Developers:
When engaging any developer on any details a NDA should be signed. Preliminary discussions should be in general scope only.
Top Tips & Pitfalls
If this is your first App, we know that the development process can be extremely daunting. That’s why we’ve provided this app development guide to equip you with the necessary insights to guarantee a successful App project.
1) Choose your developer carefully
Unfortunately, the App industry is unnecessarily shady. Many developers across the globe are quick to accept money, and lack the honesty to tell you that your idea is flawed or doomed to fail without some tweaking and refinement from a functional and commercial perspective. Additionally, hundreds of freelance developers lack the necessary coding and design skills to build clean, responsive, bug-free applications. The effects of not applying best practice coding and design standards from the outset will become especially apparent when making version revisions and adding bolt-on functionality in the future. Make sure to gain confidence in your developer’s integrity and technical abilities.
Get to know your developer across several interactions before you settle. As the average development process is 4-10 months, it’s important to gain comfort that your developer is as dedicated to the project as you are. How willing are they to respond to your preliminary queries? Do they respond in a timely manner? Do they bring new ideas to the table?
Additionally, seek out a developer that can not only assist with the App design and development process, but also advise on the commercial viability of your idea. A brilliant developer will consider the short and long-term strategy of your business, and transform your initial concept into an innovative, marketable, scalable product that compliments that strategy. An average developer will merely translate your requirements into a specification sheet and build exactly that, no more no less.
2) Request a confidentiality agreement
Before discussing your concept with anyone other than close friends or family, make sure a valid Non-Disclosure Agreement (“NDA”) is completed by the recipient. Our free NDA will clearly communicate your intention to treat the contents of your discussions as confidential, and give rise the legal implications if that confidentiality is breached.
However, as it’s not really possible to monitor or physically prevent an individual from disclosing confidential information, this risk should be primarily mitigated by exercising extreme caution before discussing your idea with anyone. An NDA should be viewed as a backup security measure only.
Use our standard Free Non-Disclosure Agreement located HERE
3) Negotiate a milestone based payment schedule
We would advise against working with a developer who requires full payment up-front. A professional developer will propose a payment schedule based on various agreed-upon design and functionality milestones.
This not only incentivises the developer to meet all deadlines, but also provides you with the opportunity to test the App at various stages throughout the project. Final Apps often differ considerably from their initial concepts, and this is due to ongoing refinement throughout the development process.