Compare it with a car. It seems simple: one person builds the wheels, another the chassis, a third the body. A week before the deadline you put it all together and you have a car. Software is often approached the same way, with every part built separately. Then, just before delivery, you find that the bolts are missing, the axles do not fit, or the car simply does not drive. By then the money is spent and the deadline has arrived.
Build the version that drives first
The intuitive approach is to build everything in parallel. It usually ends with no working result on the day it is due. The better way is to look at the whole, decide what you need at a minimum, and put that in order of priority. For the car: a chassis with four wheels, a seat, a steering wheel and a brake. No body or lights yet, but something that drives. From there you keep improving a working version.
That is harder with software than it sounds, because what counts as a working version? The client often finds everything important. Not everything fits, so choices have to be made, and made carefully. That is what we steer on at Enigmatry.
Make sure people can use it
It goes without saying that software built for you has to work. Just as important, and easier to overlook, is that people can use it. The developer is not the user, you are. So keep testing during the project, so you see early whether it is easy to use, and ask for changes while they are still cheap.
Ask about support before you start
Sometimes a product exists but its market is so small that the maker stops supporting or developing it. Software also stops complying with the law. The privacy legislation forced many standard packages to be rebuilt or adapted. A large supplier abroad with ten European customers may not care, and then you need an alternative. Market conditions and legislation regularly make a package unsuitable overnight.
So discuss at the start how support works and what you can expect. Maintenance is part of the start of a project, not something to sort out after delivery. At Enigmatry it is on the table from the first conversation: do you have programmers who can support the software, or do we run it? The programming language is chosen to fit you. If there is no preference, we choose the technology we have in house.
Keep it secure, and keep doing so
The last thing you want is company data on the street. Attackers keep adapting, and once a security hole is fixed in a new release, everyone knows where the weak spot was. Security is therefore continuous work. Stopping makes you easier prey.
That is why we offer management and maintenance after go-live: you keep receiving updates and patches, we can run the software we built, or your own programmers maintain it. With a maintenance contract, updates are made, the software stays current and you can call us about problems.
Look for a match
In the end you are looking for a party that suits you: in technology, in how they look at software, and in size. A three-person start-up and a software company with five thousand staff are not a match. A multinational with a project for two thousand programmers and Enigmatry are not a match either.
Size, language, culture, technology and way of working have to fit if you want to do a good project together. Money matters, but the cheapest offer is not necessarily the best one. What counts is the value you get for your investment and the risk that comes with it. You should end up satisfied and feeling you got the most out of it. Find a party that gives you that feeling, and ask good questions to find out.
Curious about what we have built? See EBO Traffic, WeAuction and Pameijer, or read how custom software development works.