Have a great idea for a mobile startup but have the lack of technical skills and experience to fulfill the task? Have no worries! There are plenty of contractors ready to do all the development work for you. All you need is to choose the right team that is able to meet your expectations when building an award-winning product that will stand out.
As a rule, startups have three major ways including:
- Hiring an in-house development team;
- Opting for freelancers;
- Outsourcing mobile app development.
Mobile application development outsourcing is becoming more and more popular today. Dev contractors evolve and offer more guarantees in addition to Agile Method. Hiring an outsource based company is no longer a risky perspective. Every outsourcing app development company aims at meeting deadlines and delivering a high-quality end product in spite of its complexity.
Nevertheless, there is always a risk of failure in case of inappropriate approach. For this reason, we decided to have a closer look at how to outsource app development and how to choose the best executive for the project.
How to Define the Best Outsourcing Mobile App Development Services?
Everyone deserves to have a great team to hire. To say the truth, numerous development companies are able to deliver great service and meet the expectations of their customers. However, the process may easily break down due to inefficient approach and the lack of attention to some crucial stages of the development process. The lack of effective project management can also be a great deal.
For this reason, you might want to have some more guarantees, especially considering the outsource app development cost. Let’s imagine you’ve managed to hire the most talented and skillful contractor to build an award-winning app for you. There are plenty of things that may go wrong starting with poor relations and communication with the client as well as poor marketing research or promotion.
How to Hire a Trusted Dev Team?
Once you look for a trusted and reliable Android or iOS development outsourcing, you need to keep an eye on a combination of technical skills and advisory tools that will result in a total understanding of client’s goals and purposes. Otherwise, the project is doomed to failure. As a rule, traditional structure of the development process consists of the following stages:
- Exploration.
- Building the Scope.
- The Development Process.
- Testing.
- Deployment.
A trusted contractor is aimed to guide his or her client through every stage of the development process till the release of a new product. Keep in mind that every time you opt for iOS or Android development outsourcing, you hire not just a single coder or project manager. You hire a pool of experts that consists of designers, QA engineers, developers and other specialists who need to work as a team. So, how to pick the right team?
Choosing a Good Dev Contractor
Once you are ready to bring your idea of a perfect app to life, you can start looking for a developer. One will hardly have any shortage of offers online. Numerous companies offer their services at different rates. All you need is to pick the one that will build an app for you.
Of course, the best bet is to work with someone within your city or state for a more effective communication. However, it does not mean that offshore teams are unable to deliver the same level of efficiency. They can also do a good work and deliver a decent level of availability. Moreover, it will let you reduce the development costs.
This is one of the major benefits of outsourcing mobile app development, especially when considering a limited budget. You can use various sources to find a good team:
- Ask people around in your private circle;
- Use search engines to find developers by a ZIP code or other parameters;
- Use sources like Upwork where you can post your offer;
- Simply surf the net.
Now you need to make up a list of several candidates that suit you the most. Pick your candidates depending on the purposes and goals. If you need to develop an iOS application, choose only companies that are specialized in iOS development relatively. Compare and contrast them, check the reputation on the web, look for reviews and testimonials from previous clients.
All those actions should be taken in order to answer the following questions:
- Do they really communicate? Good communication is vital for the development process. Its lack will certainly result in project failure. Make sure your candidate is able to explain every step of the development process making it clear what methods and technologies he or she will implement, how long it will take and how much you need to pay.
- Are they aware of their stuff? None of the company will guarantee 100% success even if we speak of the biggest names in the industry. However, you can still feel relatively safe with a chosen developer in case he or she knows the stuff. Feel free to conduct an interview to find out if they have already had similar projects. Ask them to show some examples or portfolio.
- Are they able to ship promptly? Meeting the deadlines is crucial for any startup. Every slightest delay may result in extra costs. A few companies can really afford it. For this reason, you need to be absolutely sure a team will meet the deadlines.
These are the major questions you need to answer when choosing a development team for your project.
Defining the App Scope
Finally, you have found a candidate that seems to be reliable enough and able to handle the project. Congratulations! It is high time you started scoping your application with a round of discovery. This is where you have the last chance to surface all the details with a contractor and speak about what you actually want to build. The success of the entire project depends on the discovery phase.
