General mistakes clients make when going for an outsource mobile development agency
So given our previous information, here are summarized, several errors mobile development agencies make, alongside some made by the customers. We’ll present next all the details so you can be more aware from now on and actually end up with the best results.
1. Choosing Price over Quality
One of the biggest traps that people fall into sooner or later is a false notion that cheap work equals a possible quality result. Even though a low-cost company may not always be a bad one, we can assure you that most of the high-priced ones deserve their revenue based on their experience.
2. Failing to check their portfolio
Remember what we’ve told you a few lines above about checking their work? You should definitely do that! Don’t hire the first company that comes your way, instead, you need to do a background check, verify their experience, their knowledge of the market, look at their rate of success, all these criteria because with experience comes accountability and security. So go over their previous work to check if they are capable of successfully building your mobile app.
3. Failure to communicate
Needless to say that if both you and the agency that you eventually hire, are not on the same page, the result will be faulty. Imagine asking them questions about the product and them replying with a big delay, or them contacting you and you responding very late. You can already visualize the outcome. Outsourcing mobile app development works through plenty of people, that’s why it’s extremely important to maintain clear communication between each other from the beginning.
4. Failure to set deadlines
Choose a timeframe that suits both of you, that’s realistic, practical, and fair, then communicate it clearly. This act will make things run smoothly and allow everyone to work within the timeline. If you’re working with someone from abroad, you also need to take into consideration the gap in different time zones. It might not seem like an important detail at first, but imagine needing to honor a deadline that’s doomed to overpass due to the difference in time zones. So be careful!
5. Failure to get the source code
The source code is created by the mobile app development agency but you need to own it too after the whole project is done. If you fail to do so, you’ll constantly have to go back to the agency and negotiate, financially most likely, every update or edit you want to make on your app. Wouldn’t that be extremely unfair and annoying for you? Just make sure to obtain that source code!
Why mobile application development project actually fails?
Over 1.000 mobile apps are uploaded daily to the Apple App Store and 9 out of 10 fail. So what could make your app unsuccessful and fail? Here are several reasons:
- Process failures — the app doesn’t get past the design stage and it’s never coded into an actual app; the app requires a re-design after coding has started; it requires a re-coding after the app was launched
- Design and development failures — the app has poor user ratings after launching; technical difficulties make it undesirable as well
- Not honoring deadlines and budgets — the app goes over the settled budget and/or deadlines.
How to actually find a mobile app developer?
There are several options when building an app. These are the following ones: if you’re a company, you can hire an employee on your payroll as in-house product development, or use an outsourced product development where you can either hire a programming agency to work on a contract, a freelancer, or another specialized person, the last 3 options being hired as a third-party.
In-house product development vs. Outsourced product development
In-house refers to conducting an activity or operation within a company, instead of relying on outsourcing. A firm uses its own employees and time to keep a division or business activity, in-house.
The main advantages and disadvantages when using an in-house activity are the following:
- The essential advantages are, complete control over product commitment and delivery since you can use your whole team to work at full power in the same direction, this leading us to another possible advantage, namely the capability to perfect yourself to differentiate from the competition.
- The main disadvantages are the indispensable need to possess good management and organizing skills because of the struggle to unfailingly balance an inconsistent income for your rent, for employees with different salaries, and other weekly/monthly costs, and lastly an overwhelming and time-consuming process of managing the company.
If you’re here as a developer yourself, you should definitely check Forbes’ “13 Mistakes To Avoid When Developing An App”, it has some very specific and proper points for you to follow.
Outsourced product development (OPD) is a practice in which an organization hires a third-party provider for the development of products and services in a variety of fields , and even idea generation. OPD success depends on finely integrated strategic planning, communication, collaboration, management, and specialized resources.
Contract Developer vs. Freelance Developer
As I said a little bit earlier, there are 3 main roads to outsourcing your development, specifically, a contractual development agency, a freelance developer or simply hiring a specific person who possesses the skills you require for the job.
Choosing an additional person with the required skillset
Starting with the last one on the list, this decision applies to the companies that lack a specific item in their project, like development, design, or management. Therefore they contractually hire someone with the required skillset for the job, to take care of that specific part of the project.
Choosing a Contractual Development Agency
A development company has its own staff who will take care of everything you require and will bring you the app in its final form. Although it may be more expensive than a freelancer, the chances of your project going south are exponentially lower because they vouch with their experience, therefore their capabilities. So the whole project is actually very straightforward with them.
Choosing a Freelance Developer
Choosing a freelancer works if you are willing and able to get involved as well. You need to know exactly what kind of help you need for your project and constantly manage and direct the one you hire. Their possible lack of experience will make them turn back to you for every problem they’ll have. So, overall it will be a time-consuming procedure where you’ll have to constantly stay in touch and oversee their own development on the project. Not to mention you need to pay close attention when hiring them, on their aptitudes, their programming skills, negotiate a contract, make an offer, and a detailed plan about your app’s idea. If you don’t possess the time and capability to supervise them, the whole freelancer idea might not be very suitable for you.
