Mobile applications are all the rage – they are the vehicles of change businesses are harnessing to take their growth potential to the next level. The compatibility of apps across various platforms and devices makes them a viable option to extend the reach of the business, transcend location-specific difficulties and to create a more productive work environment with effective Mobile ERP solutions.
We are a generation of consumers and employees attached to and dependent on our mobile devices for both entertainment and work-related activities. Retail businesses are exploring this potential by making their online stores available as apps for a seamless shopping experience. Businesses in the Travel and Tourism industry are reaching out with the best deals and packages through their apps. Commuting in medium-sized to metropolitan cities have become hassle free with cab companies providing instant booking, pick-up and drop services through such applications. The usages of Mobile applications are myriad, so is the market – and consequently the pool of talent that contributes to the coding, delivery and marketing of such apps is a den of multiplicity.
Spoilt for choice? Read on to find out how you can choose a dedicated mobile app developer depending on the desired platform, vision and budget.
Fishing in the right areas – where to look for the best and the brightest in Mobile App development
There are countless websites linking you to a tertiary network of talented developers, but oDesk, Elance and Freelancer have been around for a long time to make them the go to options. Among these, oDesk provides a more intuitive experience with their contractor quizzes which in turn helps you shortlist a number of desirable candidates based on the information they provide about their work experience, knowledge of various platforms and the projects they have been a part of. The best way to find the right candidate is to analyze this information followed by a careful screening and interview to familiarize yourself with your potential contractor and to learn about their strengths and weaknesses.
Articulating and posting the perfect job description
The vision and scope of your project must be clear to you, then and only then you can coherently put forth your ideas into a well articulated job description. This is the first step in communicating with your potential contractor, and any ambiguity in the description will only lead to a delayed project delivery time and other complications. The right amount of information also ensures that appropriate people apply for the job, rooting out peripheral exceptions and saving you a lot of time during the screening and interviewing. Your potential candidate will also enquire in detail about the project during the interview, and as the employer you must be ready to provide all necessary information pertinent to the app.
Terms of Payment – Fixed or Hourly Pay?
Most developers on crowdsourcing sites like oDesk prefer being paid on an hourly basis owing to the complex and variable nature of the projects . The quote will vary from contractor to contractor, however, it’s important that you thoroughly go through their portfolio since the one who quotes the lowest price may not always posses the necessary expertise and experience , and again, the one quoting the highest may fall short of competence.
Interview questions
After scaling down the number of candidates, the next step in hiring the best possible developer is to formulate the most perfect and all inclusive list of interview questions. Communicate your needs as clearly as possible and be prepared with enquires the candidates might have about the project.
Delivery time
Time is of the essence in every step of a new business decision, and so you must work with a developer who’ll be able to provide an estimation of a realistic delivery date for your project. You can also ask them whether the other projects they’re working on are liable to affect the deployment and delivery of yours.
Coding Competency
Ask them if they are experienced enough to code for your required platform ( iOs, Android) and whether they are confident enough to handle external APIs if you’re looking to develop an app that works for a third party API. You can also ask them to provide links to the apps they’ve worked on in the Playstore or Appstore to gauge the validity of the claims made in their portfolio. However, it must be remembered that apps are listed under the development company’s name unless they are independent contractors.
Tips for hiring Android developers
Android is Google’s open source platform based on the Linux system and released under the Apache license. With the vast number of devices supporting the Android Os, it is an absolute challenge if you’re planning to port an iOs app to Android. A simple knowledge of Java is not enough to develop a smooth functioning Android App, and therefore you must proceed to quiz your potential candidate regarding their familiarity with the Android ecosystem, the extensive libraries as well as their fool-proof methods to combat buggy deployment issues such as decelerated scrolling and frequent overriding of the back button(these issues are commonly known as Jank). An accomplished developer will not only have seen the Google I/O talks on how to avoid these problems but will defend their platform’s ability with various solutions to these pesky pitfalls.
While envisioning the nature and scope of the app, please keep in mind the compatibility issues across various devices based on Android version, hardware specifications and screen size. A good developer will have the know-how to tailor the perfect app in spite of these daunting variables.
Hourly Rate
Enquire about their hourly rate, multiply it by the estimated time and see if the end result suits your budget. If it doesn’t, try to initiate a negotiation process that benefits both of you.
Ability and cost to port to other platforms
At any point in the interview, you should take the chance to ask if they have the required experience of porting the same app from one operating system to another. Since they would be already familiar with the project, porting will be cost-effective and a relatively less complicated process, but an independent contractor is rarely equipped to skillfully handle the intricacies of app development on multiple platforms.
Independent contractor or agency
Working with an independent contractor usually reduces the chances of miscommunication as in an agency the work is likely to be delegated to other individuals with whom you’re not communicating directly.
Whether they can design the UI
Most developers are equipped to create a basic UI design, but depending on their portfolio we must decide whether they are proficient enough to cater to our needs or whether we would prefer to enable a segregation of the design and development aspects of app development two separate professionals.
Harnessing the available talent to hire a dedicated mobile app developer can be a lengthy and trying process, but when you find the right individual who suits all your needs, it ‘s expected that it will be the start of a profitable and rewarding long-term working relationship. Focusing all your energies on finding the most competent developer the first time can save you the effort of doing it over and over again. So, choose wisely.