Outsourcing software development
I'm in the process of starting a subscription based SaaS application. I have domain knowledge (HR and management) but don't have the ability to perform modern programing. I do have the ability to build solid requirements with wire frames, entity-relationship diagrams and workflow use cases. Finding the right team to build this application is an extremely important decision. It's a relationship that could last for many years e.g. iteration, tech support, enhancements, etc... I want to make sure it's code written at a level of quality another team could understand it and pick up in case of a divorce. I've been advised to not to send this work to countries where intellectual property laws are not regulated. How do I find and vet a software development team. Any advice would be appreciated.
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Answers
You're asking some great questions! And good to hear you have some knowledge of the process too. One of the most important things to consider is "Who will be managing the project?" This type of project can last several weeks to several months depending on the scope and there may be several different programmers working on the project at any one time. This means that having a competent, mature project manager is paramount to making sure that you understand what is happening, when and how you will participate in the quality assurance process and decision-making/approvals.
Prior to launching my software company I was a Sr. Project Manager at Microsoft and worked with development teams throughout the world. Working with a distributed team can be a difficult beast to manage - you want to make sure that whoever you work with is well-versed in this, but moreover whether the dev team is local or international, you want to make sure that they have excellent communication and customer service skills.
Of course I'd be remiss if I didnt ask you to consider my company for this project. I'd love to discuss further with you. Feel free to reach out to me at scott@lionsharesoftware.com
Best Regards, Scott Priestley President, Lionshare Software, Inc.
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Your bring up a number of good issues Scott. My notion is that I'd be project manager, understand the deliverables, dependencies, scope and sequence. I also thought I'd be doing quality assurance. As the sales guy I can represent the customer, test to the requirements, prove it works. Since I'm paying for the work, it makes sense I should be evaluating the quality. I used to be a software development manager many moons ago. I worked on projects split across the country, Europe, China and India. In all cases it was a mess. The best teams all sat within walking distance of each other. That's why I've been thinking of hiring a company local. Or maybe hiring students fresh out of college looking for experience. These are the issues I'm considering.
I have worked through a few projects using resources in Asia and the US with mixed results. One idea would be to post the project on a site like rentacoders.com and see what the quality of the responses turns out to be. Sounds like you have enough knowledge to manage the project overall if you have the right person helping with the design elements and programming. I am in the middle of a pretty large project (www.eroutingguide.com) and would be happy to share my experience if you want to get in touch with more specific questions.
kenneth.kowal@yahoo.com
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