Software development comprises a good portion of the UK’s GDP. As per BSA.org software development in UK is collaborating around $124.8 billion in GDP. It is supporting almost 2.6 million jobs in the UK making it an excellent software development outsourcing ecosystem.
Adding to it, the UK offers a great pool of talent with fluent English (considering it is their native language) communication skills. The geography is also competitive in terms of pricing. Aside from it, they have legal regulations for intellectual property protection, data protection, and well-established contractual laws making it an ideal place for outsourcing. However, everything in place is not always enough. Before hiring someone, it is important to understand your requirements and the capability of the other company to meet your expectations.
Therefore, if you have your requirements in place, these are the factors to consider before outsourcing your software development in the UK. Therefore, let’s start…
- Amount of Experience
There is a software development company in UK that was established in the year 1962 (EDS). In terms of experience, anyone can hire a company that has years of experience. Adding to it, this is an important factor to consider.
If you have a decent budget hiring a company that has tons of experience is going to aid you during the development cycle. These companies are well-versed in complex situations and have solutions to almost everything under the IT umbrella. A company with experience is able to break down complex software situations into manageable ones and also provides you with relevant consultancy to pick the right path.
- Portfolio of the Company
The portfolio of a company is a testimonial of the kind of work it has done in the past. A company with a portfolio with a range of work can help you understand the different types of applications it has produced. This would enable you to measure the effectiveness of the company for your project.
Simply check out different apps developed by them. This would enable you to check the flow of customers from the home page to the transactional page or the product, UI/UX of the company, and overall user experience. In fact, checking the reviews of that software on the internet would give you insight regarding the remaining bugs and has the company been able to resolve them post its release.
- Communication Channels
Keeping the client in the process and constantly taking recommendations is the job of the company. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the company hired knows how to manage the project while being in touch with you. There are a range of tools that companies use in order to achieve this such as:
- Gmail
- Skype
- Slack
- Riot
- Chanty
- Zoom
An effective communication channel will help you pave the development cycle of your software, the way you want. During the initial interviews and requirement establishment, a lot of things are left in translation. However, those can be implemented and rectified during the development cycle.
- Quality and Standard
One great thing about hiring software development companies in UK is that the country promotes software quality itself. The UK has a range of quality standards to keep the quality of the software product in check such as:
- ISO 9001: Generic standard for quality management for quality planning, customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, etc.
- TickIT: Specific standard based on ISO 9001 that demands additional requirements.
- ISO/IEC 25010: Software quality standard that defines characteristics such as functionality, reliability, efficiency, and usability.
- CISQ: The standard is used to assess the quality of the source code.
Adding to this, there are other organizations in the country that also ensures software quality such as the British Standards Institution (BSI), Software Quality Forum (SQF), and the Institute of Software Testing (IST). You simply need to ask for certification from the software development companies in UK you wish to hire and see if they meet the standard you expect.
- Development Model
To develop software, companies follow development models to complete the project. This makes them capable of dividing the development task into several stages, spreading out work to resources easily, and bringing the client in for feedback (at times). Some of the popular Mobile app development models in 2023 are mentioned below:
- Waterfall model: This model has a linear approach dividing the entire development task in a sequence. Its start with gathering requirement and ends with deployment. The model is ideal for well-defined requirements and a prefixed timeline.
- Agile: This model is ideal for a project with changing requirements. The model breaks the task into smaller modules into manageable pieces with an iterative and incremental approach.
- Prototyping: This model is ideal for creating MVPs (Minimum Viable Products). The model is ideal for creating a working prototype to test the idea. This model is often used in conjunction with waterfall or agile models.
There are several other development models out there. You can choose a relevant one as per your understanding or ask the development company to learn what they use. This would enable you to understand the SDLC (standard development life cycle) much better than before.
- Pricing & Budget
The pricing and the budget required to get your software developed in the UK varies from company to company. There are several key factors that control the pricing. For instance, the experience of the company, the tech stack required, the strength of the team, etc. However, to put a number in the ballpark, the hourly cost of development can range from £30-£50 per hour. Adding to it, the cost of developing a simple software can start at £10,000. However, the cost of developing complex software can go up to £100,000.
Wrapping Up!
Considering the fact that there are plenty of software development companies in UK. The possibility of hiring a good one is not bleak. However, it is important to have a list of companies in mind and your requirements in place. Once done, you can start interviewing as many companies as possible. This would enable you to find the best fit for your product and help you create an app that satisfies your customers.
