After making the decision to create an iPhone application, the next biggest decision you will have to make is who do I trust to do the work? Picking the right team to develop your application is certainly a daunting task, but perhaps the following questions will help steer you in the right direction:
-
Questions about their business:
-
How long has the company been developing applications as an outsourcing vendor?
-
In what areas does the company have expertise?
-
What is the current financial condition of the company?
-
-
Questions about their security:
-
How do you safeguard customer data and intellectual property?
-
Do you outsource any of the provided services?
-
-
Questions about their process:
-
Do you have a well structured process?
-
Are there additional fees for bug fixes?
-
What experience do you have in our industry?
-
How does your company communicate with its customers?
-
The above are just a fraction of good questions to ask, but they are very valuable in the selection process. Starting with the their business, understanding how long they have been in business and what are their areas of expertise can quickly eliminate companies from your list of potential vendors. An often overlooked question is about the financial state of the company. While this may seem like a very private question, you have to make sure the company you hire is going to be around for quite some time after the application is developed. You will want to have the possibility of reaching out to the vendor to make further revisions and updates to your application.
Security will always be a very important topic when hiring an outside vendor. If your application has any form of possible monetization, or important intellectual property has to be handed to the vendor in order for them to complete the project, you will need to make sure you can trust who you are dealing with. If the company does exercise outsourcing of their own then additional considerations must be made, because there are additional chances for an issue to arise. On a side note, having sections of the contract come with penalizations if important information gets leaked is something which should be discussed with your lawyer to make sure you are covered.
Lastly, understanding their process is extremely important for you to make a well informed decision. The ultimate goal would be to have a company which is very well structured, with checks and balances on all of their steps, making sure the end result is exactly what you were looking for. Don’t underestimate how important communication between the two companies can be, because poor communication can single handedly slow down the entire development cycle if not managed correctly.
Make sure when you are vetting a list of potential iPhone app development companies, you do your research. Don’t be afraid to ask questions so you can make the most informed decision possible. A great company worthy of your consideration would have to be Focaloid.
