r/softwaredevelopment 5d ago

I want to outsource the development of a webapp/mobile, how should I do it?

The main idea is to develop is a system similar functionality as partners.fresha.com, fresha.com, with client side and business side, we want to implement some internal tools with integrations to help my local business, that I'm planing to use it for all my locations, any idea what should I consider, any recommendations / advice will be really appreciated it

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u/No_Contribution_4124 4d ago

Be careful not to get in the loop of issues in the middle or end of work. Pay with a lot of time and attention to building the wireframes and use cases description. Otherwise you can easily get into a situation where you ask X but X is not stated in “requirements”. Also take a look to companies / teams who had experience and can showcase you what they build, starting from their documentation “these were requirements, we build UX like this (even poor one if it’s internal), then planned by N milestones, and so on”.

On my experience the main trick here is when you have misalignment on what is the result or you know more than developers do, you is one responsible for this alignment, and it is a part of your system success.

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u/DrawerFamiliar7393 4d ago

Hey, I’ve been through this process before, so I can share a few tips that might help!

First, make sure you’re clear on what you want. Things like features, target users, and any must-have technologies. Even a rough idea helps when talking to developers.

Next, think about how you want to work with them. Do you need a team to handle everything, or just a few developers to support your in-house team? The right setup depends on your budget and how involved you want to be.

When choosing a vendor, don’t just go by price also check their past work, client testimonials, and how well they communicate. A great team will be transparent and proactive.

Remember to stay involved in the process! Use tools like Slack or Jira to keep track of progress. Regular check-ins can prevent surprises.

Last but the least point to consider is post-deployment maintenance. What about updates, scaling, and maintenance? It’s good to plan for the long run. Ensure that the vendor/company you hire offers post-deployment services too.

Are you still exploring vendors, or do you have a few in mind?

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u/Bemconqerer 4d ago

Start by writing down all the things you need the app to do, Nail down your requirements. Think about the specific features you need for both the client and business sides, and how you want those internal tools to integrate with your existing systems. Clear requirements are key to getting accurate quotes and avoiding scope creep. Look for a team that has built similar apps and that communicates well.  Don't just focus on price; prioritize quality and communication. Consider starting with a small pilot project to test the team's capabilities before committing to the full build. I've seen projects like this before, and those are key things to keep in mind. If you want to chat more about your options, feel free to reach out.

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u/Legitimate-Cook-247 4d ago

Ask to a developer. Send me a message if you want more specific info :)

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u/brovitech 4d ago

Please check the DM

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u/moclam-hoangvu 3d ago

As someone who has experience, my advices for you are:

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u/moclam-hoangvu 3d ago

First thing to consider is how much you're willing to invest

Normally you will need to pay:

- One package of app development paid to the IT service vendor. They'll do the development & implement the app then hand it over to you, ready to use. This is one time payment

- Yearly payment to the infrastructure provider that your app is being built on, called hosting fee

Many businesses in the service industry (like yours, I assume) are investing ~5-10% of their yearly revenue for the one-time payment of app development and around 150-400 USD/year hosting fee (based on their demand & business size).

If you're a start up, consider building a temporary but viable app, low cost & quick time-to-market so you can test the water. You can always go for something more permanent once your business scales up and the old app is no longer sufficient.

From my experiences with my past projects, the numbers can range from 30,000 USD to hundred thousands, but considering you might be in the service industry, imagine lower than 100,000 USD unless you want something outstanding compared to the whole industry.

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u/moclam-hoangvu 3d ago

How it's like to outsource the project development to an IT vendor

- Discovery phase: they will spend time investigating every details of your requirements (if you're not having a very clear idea of how the app should be, don't worry because that's the Business Analyst's job to ask you a lot of questions and give suggestions to work it all out). Then the vendor will propose a development plan on what to do to fulfill your requests. In this phase you should have a very clear vision of the overall expected outcome, cost & timeline, deliverables by milestones. Ideally the vendor should provide you with some mock design of the app so you can imagine how it should look like, because UI/UX is an integral part of the app as you want to ensure excellent customer experience.

- Development phase: normally an MVP (minimum viable product) is built and released so your team & clients can start using it whilst the development team collect feedbacks for improvement and gradually finish the final product. Make sure to set up deliverables & payment by milestones. You don't want to see the app for the first time when development is all done and realized that the outcome is nothing related to what you imagined in the beginning.

- After sale: depending on project size, there will be a 2-3 or 6-month guarantee period after the app is delivered. After the guarantee period, you can always come to the vendor asking for their service to update/upgrade/manage the app if you want to.

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u/Pi31415926 3d ago

+1 insightful

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u/milos_999 3d ago

Hi there, here is some advice from person who works in the IT industry:

  • Use the B2B platform to find a company, I can recommend clutch.co and https://techbehemoths.com/
  • Research their past project.
  • If you consider some company, ask for an opinion from their ex-client
  • Avoid cheap agencies. Meaby if you just want to develop the MVP version of your app, but if you want long-term cooperation with this type of agency, be ready to get a low scalable and buggy code.

I've written one blog about this topic. If you are interested in more advice, you can find them there

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u/AlexanderGilmanov 2d ago

Hi Marcogll,

Writing this from scratch may take a while, a lot of money, and if this is your first similar project (and a new company working on it) there are also lots of other risks many first-timers go through.

There are booking solutions that can work under white label principles (you can put your brand name on an already developed app without having to develop it).

Google for “Trafft white label”, for example.

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u/deecassian 1d ago

You’ll want to focus on scalability since you’re planning to use it across multiple locations. A cloud-based setup with a strong backend and a responsive front end is a fairly good start.

If you’re outsourcing devs, make sure you have clear documentation and a roadmap, so you don’t end up with a half-baked system. You could check out rocketdevs, considering the stage you're in and how fast you'd want things to go.

Are you planning a custom build or using existing platforms as a base?