May 22, 2018 Wondering How to Find an App Developer? Business leaders are likely to encounter five different kinds of developers. Regardless of which you pursue, make sure you’re asking candidates the right questions. Robin Thomas Having that million-dollar idea for a new app or website is exciting. But what do you do when it’s time to figure out how to find an app developer? Finding and picking one can be overwhelming, to say the least. Why Do Businesses Need Agile Distributed Teams? Why businesses need remote Agile teams & questions to ask before starting. How to Find an App Developer Plus: the 5 Kinds of Developers You’ll Meet in Your Search You’ll likely encounter developers from at least a few of the following five categories: Freelancer Offshore development shop Onshore/Offshore Development Shop Technical Cofounder Staff Developers In short: You get what you pay for. More expensive developers are more likely to deliver on their promises. Do your research, shop around, and always hire someone who’s subject to your country’s laws. 1. Freelancer Self-employed and hired on a 1099 (US) form or through a site like Upwork. Cost: Low to medium Risk: High Pros If you’re wondering how you’ll afford a developer — let alone how to find an app developer in the first place — freelancers are generally inexpensive. You pay for one person’s hourly rate — not a team’s combined hourly rates. A freelancer doesn’t need feedback from coworkers and managers, and so can move quickly. Cons There’s a huge range in terms of how well freelancers deliver on your expectations. One might have a great-looking portfolio but not know how to code. That’s bad if you need something that a simple WordPress template can’t handle. Plus, working alone means freelancers can afford to be messy. Many developers have taken over a project from a freelancer only to find it’s so disorganized that starting over from scratch is actually cheaper. When a Freelance Developer is a Good Idea Your project is heavy on visual design and light on functionality. A freelancer’s biggest asset is flexibility). 2. Offshore Development Shop Often located in India, Pakistan, or the Philippines. Cost: Low Risk: High Pros Overseas shops offer very low rates. They work well with extremely specific technical instructions. Cons While the cheapest option in the short-term, these cost the most in the long term, and they can put your entire business at risk. Located in developing countries with little regulation, these companies work their employees too hard, cut corners, and produce unmaintainable code. They will meet the requirements you give them exactly . If your requirements leave any room for error, you’re going to end up with something that doesn’t work. Complain and they’ll say, “Sorry, we met all your requirements.” Contractually they’ll be correct, and you’ll be out of luck. And budget. When an Offshore Development Shop Makes Sense You’ve already published several apps. You’ve managed teams of developers and have written technical requirements for years. You would code the software yourself if you had the time. 3. Onshore/Offshore Development Shops These are either located wholly in the same country or headquartered in your country, with most development taking place overseas. Cost: High Risk: Low Pros Your biggest protection when working with these businesses is that they have a brand to protect within your country. If they do substandard development and you spread the word, it could seriously hurt their reputation. Just as important, they’re in the same legal system as you. As a result these companies place a heavy emphasis on quality assurance (QA), project management (PM), and business analysis (BA), making sure all your expectations are met. Cons Having QAs, PMs, and BAs on your project adds considerably to your costs. When Onshore/Offshore Development Shops Make Better Partners There’s a lot to be said for having complete confidence that your time and money are put to the best possible use. Paying more to offset risks isn’t easy for all businesses. But it’s an investment in more sustainable and robust products. 4. Technical Cofounder Technical cofounders are brought on early in a company’s lifetime. They can focus on code quality while you focus on growth and marketing. Cost: Medium Risk: Medium Pros Cofounders are usually offered a stake in the company, rather than a salary, so they only get paid at the same time you do. In addition to technical skills, they bring vision and their own network, which, when combined with your own, doubles your business’s assets. Cons A cofounder invests their livelihood in your idea. Working like your life depends on it isn’t sustainable. Building a business together will put even the healthiest friendship to the test. Also, like freelancers, technical cofounders work in a vacuum and are susceptible to writing bad code that costs both of you money. Why a Trusted Technical Cofounder Could be Right for Business You know a programmer with a solid technical background. You trust this person with your health, your money, and your life. 5. Staff developer Hired as an employee. Cost: High Risk: Medium Pros You benefit from everything your employees learn as their careers progress. Since they report to you, you don’t need to worry about scheduling around their other commitments. You know precisely who’s going to be working on what and when. Cons If you hire a PHP developer, and then realize you actually need a .NET developer, your options are to pivot your whole project, ask them to learn a new technology, or let them go. This can be devastating to employee morale. You’re responsible for salaries, project management, and working conditions. Staff Developers are Right for Established Businesses Your business already has several thousand customers, a solid revenue stream, and an HR department with bandwidth to spare. Need Efficient Code? Look No Further Than PWAs What is a Progressive Web App, and what new options do they provide smart businesses? Wondering How to Find an App Developer? Finding the right technical partner can make or break your chances of turning a winning idea into a successful digital product. Just as in any development project, where there’s no one correct way to build an app, the perfect development team means different things to different businesses. Whoever you engage for your project, do your due diligence. Use These Tactics to Vett any Potential Technical Partner 1. Ask for some client references. Find out what the day-to-day experience of working with the developer(s) was like. 2. Ask about their QA and testing practice. If they describe acceptance testing or unit testing, that’s a good sign. 3. Make sure their English is excellent. This is one of those things where it feels like it shouldn’t make a big difference (you’re paying them to write code, after all, not English). But business leaders with extensive exposure to offshore teams consistently see how poor English correlates to poor development. Tags DevelopmentStaff AugmentationCross PlatformSupport Share Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Twitter Agile Software Development Why businesses need remote Agile teams & questions to ask before starting. Download Share Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Twitter Sign up for our monthly newsletter. Sign up for our monthly newsletter.