The very first impression says a great deal about a firm, especially about software development companies in a time like this when thousands of offshore firms fiercely compete against each other, and where professionalism has become a trade off for low prices.

When you first contact a prospective software development provider, ask yourself how they present themselves; how long does it take for the firm to get back to you on emailed questions? Does each representative have their phone number shown within their e-mail signatures? Does the company smart phone you up to go over your requirements? Does the company appear to grasp your requirements and is verbal communication flawless?

In today's world of outsourcing, freelancers commonly utilize a company name of their own to lure their prospective clients into thinking that they have more experience than what they really have. In reality they might be one man shows who perhaps will not be able to provide you with sufficiently fast turn around times, nor a diverse variety of expertise. Always speak to a representative of your prospective partners and probe them on their company's history, location and range of employees. A company that refrains from having a telephone conversation with you is a clear warning sign that something fishy is going on.

Software development companies should be able to present a whole lot of information on their own operations and prior projects. Ask for case studies, coding conventions, testimonials, résumés of the staff which will be able to work on your project and all the information that will be used to judge the professionalism of your future software development partner.

Once you feel that the company evaluated has presented itself well in the first stage of evaluation analysis, go ahead and ask for references and proof of prior experience such as case studies or maybe even demos of applications much like that you will be going to develop. Once you have asserted that the company has the expertise required to take on your project you can proceed with asking for and analyzing the business's proposal.

Within the company's proposal, cost and milestones should be clearly specified in addition to terms of payment. Other aspects worth noticing is whether or not the proposal stresses the benefits that the application will bring with it for your organization and if it includes suggestions regarding how to rise above the initial goals outlined. What will the turn around time be for finishing the application, and even more importantly what shall happen if the deadline is just not met?

In the final agreement you sign with your software development partner, make certain that a requirements specification is included and signed. The necessities specification should be as detailed as is possible and all possible functionality that you require should be printed onto that specification. Without a clear requirements specification a software development agreement shall do no good in case your partner decides to deliver an incomplete product.

Your project's success or failure will be fully contingent on the selection of software development partner. Read on to find out about the most important aspects in relation to analyzing a prospective software development partner and their software development proposal.