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First, do your homework. Before entering into
discussions with a subcontractor, develop your ideas in-house as
much as possible. This will save you time and money
in the long run and will enable you to define more clearly what it
is that you want. It will also enable you to develop realistic
expectations regarding deliverables and timeframes.
The outside developer is not part of your organization and may
very well deal with many different business environments. In this
case the project request must include more clearly defined
information than what might be necessary in-house. Presenting well
thought out specifications to the subcontractor will help them to
more fully understand your unique business practices.
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The role of the sub-contractor is to analyze and synthesize the
informationyou have provided and present you with
clearly defined final specifications prior to the
start of the project. If the specifications are not well defined
and features and other changes are added during the development
phase it could take longer to complete the project and cost more
than initially budgeted.
If you do not have experience in similar type of ventures, you may
expect more than what was agreed upon in the application proposal.
A well-defined proposal should tell you
exactly what the project will and will not include.
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Be realistic about your timeline requirements and allow
yourself sufficient time for getting the product developed. Also,
don't forget to include Beta testing in your estimate. It is an
essential component of the development life cycle and is used to
ensure that the product integrates seemlessly into your organization.
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Having a good working relationship with the individuals involved in
any project is essential for its’ optimum success. In order to
assist in this process when contracting out, it is essential that an
in-house contact person be assigned to manage the
sub-contract relationship and be the "window" to all issues
and inquiries that may arise. It is important that
all decisions regarding the project go through the
contact person. This will reduce the occurrence of mixed messages
and contribute to the project's success.
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It is critical that you
develop realistic budget and cash-flow projections
prior to the establishment of a project agreement. Not only will this
contribute to a positive working relationship with your
sub-contractor, more importantly it will also
contribute to the success of your project.
Frequently, more is involved in developing a custom application than
initially thought. When doing your in-house planning, be realistic
about what the project is liable to cost. If a subcontractor agrees
to do the work for a price lower than is realistic, it could end up
costing you more in the long run with changes and
cost over-runs.
A well thought out and detailed proposal should
provide a realistic figure and tell you exactly
how much your investment will be.
