Vetting Mobile App Developers

[AustinS28]

I'm in the process of hiring a mobile app development team for a rather large project.

Long story short, I came up with an idea that's very unique, and can serve to create a value for a lot of people, making life a little easier. Even better I was able to sell the idea to one of my personal training clients who is now a business partner. He's been a corporate lawyer for a decade, has the initial funds to get our beta model going and has handled all the legal stuff NDAs, S-Corp formation in Delaware, operating agreements....

So after a lot of meetings to develop the concept solidifying what we want as our beta model, it's time to hire the developing team.

We went through a pretty serious list of NYC based app firms and decided we'd prefer to work with someone where we can sit down for a meeting on a weekday afternoon if need be. We're not outsourcing this one oversees.

I've been doing my reading and have a pretty good grasp on what kind of questions I should ask. This includes; who owns the code, prior work, is design work included, will someone be there to further develop the concept based on industry knowledge, what's the cost and time frame.....

I have another client that works for a mobile app start-up that has gained a lot of traction. He mentioned that I should have them build me an app on the spot that is ultra basic (logo, page of text) and mentioned any good developer could do this in 5 minutes. He also said that I should check the iTunes ratings of their apps. Further I should find the 1st one star review, read it, check the date, and see how long it took them to launch an update if it was to fix something that was broken.

While I do have this basic grasp, I'd like to inquire if anything the experts on here would recommend as a "must have" in a mobile app developer?

Thanks in advance for the continued wisdom!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[softwareadviser]

I was wondering how much an app costs to make in NYC. I have written some article about project cost estimation and a little info will help me in updating it.

 

[Delmania]

I'm in the process of hiring a mobile app development team for a rather large project.

Long story short, I came up with an idea that's very unique, and can serve to create a value for a lot of people, making life a little easier. Even better I was able to sell the idea to one of my personal training clients who is now a business partner. He's been a corporate lawyer for a decade, has the initial funds to get our beta model going and has handled all the legal stuff NDAs, S-Corp formation in Delaware, operating agreements....

So after a lot of meetings to develop the concept solidifying what we want as our beta model, it's time to hire the developing team.

We went through a pretty serious list of NYC based app firms and decided we'd prefer to work with someone where we can sit down for a meeting on a weekday afternoon if need be. We're not outsourcing this one oversees.

I've been doing my reading and have a pretty good grasp on what kind of questions I should ask. This includes; who owns the code, prior work, is design work included, will someone be there to further develop the concept based on industry knowledge, what's the cost and time frame.....

I have another client that works for a mobile app start-up that has gained a lot of traction. He mentioned that I should have them build me an app on the spot that is ultra basic (logo, page of text) and mentioned any good developer could do this in 5 minutes. He also said that I should check the iTunes ratings of their apps. Further I should find the 1st one star review, read it, check the date, and see how long it took them to launch an update if it was to fix something that was broken.

While I do have this basic grasp, I'd like to inquire if anything the experts on here would recommend as a "must have" in a mobile app developer?

Thanks in advance for the continued wisdom!

Does this person use source control? Does this person have unit tests? I think Dane Maxwell of the Foundation has some basic questions he uses, those would be as good as any, because for where you are, the person's prior experience is the best indicator. That, or someone else your friend recommends.

It doesn't have to be on iTunes, per say, because the person could have been on the mobile development team for another company. The "build an app" test is a waste, in my opinion. The better solution would be to have that person work with you and your partner for an afternoon to build a simple app. Throwing up some code in XCode to present a page it easy; how well that person operates working for someone else is an entirely different matter. In other words, just because someone can win at Top Coder doesn't mean he's going to write maintainable, production code.

Speaking as a developer myself, I see a bit of a catch 20. You need a person with development experience to interview the person you want to hire, but first, you need to hire that person..

 

[johnp]

Is this an iOS app?

I would ask these questions:

1) How do you maintain the app?

