developers• Customer feedback• Sales of product

• What does certification / partner status provide?• A stamp• Access to high quality technical support• Increased turnaround on support issues• Training

Not all certifications are equal!

Certification / partnerships

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Understand the skills you need to deliver the project and which skills they have in-house and which are contracted in.

• How many developers with 3 years or more experience in your chosen technology?

• Do they have in-house project managers?• Do they have in-house testers?• Do they have in-house infrastructure people?

How many people are there doing what you need?

Team size

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At a high level you are choosing between Waterfall and Agile.

Waterfall vs Agile

Which is the best methodology for you?

Choose your weapon

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Choose your weapon

The question you need to answer here is this:

Can you define your requirements upfront to a very high degree of accuracy?

If not then choose Agile with a fixed budget.

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Now you have chosen your methodology you must ensure that your list of suppliers practice it correctly.

In Summary:• Check their process overview• Check their document templates• Check the tools they use• Check who is responsible for what

How do they walk the walk?

Can they practice what they preach?

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What to look for in Waterfall

Waterfall is documentation-heavy so look for example documents that go into a great deal of detail. You will need a good business analysis and information architect to understand all the challenges upfront:

• Check their example PID for detail• Check their SOW for detail• Check that their test plans match the SOW• Check their project plan

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What to look for in Agile

Agile is not an excuse to just make it up as you go along. You need the right tools to make it work well- the value of agile is that it forms a basis for learning as you go along:

• Check their tools for managing • User stories • Testing• Automated deployment• Wireframes

• Sprint plan

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Meet the people that are going to deliver your project. Having a great sales person is no good for delivering work, you need a team of pros. Be wary if you get:

• people with big titles (don’t do real work)• no one that just speaks technical (these are the people that make

it happen)• no project managers (they get the geeks to do it on time)

Corr he’s ugly!

Who’s who, who really does the work

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Don’ts

Pretty pictures do not make a software team

If what you are building is a large complex website or other front facing tools, do not choose your development team on:

• What the design looks like• Creative flair

Process

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Tender process

Request for

tender

Tender respons

e

Score tender

Short list

Invite for pitch Pitch Award

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In an RFT you need to be explicit in everything you want. Prerequisites are:

• Tender structure including all the sections, and an explanation of what each section should contain

• List of consolidated requirements• List of company information

Tell them what you want

Request for tenders

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• Executive Summary• Solution Overview

• Point by point response to requirements• Project process

• Indicative Project plan• Team

• Short bio for each person on the project• Case studies relevant to tender• References• Company Information

• Last 2 years of summary accounts• Insurance• Certifications

Example structure

Request for tenders

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Points make prizes

Tune the point scoring matrix to enable you to make an informed decision about which supplier is right for you. The company with the top score might not be the one you pick but it should be one of the top 3.

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Before you invite any companies in for a pitch you need to feedback to them what you felt was missing in their tender document. This provides them with a chance to complete the pitch. Be clear and honest with feedback. If you want a lower price tell them, if need more information tell them.

They don’t know what you are thinking!

Feedback is really important

Interviewing potential suppliers

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• If you need a lower price tell them what it is• Don’t ask them to lower their price, they will just take a bit off

again and again. Cut to the chase!• Be careful about pushing them to go low on price-

shared risk is a much better approach• Pushing down the price just means they will need to reduce

the costs if you push too much. • Defining the objectives and creating incentives for them to

deliver is a much better approach

Bargaining on what you want- be honest!

Final negotiations

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Once the deal is done be honest and transparent; the more honest you are with your supplier the more honest they should be with you.

Create a partnership that is true and not one that is adversarial. If they don’t do this sack them and find one that will.

Be honest and transparent

When the deal is done

Good luck!We hope you found this guide useful.

P.S. don’t forget to invite Felinesoft to tender