Even for experienced entrepreneur, building a web project can become challenging, let alone a young & novice businessman aiming to build their first website. You want to save time, money and effort so you can focus on your core business. This is where outsourcing can immensely help, if done right.
So What is Outsourcing Exactly?
Outsourcing is a term used when you contract work outside your business. It’s a business practice where one organisation hires another organisation to perform some tasks, operations, products or service.
The Challenge
Everything usually starts out perfect, as per the plan. You have a great vision for your website, you hire a seemingly amazing web development agency, and things work out well for you and your project. But eventually something starts to feel off and things that seemed so bright at the initial stage get more frustrating. Suddenly, totally amazing people become not-so-amazing and the fallout begins.
So how can you successfully outsource and find a great technology partner?
01. Do your research!
This will take days, if not weeks. Make your list of top 10-20 web development agencies. Check their credentials on LinkedIn. Read their Google Reviews, check their projects. See how appealing their own website is.
After this initial level of filtering, schedule to speak with each one of them. Now observe carefully how they manage you. Is there a streamlined process? Are you facing any challenges just to have a meeting with them? Were they on time to call? If you face communication challenges at this stage, there is a fair possibility that communication is going to be a real challenge during the project develpment lifecycle.
02. Do they Listen?
The Project revolves around your expectations, your priorities, your minimum viable product, your urgency to reach market. After an initial introduction, a legit firm will first LISTEN and give you the opportunity to express and elaborate what you want. And then they must be able to provide you with significant insights, which you should comprehend as value that they can bring.
03. Clear Outline of Scope
After the first call, they must have enough information to get back to you with a scope document. Don’t be mad if someone from the agency goes back and forth with you on the requirements, this is a good sign of their diligence. Do they walk you through the scope? Do they ensure both parties are on the same page?
Observe how good their document presentation is? How clear and simple is the literature? Do you see the effort they have put in to ensure the requirements are translated to make you understand the scope?
04. Estimates of Cost and Time
Estimation of the project is usually done using a method called Function Point Analysis. For example there are 3 tasks A, B and C. A and C will be done by a mid-level developer, but task B must be done by a senior resource. The time to get them done and cost will be derived based on this math. If the project is complex, it will require more senior engineers and so the cost may go up. Ask the agency, how the estimation has been done. They should be able to give a reasonable explanation.
05. Onboarding and Development Process
Ask about their onboarding and development process. How will the stages overlap between design and development. If they talk about userflow, Information Architecture, Call to Actions and design guide in the design phase, they are doing things the right way. Let them talk about their development practices. How do they check and ensure project quality? Understand how do they deploy the project LIVE, what security and performancee optimization they do. And see if they talk about admin training and post deployment support.
Surprisingly, communication is the biggest challenge when you outsource your project. If an agency understands what you want and brings in value and ideas from day 1, you have found your tech partner. A trustworthy tech partner will catalyze your growth, all these steps and research will be worth the time.
You have a project you would like to discuss, and see if we make it to your list?
You may also find good agencies specific to your needs. Example: