Avenryx Systemsguides
How to choose a software development company
Most selection processes compare price and portfolio. Neither predicts delivery. What predicts delivery is how a supplier behaves when the scope is unclear and the news is bad.
Outcomes
- Ask to meet the engineers, not only the sales lead
- Require a written specification before a fixed price
- Check repository ownership and IP transfer in the contract
- Ask for a reference where something went wrong
- Confirm who covers holiday, illness and departure
- Agree the support model before, not after, launch
Problems this solves
Proposals are not comparable
Send the same written brief to everyone and require the same breakdown: phases, assumptions, exclusions.
You meet the sales team, not the builders
Ask to meet the engineers who would actually do the work, before signing.
Ownership is unclear
Confirm in writing that code, infrastructure and data are yours from day one.
How delivery runs
- 01
Write a one-page brief
Problem, current process, systems involved, constraints and what success means.
- 02
Shortlist three
More than three produces noise rather than insight.
- 03
Buy a small piece first
A paid discovery or a first slice tells you more than any reference call.
- 04
Check the handover terms
Documentation, repository ownership and exit conditions before the main contract.
Realistic timeline
Week 1
Write the brief and shortlist three suppliers.
Weeks 2–3
Meet the engineers, compare assumptions and exclusions.
Week 4
Buy a small first piece — discovery or one slice — before the main contract.
What moves the price
Discovery depth
A serious supplier will not quote a build without it; treat a confident number without discovery as a warning.
Team seniority
Ask who specifically works on it and what proportion of their time.
Support model
Post-launch support terms belong in the comparison, not in a later conversation.
Where projects go wrong
Choosing on price alone
The cheapest quote usually has the thinnest scope; compare assumptions and exclusions line by line.
No exit plan
Agree upfront what happens if the engagement ends early.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask
Should we pick the cheapest quote?+
Only if the scopes are identical, which they rarely are. Cheap quotes usually price less work.
How many suppliers should we approach?+
Three is enough for comparison. More usually dilutes the quality of each conversation.
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