CHECKLIST OF

QUESTIONS TO ASK
YOUR POTENTIAL
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PARTNER
Brought to you by

Choosing the right software development company for your product is like hiring a team to build
your new house. Triple check the contractor that you will work with for the next few months, or
sometimes even years; and more importantly, may decide on your success or failure.

I failed with many digital products and worked with software development companies, marketing
agencies, and design agencies. This helped me figure out a bulletproof checklist to verify a
business partner with whom I work.

It cost me a lot of $$$ to get where I am - Use it to not repeat my mistakes :).

General Questions

How do you work? Tell me more about your process/approach to creating the
application.
Tip: Get a big picture of the approach.

How do we communicate during a project to know the PPP (progress, plans,

problems)?
Tip: There must be a mechanism/procedure that ensures you know what's going on in the project.
You must be updated at least on a bi-weekly basis. You NEED to know when things go wrong. Dig
deeper using the next question.

How do you ensure we know when things go wrong? Helper question: tell me
how you handled a project in the past that went wrong.
Tip: First, nobody wants to deliver bad news. Make sure they have a mechanism in place. Second,
nobody's perfect, so there must be a case that went wrong - listen to what they took out of it. Third:
no one likes surprises - the best is to be prepared for the challenges.

Brought to you by 1 of 3 www.brainhub.eu

 What do you expect from us and what should we expect from you during the
cooperation?
Tip: See what the roles are in the new-forming team. There's no one way to set it up, but it is good to
know what to expect. It’s great to know from the beginning what is the scope of responsibilities for
each party.



How do you try to deliver the product that will match our and our markets
expectations?
Tip: See how they work on figuring out what you really need.

What collaboration tools do you use during the project?

Tip: Tools are not that important; however, it's great if they use something other than email to
communicate fast and collaborate in a group (you + them + anyone interested in the project).

Will we use an instant communication system?

Tip: It is great to communicate often and ask questions just around the time they appear.

Will the developers assigned to my project work on any other project at the
same time?
Tip: It is way more efficient when a developer is committed to one project only.

Technical Questions

How do you ensure software quality?

Tip: Do they use, for example, peer code review or automated tests?

Will I own the source code?

Tip: Check the agreement.

Do you work on technical documentation?

Could you provide me profiles of developers with whom I will work?

Tip: They will be anonymized - with no personal/contact data.

How do you work? Tell me more about your process/approach of creating the
application.
Tip: Get a big picture of the approach.

Tell me how you will solve/build a....

Tip: Give an example of a tricky part of your app and ask the potential software development
partner how they will approach it.

Could you share with me your best practices for writing the code?
Tip: E.g. we have it written down as a handbook and use an ESLint company file.

Brought to you by 2 of 3 www.brainhub.eu

Business Questions

Why are you better than other software houses? What makes you special?
Tip: E.g. sometimes, it could be a PM or QA or Senior/Architect Mentoring.

How easy will it be to scale a team by 1/3/5 developers? How much time do
you need?
Tip: If you plan to scale the team, communicate it to the software development company ASAP.
Around 1-3 months should be enough to scale the team.

What is your pricing per Man-Day? What does it include?

Tip: E.g. sometimes, it could be a PM or QA or Senior/Architect Mentoring.

Have you done any project similar to mine, regarding the Industry/Techno-
logy/Product Features?

Could you provide any testimonials/references from your previous clients?

Tip: Check clutch.co, have a Skype call with one of the customers, check Facebook Reviews or simply
google it.

What is your experience working with Startups/SMBs/Enterprises?

Tip: Ask about the size of companies with whom they worked and ask to give you examples of
projects.

CLICK HERE CLICK HERE CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE CLICK HERE CLICK HERE

Type to enter text

Brought to you by 3 of 3 www.brainhub.eu