The market for software development houses (SDHs) is brimming with solution providers vying to become the best in the industry. The competition is tough, so SDHs use innovative approaches to product development, creativity and top-notch skills to help them get noticed. Software development companies mainly design and build custom software solutions for a specific set of users, functions or organizations. When choosing an outsourcing partner like SDH, you should think not only about technical aspects and development methodology but also some soft elements of collaboration. As one of our clients, Myron Weber the CEO at Northwood Advisors stated:
I look for 5 key things in the right software development partner: great programmers, consistent quality, excellent value, a responsive management team, and fun experience.
In this BP, we’ll explore:
The key attributes to evaluate when selecting an SDH, supported by actionable tips and real-world insights.
Key Takeaways
High-Quality Code Is Essential for Success: A top software development house ensures the delivery of clean, maintainable, and well-documented code supported by practices like automated testing, peer reviews, and test-driven development. This not only builds client trust but also guarantees timely, bug-free delivery of projects.
Trustful Communication Drives Collaboration: Direct and transparent communication between clients and developers minimizes misunderstandings, improves engagement, and fosters mutual trust. Speaking directly with developers rather than intermediaries is a key differentiator for successful partnerships.
Agility and Flexibility Enhance Value Delivery: Agile methodologies, such as Scrum or Kanban, enable continuous delivery, adaptability to changes, and close client collaboration. A flexible SDH can scale teams quickly, adopt new technologies, and proactively offer tailored solutions, ensuring projects meet evolving needs and deliver maximum value.
Delivering High-Quality Code
High-quality code is the cornerstone of any successful software project. Whether you’re outsourcing to speed up development, gain specific skills, or build an application from scratch, the delivered code must meet high standards.
It is a no-brainer that if the development team delivers high-quality code, gaining client’s trust and satisfaction more and more companies will be interested in working with them. Because of the huge number of software houses, it is easy to find those lacking experience and writing poor code. With software development outsourcing you usually want to speed up your projects, gain specific skills, scale the team, add new features or just build the application form scratch. In all the cases you expect the code will be delivered on time, have the least bugs possible and be written clearly. The code quality should be guaranteed by automated tests and peer reviews.
What to Look For:
Code Standards: Clean, maintainable, and well-documented code.
Testing Processes: Automated tests, test-driven development (TDD), and peer reviews.
Experience: Proven expertise in handling similar projects.
Pro Tip: Arrange a technical assessment to evaluate the team’s capabilities. For instance, organize a pair-programming session or review sample code.
Client Insight: Piet Neirinck, founder of 9TEAMS, emphasizes:
A company that invests in heavy testing practices can boost code quality to the highest standards.
Look for SDHs that incorporate practices like pair-programming to address complex challenges.
Trustful Communication
Effective communication is often the deciding factor in outsourcing success. Misunderstandings and setbacks can derail a project if communication isn’t transparent and consistent.
Almost every article about outsourcing says that communication is the key to outsourcing success. If you communicate well, there is no space for misunderstandings, setbacks and failures. It is super important for the developers to stay in touch with the client, constantly informing them about the progress made or challenges encountered. And when I write developers I mean developers - the people who actually do the job - not project or account managers. If you can speak directly with programmers you eliminate all unnecessary communication layers and are more likely to get exactly what you want. This direct approach will allow you to build mutual trust and boost engagement.
Pro Tip: During the selection process, ask to speak with the actual developers who will work on your project. Evaluate their ability to explain complex ideas clearly.
Client Insight: Henrik Lindberg, CTO of Studentvikarie Sverige AB, advises:
Allow developers to take responsibility for their work and trust their instincts. This builds mutual trust and boosts engagement.
Adopting an Agile Approach
Agility is about creating a product as a result of a collaborative effort of a self-organized and cross-functional team together with its clients. It is about constant delivery of business value and the ability to respond to change.
Agile software development process includes practices like:
pair-programming,
test-driven development (TTD),
daily stand-ups,
sprints and planning sessions.
By making use of those practices software development teams are able to be more productive, motivated and happy. All developers should be not only familiar with such agile approaches as Scrum or Kanban but be aware of agile philosophy and principles as well.
Our software development experience teaches us that agile and customer-centred approaches are great for:
successive iterations,
close collaboration with clients,
lowering costs and risks,
minimising waste and maximising value delivered.
Pro Tip: Ask prospective SDHs about their experience with agile frameworks like Scrum or Kanban. Request examples of past projects where agile principles led to successful outcomes.
Building Full-Stack Teams
If you contract a software house and would like to get a custom software solution, you, in most cases, will expect to get a finished product by the end of the contract. That means, that the software development team will be responsible for each step of the development process. This is why you should look for a software outsourcing company which is able to deliver both front-end and back-end developers together with UX/UI and graphic designer. It’s also important to check if you can leverage SDH’s internal experts' skills and industry expertise to speed up the product time to market.
In short what to look for:
Availability of cross-functional teams, including developers, designers, and testers.
Access to industry experts and niche specialists.
Proven track record of delivering end-to-end solutions.
Pro Tip: During discussions, ask about the company’s internal expertise and how it can accelerate your product’s time to market.
Flexibility
The right software development house is a flexible software development company. With the constant changes occurring in the programming world, development companies have to stay on top of things. This means, changing technologies, adapting the approach to the current trends and be ready to listen to the client’s demands and act accordingly.
In short what to look for:
Ability to scale teams quickly.
Readiness to adopt new technologies.
A proactive approach to research and development (R&D).
Client Insight: One of our clients Keith Roberts, COO of SquadLocker emphasizes that at first, he needed the team comprised of 3–4 engineers but as the project was growing he wanted easily expand it to 10–11 people, including a full-time designer, and a full-time Scrum master. It’s also worth checking what is a company technology stack, ask if they perform any R&D initiatives and are able to offer the best solutions to your needs.
Summary: How to Make the Right Choice
Selecting an SDH involves evaluating multiple aspects: code quality, communication, agile practices, team composition, and flexibility. Here’s a step-by-step checklist to guide your decision:
Technical Assessment: Arrange interviews or pair-programming sessions to gauge the team’s skills.
Check References: Read client reviews on platforms like Clutch, which provide trusted evaluations of software houses.
Evaluate Processes: Ask about testing, agile methodologies, and scalability practices.
Transparency: Ensure the SDH is open about its strengths and limitations.
By taking these steps, you can confidently select a partner that aligns with your business goals and delivers exceptional results.
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