- This is extremely important. There will be bugs and issues with the app after it's launched. And there are a lot of unforeseen things that even great developers don't think through, like user interaction, various situations that could occur, etc, etc, etc...so you want someone to turn to if something goes wrong.

The correct answer: - They will fix any issues that are a result of their own code. And to be completely honest, they should probably say that additional updates will either be charged per hour or included in some annual plan. Developers will hate you if you make them work for free to do things that weren't included in the scope. Which brings me to the next point:

2) Process - Ask them what their process is like:

If they say that they just build it then that's a problem. You want to see someone with a good process in place. A good process is something like:

- Planning & project scope
- Briefs - This is where they figure out what type of design you might want, UX & UI, etc.
- Mockups - Using rapid prototyping tools like sketch
- Frontend design in Xcode
- Backend
- Test/Debug along the way
- Launch
- Fix bugs if any and maintain to some degree.

The first couple of phases are the most critical and they should be locking down the design by the time coding starts.

3) Ask them what their testing process is like:

If this is iOS then they should be using Test Flight and sending you test versions of the app as they build it. Very easy to do.

4) What type of code?

If you want a native iOS app then make sure that they are saying either Objective-C or Swift 2.0. If they say something like cordova then you're getting a cross-platform app.

5) Version control

Ask them how the handle version control. Typically you want them pushing the app to a platform like Git or BitBucket so you will have access to the code as they build it and the most recent versions will always be out there. I always have my developers do this incase they get hit by a bus or something.

6) Update Policy for APIs and other stuff

Sometimes APIs break and need to be updated. Ask them about this..if they will fix it for free or if you will have to pay. Ask them if they use Cocopods. If they don't know what cocopods are then that's a red flag

7) Layout

Ask them how they handle layout across the various screen sizes. I always have developers use auto-layout.

8) Min OS

You will want to find out what min OS they will be targeted before they build the app. Some apps only target devices running iOS 8 or later. Some can target iOS 7 and later. It's better to know this ahead of time before you run into any unexpected issues.

9) Backend

If you need a backend then find out what backend they are using. I usually like to use Parse, it's very easy to work with and can save you a ton of $$

10) Other stuff

find out how long they have been developing for. Look for apps that they have built and just play around with the apps on your phone. If you see the apps freezing or getting stuck then that's a bad sign.

I'm sure that there are a million of additional questions that you could ask but that's the best I could come up with off the top of my head.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[AustinS28]

Spot on posts and perfect timing. Thanks gentleman. I have phone interviews for Tuesday. These questions definitely help. As discussed with my business partner, everything during our first app is going to be a trial and error process for future ventures, but it's nice to have direction and you can always find it here on TFLF.

Was surprised one firm didn't want to sign an NDA. I won't be working with them. Most of the others actually sent one over in case we didn't have one.

 

[AustinS28]

I was wondering how much an app costs to make in NYC. I have written some article about project cost estimation and a little info will help me in updating it.

A top firm in NYC handling frontend and backend completing the app from start to finish and including updates, as per my inquries this week is going to cost 15k - 20k paid biweekly, and for the current project take anywhere from 3-6 months.

I was expecting those estimates. We may look for alternatives before searching for another investor(s).

 

[softwareadviser]

Now a days there are more options to develop apps.
Apps can be written in cordova, xamarin etc . Games can be written in Unity instead of using opengls or cocos .


The bright side is same app runs on IOS and Android both and the development cost + Time required + maintenance efforts comes down to 50%.
I don't use Java or Objective C when the program can be written in c# or javascript.
For simple apps like weather station, radio , portfolio, albums , restaurant apps cordova is best choice.

Next year you will see virtual reality apps running on oculus headset and google cardboard both. Same codes run on phone and vr.

Regarding cost, at a place where we can buy 10 coffee for a $ margins are really good.
I don't like to outsource to a cheaper or same cost location , it is more important to hire someone who can actually finish the job.
I like to keep total control.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.