Web Development can be done anywhere in the world. That’s true. If you need to have an application or portal built, there are thousands of freelancers out on the market that are ready for your work. However, without proper controls, your next web application project could spiral out of control leading to cost over-runs, busted project deadlines, and an unsupportable application.
“It’s so much cheaper! I can find someone off shore at $10/hour vs. $50/hour in the U.S.”
Tip for the Week: It is un-wise to have an “open-ended” contract. That $10/hour person will wind up costing you 10X more if you aren’t careful.
Most companies have “open-ended” contracts because they honestly don’t know how long something is supposed to take. Sure, you can get multiple quotes from different freelancers, but what if they are all the same? The easy thing to do is to tell the freelancer to work by the hour and when things look great, you’ll close out the job. Sounds simple. It’s not.
Without strict hour control, programmers, by nature, have a tendency to over-build, over-complicate, and re-write portions of web applications/portals. We know, we see it all the time. If you give Programmer A to solve a problem in 8 hours and Programmer B to solve a problem in 24 hours, it’s highly possible Programmer A will develop a solution that costs 16 hours less and is a better solution. It’s all about focus.
To solve this, it is best to utilize a “Do Not Exceed” time agreement into your next web application/web development project. Put in a restriction that says “After X amount of hours, please consult with company to discuss progress and next block of hours”. This keeps progress flowing while ensuring you don’t get slapped with a 400 hour bill for something that should have taken 40 hours. Make the freelancer come back to you to be granted more hours!
If you need consultation or would rather skip freelancing and talk with a company like SOURCE, feel free to give us a call at 281-903-5374.