Improve Quality : Service providers should be happy that the customers are involved and are enthusiastic about the project. Encourage users to ask questions if you really are keen on quality improvement.
Whether service providers like it or not recipients should cultivate a habit of asking questions. It is the source of knowledge, growth, and opportunity.
Are you asking enough questions?
OR
Are you worried of framing them right?
If you are afraid of asking questions even then let me assure you your fear has absolutely no capacity to resolve the queries.
What should you ask your development partner?
Business Aspects
How much experience do you have?
Experience affects the work pattern and decision making. Quick thinking, problem solving, and the use of multiple technologies is the least you can expect from an experienced development partner.
What level of companies have you worked with?
To know whether they can fit in the culture of your company temporarily, go ahead and check the size of companies they have worked with. Their involvement with various people having varied skills to improve quality of requirement documentation and analysis is necessary.
Which industries have you worked with?
Industry specific knowhow helps in experimenting and innovating. It gives advantage on understanding market, customer needs, industry specific terminology, and the way software should function.
Have you received any awards and recognition’s?
If you are hiring a technology expert to develop software for a niche area then it is eminent that they have thorough knowledge of it. Other than that, the awards and recognitions have no direct impact on hiring experts. Another way round is to check for the testimonials of previous clients on how they worked to improve quality of software.
How developing this application can benefit my organization?
A well developed product helps to improve quality of work within the organization. Investing in a quality product is like investing for peace of mind, it lets you focus on your business.
Do you understand our business?
No matter how common or rare your requirement for application is, understanding of business changes the perspective and prospective. Give a walkthrough on what you exactly deal in, how you take care of your customers, and how you offer those services.
Will it improve the quality of business processes?
Prominent growth in business relies on how well-woven are the business processes yet don’t entangle. Keep a check on how your development partner plans to improve quality of these processes.
On basis of budget and time, what will this development demand?
Get acceptance from the development team on the budget required and time involved. If the project needs more time or money to be invested, the decision can purely be on actual requirement basis. Improve quality not the quantity of work this will on its own handle the budget.
Will you be able to meet the timelines?
The number of resources, skilled developers, and the latest technologies enable creation of powerful software. Managing timelines is altogether a different skill.
How will it improve quality of customer experience?
The purpose of creating new software is to deliver a better customer experience. When we improve quality automatically, it will raise user satisfaction.
How do you plan to manage your skilled resources on our and other existing projects on hand?
Whether an internal team of developers or appointment of external ones, you still need to know how they are going to manage multiple projects.
What is Plan B in case of project failure?
If things don’t go according to the plan, don’t wait for the project to fail and then intervene. Continuous monitoring by project owners and management at all different phase levels ensures the success or at least minimizes damage.
Software Development Aspects:
Have you developed similar applications prior to this?
Check their portfolio, the type of functionalities they have worked on, and variety of solutions they are capable to propose. We cannot escape from problems of building similar software existing in the market but can develop the ability to add unique features.
What is your development process, how will it improve quality of our product?
The steps involved in the development process, the design, and implementation strategy is what you can confirm. Organized work, setting priorities, managing activities, shall bring clarity. Planning is the secret of getting ahead in the direction determined.
Are you aware of the problem areas that need attention?
Over thinking about the fear, will not help but not thinking is going to be even worse. Ask your service provider as well as your team to document the problem areas. Solving problems efficiently should not spike your budget.
What contribution do you need from us?
To address the availability of team members whose presence is a must in the project, ask this question.
What tools of communication do you use while on projects?
Communication is a key to success, irrespective of the tool its advancement matters. Fast and meaningful communication with clear intention hits the target.
How will your process reduce dependencies, risks, and improve quality of applications?
If you have any existing, application and rewriting or it is a new product, it should demonstrate reduced risks and dependencies of manual and technological nature. These factors drastically improve quality and performance of applications.
Continuous availability of the application is our prime requirement; can you design a lightweight application?
Considerably lightweight application and uninterrupted access is the demand of market and users. Find out exactly how it will be lightweight without affecting the availability of features.
What is your vision to create a unique design to improve quality of application?
We all need exclusive apps, ultimately all businesses face immense pressure of competition. Every brand or even a small company tries to be noticeable. Currently, that opportunity is via launching a simple application that is user friendly and serves the purpose.
What kind of assurance can you give to improve quality and internal customer’s experience?
Internal customers, our workforce is equally important as our external customers. Management is aware of the fact that a satisfied workforce creates service history worth remembering. Reducing the workload and helping them achieve their goals is what they expect out of new software.
What about the availability of after development support for applications?
You may need support initially to tackle the newly cropped issues no matter how tested the released software is.
Technical Aspects:
Programming Languages used?
Confirm the use of best suitable programming languages for your product.
Are Database Structures right?
If you have an in house technical team, they will be aware of the need to create efficient data structures. Emphasize on good data structures and algorithms, as they are the core of programming.
How are you taking care of the database security?
Creating an application with tight data security is good for the users and organization both. We cannot afford to risk the user’s personal and financial data. At an organizational level, the cyber attack is a huge concern. Achieve greater security by adding authentication at various levels.
Who will have control over codes?
Storing and maintaining codes are a must for better version control. The tested codes should be stored safely.
Will it be Cross-Platform Software?
The software should run on multiple platforms such as Windows, Mac, Linux, etc. This saves costs, time, and efforts of writing code again and going through the software development process again.
What all costs are included in this project?
Costs of design, development, estimation, resources, consultation, project management, and licenses.
By asking some right questions, you will build a right product. Create a work environment where people can come up with new questions without hesitation. No, you will not be able to create a foolproof plan. You discover new things, make stronger strategies, and build reliable systems only if you are asking enough questions.
Confidentiality clauses including the design of applications are beneficial for business but remember knowledge has no boundaries. Elevate expectations and help your software development team to build applications that improve quality of service.
