How Innovative Software Solutions Avoids the Typical Third-Party Pitfalls

Many individuals starting a tech company are not aware of the dangers they might face when dealing with a third-party software development company. According to Rahul Varshneya’s article, there are five pitfalls entrepreneurs/intrapreneurs must be mindful of when outsourcing software development:  
 

1. Communication barriers 

• Time zone differences 

• Communication issues 

• Cultural conventions  

2. Failure in understanding the scope of the project 

• Lacking a clear understanding of requirements & deliverables 

• Uncertain  timelines 

• Unclear project plans 

3. Code quality challenges 

• Not implementing up-to-date methods of coding 

• Questionable code-testing. Proper software quality assurance methodologies lacking or missing  

4. Ambiguity of stakeholders 

• Lack of accountability for who developed the code 

5. Loopholes when signing the contract 

• Loosely framed contracts 

• Ownership of IP 
   

Here at Innovative Software Solutions (ISS), we understand our customers’ concerns and address them from the beginning. Developing a concrete foundation is crucial for the growth and success of a company, and in the tech world, the code is a huge part of the foundation.  

Communication 

Communication is key to a healthy relationship. Our customers love that we are located here in the United States. This eliminates language barriers and allows us to meet with customers at any time during work hours. Also, with the help of our project manager, we keep each customer up to date with meetings, requirements, deliverables, and the overall progress of the software development. We want our customers to view our team as business partners, and not just a software development firm. 
 

Failure in Understanding the Scope of the Project 

Before working with a customer, we take our time to understand the scope of the project. Our process always starts with a series of meetings. Each of the initial meetings are designed to discover the requirements for your project. To ensure clarity in the scope of the project, we create a detailed document that outlines all the requirements and deliverables. Throughout the development process, we give our customers the ability to review our work during weekly meetings. This allows them the chance to play and give feedback on the progress of their product throughout the whole development cycle.  
 

Code Quality Challenges 

Determining the quality of the third-party code can be difficult. There are no set guidelines on what is or is not high- and low-quality software development. As Varshneya mentioned “good code needs to have two key qualities: clarity and maintainability.” Our developers’ foundation was built in medical software; our code is secure, dependable, and innovative. Because we started in medical software, we know the importance of debugging code. Our test team is designed to find bugs, which allows us to fix issues as we develop.  
 

Ambiguity of Stakeholders 

Many software development firms outsource work to independent contractors, making it hard to hold someone accountable for the work. The back-and-forth of resources can lead to low code quality and delays in the deliverables. It is important to have consistency throughout the life span of the project. Here at ISS, we have project managers that delegate the responsibilities of development to our in-house development team. This eliminates the concern of accountability, quality, and delays on deliverables. Our customers know exactly who is doing the development and when they can expect to receive the work. 
 

Loopholes when Singing the Contract 

Signing a contract for development can be scary, especially when it is not detailed and clear. It is always important to carefully read the contract before signing it. Our contracts are clear, detailed, and put together with our customers, allowing them to understand the whole scope of the project. Our contracts consist of the components Rahul Varshneya’s article mentioned: 

• Outlined deliverables, as well as the timeframes 

• Feature-based contracts over time-based  

• Milestone- based payments  

• Instilling code guarantees 

• Maintenance support contracts 

• Intellectual property rights 

• Confidential agreement 

• Indemnity clauses 

• Termination clauses 

• Authority for resolution of issues 
  We make sure that Our customers are comfortable with all that we do. Our goal is to make sure the customer is successful. ISS is not like other software development firms; we like to partner and stay with the customer throughout the lifetime of your project. This involvement is governed by our Software Care Department. It is through this department that we provide implementation, software maintenance, and customer support services.  

Discover how Innovative Software Solutions can transform your tech company/idea.