How to Hire a Mobile Software Developer

If you’re ever tried to outsource a software project, you know that it can be quite difficult to find a team that will deliver the software on-spec, on-budget, & on-time. Getting these three things right is at the crux of getting the functionaltity that you need to continue growing your business and keeping your sanity.

At Snapp, we know all about the challenges that companies have in this process (we hear from our clients about how many times they’ve been burned in the past by software engineers).

Here are a few things that you should do every time you bring a new developer on board.

1. Have them write code during your initial interview. This is something that I learned from Josh Coates, founder of Mozy. He did this with every tech-related new hire he brought on, & it allowed him to immediately know if somebody was qualified to work there. Obviously, in order to perform this step effectively, you need to have an in-house guy who is intelligent enough & experienced enough with technology that he’ll be able to spot bad code. Have your potential consultant spend 30 minutes writing up some code on something that should be relatively trivial considering what they’ll be doing for you. For example, if you are going to hire an iPhone develoepr, have him code “Hello World” for you. If he can’t do this fairly quickly, you might want to keep looking.
2. Check references. This is such an easy step — too often it gets overlooked. All you need to do is say, “Can we have the name and number of 3 past clients?” Then spend 30 minutes calling these people and asking them questions like:
   • Was the original cost estimate correct? If not, how much over/under?
   • Was the orginal timeline given correct? If not, how late was the project?
   • Was the software written to spec?
   • Was the developer easy to work with?
   All in, this “background check” will take you 30 minutes to an hour, but will potentially save you thousands of dollars, prevent headaches, & give you the best chance of finding the best developer.
3. Ask to see previous work. This is another simple request that can save you lots of headache. Seeing work that the person has done before can help you to see their style of code, or if you don’t know code and have nobody in the company that does, can help you to see whether they have a good grasp on the other important parts of software design: user interface, speed of code, etc.
4. Don’t give a blank check. Unless you’re dealing with a company that has a very established reputation, you have the leverage to pay per-project, not per-hour. Take advantage of this, & you will decrease your potential liability.

Outsourcing a software development project can be a big stress-relief and can also potentially save you money and time. Pick the right team, & you’ll wonder how you ever got along without them. Pick wrong, & you’ll be wishing you hadn’t signed that contract!