When it comes to software development, what is “quality” and how is it determined?

Obviously the quality of software development service is going to be important

We have been doing articles recently based on a survey of what’s been shown as important to Western European customers who use software development outsourcing.

The top reason was cost efficiency (logical), No. 2 was the flexibility of the software development outsourcing provider (also logical), and No. 3 (this article) is the quality of service delivered. If you combine the top three reasons, then, customers/clients are looking for a valuable option with flexibility and high quality. All that makes sense.

What is “quality?”

That is a core question because it’s somewhat of a subjective word. Does “quality software development” mean the beauty of the code, or does it mean that a project was delivered ahead of schedule and under-budget? It will vary by the type of organization you work with, for sure. In most cases, it refers to the goals of the project. Obviously you want the code and the back-end to be beautiful and secure, but most companies are looking to have business-critical products and new revenue streams deployed on the right timetable. That is what “quality” usually will mean.

In general, you will find that clients who use software development outsourcing want to focus on the products and the revenue strategy, and let someone else focus on the development. That means they want quality coding, but they also want timely delivery in a cost-efficient manner. Quality.

Who is determining the level of quality?

When a company first works with a software development outsourcing partner, the company will set the parameters of the contract based on the pricing structure and expertise of the outsourcing partner. There is usually not a lot of wiggle room or negotiation room in the initial contracts. Once the company is confident in the quality, cost-efficiency, and flexibility of the software development provider, then the contracts may evolve a bit. But that level of trust in the quality of the finished software product and adherence to timeline and process needs to be there. In the beginning, there is not much negotiation.

This is part of the reason we’ve had a lot of success with the team extension model. When you operate as an extension of an existing team (client team), it’s much easier to meet deadlines, existing process points for development, QC, backlog management, road maps, and more. We deliver great software, but part of the quality we provide is how we fold into your existing team. (It’s also because we have great developers.)

What is the opposite of quality?

Missed project deadlines and missed budgets. This has happened to many companies. Almost 100% of the time that deadlines and budgets are missed, the company will find another software development outsourcing partner. No one wants to fall behind on key projects or miss budget goals. There are thankfully ways to prevent this.

So if you were going to outsource your software development…

… the easiest thing right now, since you are already on this page, would be to contact us and talk through the projects you have coming up. Let’s drive some revenue!

If you are not ready for that step just yet, we understand. We put together a guide to what you need to look for in a software development outsourcing partner, including cost efficiency, flexibility, quality, team extension, and more. You can download that guide below.