During this phase, you will define the key features, purposes, and goals of the app together with your developer. Make sure you clearly understand each other at this stage. If not, the project is nothing but a waste of time and money. Discover phase is not only discovering the application.
It is also about discovering each other (you and contractor). It is a great chance to realize if a developer really meets your needs. Not only a contractor should be a good executive, but you are also supposed to be a good client. So, make sure you have prepared the following:
- A detailed and clear description of how your app should look like. You will never be able to explain to a developer what you want if you do not actually know what you want.
- A list of fundamental features for your future app. It should include essentials only. Do not overload the list with secondary options.
- A list of extras. Here you can conduct another list of additional feature you would be glad to see in your app. At this stage, you can work together with your developer and think of some beneficiary extras, as your contractor probably has more experience to offer some useful functions.
- Show examples. The best bet is to find a similar app that already exists in the marketplace and show it to your developer. You can come up with several samples at the same time. The more the better.
Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a Contractor
With so many offers on the web, choosing the right dev team can be daunting. This is why many startups make common mistakes when hiring outsource contractors. Here is the list of common wrong steps you need to avoid:
Mistake #1: Being Afraid to Work with Developers From Another Time-Zone
It is the common mistake most of startups do – they think that the time difference is to the detriment of the development process. Well, it is not. With so many tools and instruments that let us keep in touch on a 24-hour basis, time zone difference is no longer an issue. All you need to do is just to come up with a fixed schedule in order to keep in touch with the development team whenever possible. Setting a fixed schedule will ensure team staying online together with you at the same time to provide a feedback.
For this reason, a proper organization of a communication process is necessary. You need to come up with a fixed schedule in order to keep in touch with the development team whenever possible. Indicating a fixed schedule in the contract will ensure team reps staying online together with you at the same time to provide a feedback.
Mistake #2: Functional Tests for the End User
Performing functional tests in end user’s environment is vital in case you want to ensure your product works well. Sometimes outsources opt for different use cases when simulating or hard-coding your future application. It may result in serious problems when delivering a final product to the target audience.
For example, you want to build a GPS-based mobile service and hire and outsource development team from overseas. It means that your GPS-based app has never been tested in locations it was actually designed for. A good solution to this problem can be found in various simulators and VPNs as well as other tools for A/B testing. Never make your users pay for your bugs.
Mistake #3: Companies Behind the Trends
UI/UX is the essential stage of the development process. When you hire an outsource contractor, you need to be 100% sure that the team knows the best practices. Make sure your future developers follow the latest tech trends that refer to your particular region. You may come across the best and most skillful coder who works abroad.
However, he or she will never be able to build an appropriate product if it is mainly focused on users who live in a freelancer’s area. Imagine that you hire a dev team from UAE. Most users there are not used to reading from left to right. It can result in numerous problems as well as take your app away from what it should be for your particular target audience. The solution is to find UI/UX specialists who have already coped with projects similar to yours.
Mistake #4: Poor Project Management
Proper communication is of top priority. This is why you will need an efficient project management. Make sure a chosen team has an efficient communication system in addition to strong project management. Consider language barrier and other obstacles that can make your communication more complex.
The Cost of App Development Outsourcing
Here we are at the final phase of our tutorial on how to find a good developer. The price is the major concern for any startup with no exception. It seems like they all have a limited budget. Luckily, outsourcing provides much more financial opportunities if compared with local or in-house development teams.
The cost will depend on the region of your contractor. It also depends on the app complexity and platform you are aiming. For example, when it comes to iOS development, the average rates are as follows (according to the region):
- The USA – from $150 per hour;
- Australia – from $110 per hour;
- The UK – from $70 per hour;
- Eastern Europe – from $35 per hour;
- India – from $20 per hour.
If you need to build an Android app, you should be prepared for the following rates:
- The USA – from $170 per hour;
- Australia – from $110 per hour;
- The UK – from $70 per hour;
- Eastern Europe – from $40 per hour;
- India – from $25 per hour.
Now you know how to pick a trusted developer for your mobile project. If you do not want to waste your time while browsing the web and looking for a perfect contractor, feel free to get in touch with us. We boast enormous experience in the field of app development and have successfully completed different projects by the deadline. Contact us to discover and discuss your future project!