Start with the Right Custom Software Projects When Working with a Partner

Is your internal IT team unable to meet demand for the innovative software your company needs to grow? One solution is to partner with a software development firm.

You may be cautious about working with an external team, especially if you have never partnered with a software developer in the past. Your partner must adhere to deadlines, stay within a budget and meet business objectives to ensure the success of your software development agreement.

The key to building a relationship with your custom software solutionsprovider is to begin with a very direct project. By learning to define and choose projects with a high chance of success, you and your partner are able to collaborate on a realistic goal at the beginning of an engagement.

The Advantages Of Beginning With Easy Projects

You and your software development firm have a shared goal for your first project: You want to create technology that meets your company’s needs without going through an overly painful development process.

There are a number of benefits to beginning with a straightforward project, including:

  • Less pressure and reliance on internal resources

  • The opportunity to better align development processes and build rapport

  • An improved chance of building successful software

  • Lower risk for your company and for your partner

Defining Projects With A High Chance Of Success

The easiest projects to work on are those that have a high chance of success. You and your custom software solutions provider should begin with projects that have clear, established business objectives. Avoid tight and immediate deadlines, but look for projects that will be impactful to your business and have immediate results. Also, prioritize projects that you are confident your business stakeholders are more excited about working on.

Once you have chosen the right projects, you then need to make sure your partner is set up for success. Make sure you clarify the process and set expectations. Your internal team should collaborate on developing a workflow strategy with your partner to ensure the project runs smoothly. Also, you need to be willing to transfer control of a project to your developer so they maintain ownership of deliverables. Micromanaging your partner and overly controlling the process is likely to backfire and diminish your chances of success.

Taking Action After A Software Project’s Completion

If you are the decision-maker at your company, you need to know what steps you should take when a software project is complete. Keep in mind that your initial project is likely to be more difficult than those that follow. However, don’t let this discourage you.

The first software development projects with a new partner won’t be perfect. It’s important to keep in mind that the purpose of these projects is also to learn as much as possible and adjust your strategy for future engagements. During the process, you discover what type of software you actually need, how to work together with your partner and how to make necessary changes for next time.

Successful partnerships are often forged when both teams evaluate mistakes together and take a collaborative approach toward fixing problems. Expect your next custom software project to proceed better than the first one. Building a strong partnership with a software development firm will enable you to successfully deliver the software solutions your business needs to innovate and compete in today’s marketplace.

This was originally posted on smallfootprint.com.