8 Questions To Ask Your Software Vendor
When it comes to custom software development, choosing the right vendor is critical. A poor decision at this stage can cost you time, money and manpower’s effort because it will force you to find a new vendor to take over the project or redevelop the entire system.
These situations are more common than you think, and that’s why it’s so important to ask the right questions to a software vendor before signing the deal with them.
The end goal of these questions is simple: Ensure you work with a partner who understands your goals, process, and vision.
What experience do you have in my industry or with similar projects?
A software vendor with experience in your industry can do more than just build a solution for your business requirement. With the relevant experience, they will help you refine your requirements into a solution that brings strategic input that adds real value and improves your chances of success.
Who will be working on my project, and what’s their experience?
The outcome of your software project heavily depends on the people actually building it and is not bound to the company name on the contract. While you think you are engaging with a company, your project might be outsourced to some freelancers or developers that you will never meet.
Although this seems like a “As long as my project gets done, I am fine with it” situation, the real problem starts when you realise you ended up with a messy and unstable system, and worse, when you don’t have post-launch support and maintenance. You will have no way to reach the original developer and might need to start finding a new vendor or stick with the failed system.
Understanding the team structure helps you assess accountability, communication flow, and long-term maintainability. Which is why you need to know:
- Who’s on the team, and if you have a dedicated project manager
- Is it an in-house team or outsourced
- How experienced is the team with the tech stack required for your project
And do you know what would save your project and budget from this trouble? By meeting the team and getting to know them 🙂
What’s your developmental process like?
A vendor should be equally good at managing the project as they are at designing and coding your software. You should know that having a radio-silent vendor who only appears at the end with a finished product is not normal.
A well-managed process typically starts with consultation and planning, followed by UI/UX design, presentations for feedback and approval before any development begins. Along the way, you should expect regular updates and a dedicated point of contact to ensure everything stays on track.
Different software projects have different needs. Hence, understanding the basic software development life cycle (SDLC) models can be helpful. Common models include:-
- Waterfall: A step-by-step, sequential approach
- Agile: Flexible, iterative, and collaborative
- Scrum: Agile with short development sprints
- V-Model: Testing at each phase of development
- DevOps Model: Integrates continuous integration and development for faster delivery.
You can read more about the software development life cycle models by Atlassian.
How do you handle change requests during the project?
It’s completely normal for change requests to come up during the development phase or post-development. And it’s super normal for software vendors to may or may not charge you for it. Charges are usually accounted for by how the change impacts the overall timeline, scope, and effort involved.
What matters most is whether the vendor handles those charges transparently. A good vendor will have a clear process for submitting, reviewing, and approving any request. They should be able to explain the impact, provide a revised estimate or timeline if needed, and make sure you are fully informed before proceeding.
Without a proper process, even small adjustments can create unnecessary delays or cause disagreements over scope and cost. So, by asking this question, you should be able to know:-
- How changes are documented
- How will it affect timelines and budgets
- Whether or not there is a formal process to request and approve changes
What is the ongoing cost after development?
It is crucial to understand this, especially if you do not have a dedicated IT team for technical support or want to grow the system over time. The cost of building your software is just the beginning, but once the system goes live, there are often ongoing costs, and it’s important to know what they are from the start.
Ongoing costs may include server hosting fees, software licenses, third-party services, security updates, support and maintenance, and even charges for enhancements.
Asking and knowing about ongoing costs ensures you don’t get caught off-guard later and helps you to prepare the right budget.
On a side note, you can read why a quotation should not solely determine your choice of software vendor.
How do you ensure software quality and security?
Assess your vendor based on how they test, review, and secure the software they build. Look for vendors who implement proper testing (both manual and automated), conduct code reviews, offer user acceptance testing (UAT), and follow industry standard practices like OWASP Top 10, SANS Top 25, and Apple & Google guidelines for security.
If your system handles sensitive or personal data, check if they’re familiar with relevant compliance requirements.
What happens if there’s a problem after launch?
Ask what kind of post-launch support is included. See if they offer a specific response time based on the case severity, and what kind of support services are included in the project, or are they charged separately?
This gives you better clarity on who to reach out to when something urgent needs attention and can save you from frustrations.
How will we communicate throughout the project?
The key to a successful project is communication. You need to know and learn about your project’s progress and provide feedback where necessary.
Ask what communication tools they use to track progress, or if there will be weekly or biweekly meetings. And you must note to see if you will be speaking directly to the developer or to the project manager.
Conclusion
Ask the right question to evaluate your potential custom software vendor to see if they can be a good fit for your organisation’s partnership. A great vendor won’t just build what you ask for, but will guide you and help turn your ideas into a practical and scalable solution.
So, before signing the deal, take your time, ask smart questions, and don’t settle for vague answers. Your business deserves a long-term partnership with the right software vendor to grow and succeed.
Your potential software vendor will also ask you many questions regarding your project. Continue reading to learn why.
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