7 KEYQUESTIONSTO ASK

7 KEYQUESTIONSTO ASK

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YOUR PROSPECTIVETECH AGENCIES

From the moment you decide to move forward with your mobile or web application, you’re faced with a tough

question:

Should you build the product in-house, or hire an external team (tech agency)?

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You want to to build your product in the easiest and most cost efficient way, but It can be exhausting and costly to build an in-house team and it wastes valuable time

If you hire a tech agency, you can have a full, experienced team at your service-ready to create a great digital product for your business.

TECH AGENCY

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IN-HOUSE

After careful consideration, you decide your best option is to hire a tech agency to build your product.

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There are thousands of tech agencies out there, so you have a ton of options. This can be a confusing, overwhelming process. Many people are in the dark about what it actually takes to build a mobile

or web application.

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When talking to prospective tech agencies, use these questions to filter your options.

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HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH CLIENTS?1

What to look for: The tech agency should have an established process for communicating with clients. Transparent communication is essential to execute

your vision. Do they use Basecamp, InvisionApp, or Trello for project collaboration? Are they available on Skype during working hours and will

respond to you immediately?

They should be able to communicate clearly and patiently, without loads of tech jargon.

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You can click on this slideshare!

DO YOU HAVE ANY CASE STUDIESOF PAST CLIENTS?2

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A great tech agency won’t ask you to ‘take their word for it’. They’ll have plenty of successful case studies to back up their claims.

What to look for: Ideally, the tech agency will list their case studies or portfolio on their website, so you can easily access it. That way, you can check out similar apps, test them out, and see how they perform. Or a Sales rep will be able to put

together a one pager of examples for your industry.

Click here for "Our Case Studies"

WHAT IS YOUR ESTIMATED TIMELINEFOR FINISHING THE PROJECT?3

Mobile and web applications are known to take longer and become more complicated than planned. That’s because small, incremental changes can build up into a mountain of additional work.

What to look for: These additional costs can be prevented-or, at least, controlled to a point. Your tech agency should keep up-to-date schedules and specifications.

Make sure the tech agency can articulate the repercussions of an additional ask. You may crave an extra feature, but when you see how much it pushes the schedule back, you just might change your tune.

Most projects can be done in 2-4 month cycles. Having a development agency tell you it will take longer than a year, is taking their time.

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HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEENIN BUSINESS?4

What to look for: Ideally, your tech agency will have at least 5 years of experience. They’ve been steadily building, and have a

track record of success.

Here at Koombea, we pride ourselves in this area. With over 7 years of experience, we’ve clocked more hours than most agencies

can imagine!

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Click to read more "About Us"

HOW MANY DEVELOPERSDO YOU HAVE?5

The more developers they have, the more resources the tech agency can dedicate to your project. With a smaller company, this could mean that new projects can’t start on time.

What to look for: Your tech agency should have at least 6 developers. The more, the merrier. Having a developer working on a different project give his two sense, can help give key insight for the other. A bigger firm will have more people to draw on to solve technical problems.

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WHAT DEVELOPMENT PROCESSDO YOU USE?6

What to look for: Unlike Waterfall (a traditional dev method), Agile methodology cuts down the big picture into puzzle pieces. A tech agency who uses the Agile Development process can adapt to change at the end of each stage, without rewriting the entire application.

At Koombea, we use Agile Development. Not only does it save costs, but it streamlines communication. We start the week with a planning meeting, and chat briefly each weekday afterward about the status of development. At the end of the week, we review all of the work delivered, and note anything we couldn’t finish. This week of work is called a sprint.

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Click to read our Agile Management Playbook

WILL YOU BUILD AN MVP?7

When it comes to product development, many business make the mistake of waiting too long to take the product to market.

And because of this mistake, many products never even launch. Or, if they do launch, the market is already saturated with competitors…

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…AND THE PRODUCT USUALLY FAILS.

But you can avoid this costly mistake, and still launch a high-performing product in your niche.

The secret? A Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

What to look for: Your tech agency should build you a Minimum Viable Product. That way, you’ll have just enough of the core of your product so that you can get it to users and collect feedback—and start getting paid.

How’s your tech agency search going? Tweet us out or shoot us at email at mvp@koombea.com!

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Koombea is happy to help you figure out which agency is best for you-even if it’s not us.

Should you build a product? Hire an external team, or do the project in-house?

Don’t be left in the dark.

Subscribe below and learn about what mobile and web product development can do for your business.

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Have questions?

We are here to help.

Email us at

mvp@koombea.com

386 Park Ave South, 10th FloorNew York, NY 10016

625 2nd St., Suite 280San Francisco, CA 94107

Cra 53 # 79-01 L-301Barranquilla, Colombia.

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@koombea

/koombea