Level 1: Cheap, Cheaper, Cheapest
Disappearing Developers
Freelancers, online contracts, foreign sweatshops and other developers-on-demand represent one end of
the spectrum. They often work extremely cheaply and promise to release your product in record time.
I have nothing against freelancers, but strange outsourcers defame the very principle. I’ve seen
freelancers simply disappear many times before. Say you’re unable to contact someone by either Skype,
email or phone. This is a serious problem if you have a deadline set and have already made a decent
advance. You might think I’m exaggerating, but this happens all the time. Maybe a member of your remote
team has a case to study or work to do, but such delays threaten your business. However, outsourcing can
sometimes be quite valuable. Read more about common outsourcing pitfalls and find
out when it might be beneficial for you.
Unreliable Development Companies
Another problem arises with development firms charging $5-10 per hour. Usually these are companies
located abroad, in which the code is held together with glue, struts and low-paid work. How can you
develop programs for five dollars per hour? The answer is: you must be a real beginner in development.
They hire recent college graduates and pay them $200-500 a month. These unqualified developers work on
dozens of projects simultaneously and often combine the code of different applications, creating
Frankencode. Read how to check code quality like a pro.
Security, performance, code quality and scalability are all thrown out. What you’ll get is a bad
product, corresponding to its cost.
Level 2: Full-Cycle Outsourcing
Hybrid Agencies, Brokerage Firms and Semi-Developers
Many hybrid companies have their own project managers and look like full-service professional companies,
but offer work via outsourcing to freelancers and cheap contractors. This model is becoming more
prevalent in the technical community, where "expert" firms and consultants simply pretend to have their
own development teams.
The hybrid model poses the same problems as hiring a freelancer: the risk of a programmer's
disappearance, poor quality, broken deadlines, unreliability and a host of other obstacles. It's good to
have your own project manager, but if they’re just an intermediary between you and a foreign company,
your situation is no better than if you’d hired the foreign firm yourself.
Working with a design agency that lacks professional programming skills is also no route to success.
This puts the whole project at risk.
What’s at Stake with Budget Cuts
I can say with certainty that no application from the top 100 was created by a small development
company, design agency or foreign contractor. Today's market sets high standards that these players
can’t match. I'm not saying this is good or bad - it's just the reality of it.
It's disappointing to hear from people who’ve invested 10-15 thousand dollars in creating a small
application and received a terrible product. Sometimes it’s even worse - intermediary firms with offices
in Australia, Europe or North America receive 50-60 thousand dollars for the work and give their client
spaghetti code.
Before we discuss what you should look for in a development company, let's look at what’s at stake when
you choose the cheapest option:
The product has a poor design. It looks cheap and unpredictable. Users don’t trust the
interface, so they don’t download the application and don’t spend their money on it.
The creators miss every deadline. Nothing is finished on time. Opportunities are lost,
profits decrease.
The low price increases due to constant requests for change. In the absence of a clear
workload and detailed task, each altered function (and the elements that should have been
there originally) is marked as a change request. Some companies even build their business
model by increasing the contract value by 200% for so-called "add-ons".
The application can’t be scaled. New users overload the system. The best growth scenario
becomes a hindrance when the product encounters growing traffic.
Poor quality. No testing is carried out and no one checks performance and security. User
data is at risk and your source code may be publicly available at any time.
Another developer can’t use your code. Even if you contact a reliable company, they will
have to start again. This is comparable building a house on a collapsing foundation and
rotten beams.
Yet when planning development with a professional team you can still cut mobile app development costs by
up to 50%. Check out our webinar
recording to
learn how. If you want to discuss your project or ask questions about the topic covered in the webinar,
contact our business consultant James.
Level 3 - Full-Cycle Professional Development
Fee for the best talents
Smart and skilled engineers are interested in solving problems. They are incredibly valuable. And given
the demand for the best talents, will they work for five dollars per hour? No, they won’t.
Professional firms pay big money for these people, and with hundreds of projects under their belts they
can find them, hiring and retaining the best in business.
Talented developers and designers create scalable systems. They raise the bar. They create memorable
interfaces. Why do Google and Facebook spend so much money on their teams? They know the value of
critical thinking and creative problem-solving.
Warning to the Buyer: What to Look for and What to Ask
Before signing a contract and transferring money, there are a few steps you need to take to get the best
product for your money.
Check Social Networks and Ratings
The company can claim that it has offices around the world and 300 developers in your state, but check
how many people with these profiles work at this firm, for example, on LinkedIn. If you find only one
employee, it’s a huge red flag.
Ratings and reviews on such websites as Clutch.com are also highly valuable when trying to find your
dream team. For example, our UK team received recognition for being home to one of the country’s top
software developers and was also featured on Clutch in the following categories:
- Top UK App Developers
- Top UK Android App Developers
- Top iPhone App Developers in the UK
- Top Internet-of-Things Developers in the UK
They also recently released their research into
Top Russian App
Developers
and we’re excited to be ranked so highly on it too.
Clients
Talk to the project manager
You should be able to talk with the person who will represent you before the project is completed. Ask
them the following:
- Who will develop your app? What experience do they have?
- To whom do they report?
- Are the employees working full-time?
- How often will we be in contact? How will the daily or weekly meetings take place?
Don’t Just Talk About Code
Ask about testing, code reviews, security protocols and intellectual property protection. Read
another article that can
help entrepreneurs without technical know-how
work more confidently with a development team.
Look for Additional Costs
Ask how change requests are paid for. What do the changes imply? How much do they cost? What’s
included? What happens when there are disagreements?
Development is changing fast. This industry often baffles people with no background in code. Don’t let
this hold you back from asking questions and doing research. Contact our consultant to discuss any
technical and cost issues related to your project.
