we get daily emails offering website development and seo services at 1/3 of the price of what i would have to pay, which is a definite advantage.

however, i have recently taken up such an offer and i want to share with you my experience and some of the difficulties with such a business relationship. let me say from the outset that i am on learner license plates when it comes to website development. well, maybe now i have progresses to probationary license. in the past, i have left it to the developer to work out what is required and they just did it.

my purpose is not to reveal names of the firm involved, rather, it is to discuss some of the problems that may be help others, both as developer and customer, to have a better experience and better business relationship.

your input would also be appreciated.

1)Firstly, i believe that it is important, particularly when dealing with startups, to detail absolutely everything in a contract and get actual signatures from the person doing the work, rather than just a sales or marketing person doing the negotiation.

it is has been my experience that not all details are revealed to the person that is actually going to do the work, which causes frustration for everyone concerned.

2)proficiency in the english language is critical as without it many things can be misunderstood requiring repeated explanation. eg. a shopping cart means a functioning, working shopping cart with the full list of products and pricing that one can reveal to the customers and use. it does not mean a sample.

3)it is also the case, at least with the startup development company i have had dealings with, that one cannot assume that the development company has good business knowledge.

this can be difficult as it means explaining business processes and outcomes by email, much like teaching a classroom remote control. eg. a datafeed of a retail prices that my customers will pay, compared to revealing the wholesale price as well, should be obvious.

4)scoping the project is critical. there is no point pushing to start a project if you have not understood the full details of the requirement.

5)good language (english) + business knowledge + development experience = success.

lack of any or all three of these will mean problems and frustration for all concerned, especially the programmer, who is usually only doing what is told.

sounds reasonable?

well, that is how it should be done.

6)the problem is when the business development manager is keen to start the project and give the impression that they have understood the requirement fully. you can even have it outlined in writing but, it is still not going to work if it has been rushed and not properly considered.

7)i now appreciate that it is also critical to get references, particularly good references about the people you are engaging for such an important task.

9)another problem is keeping track of what has been done. we tried using a spreadsheet and found that worked when it was updated regularly. the tasks were ticked as done when completed and problems highlighted for action.

10)testing is key to success but it also means a lot of time going back over the same ground if not documented properly.

11)adding features should be possible during the development as sometimes problems show up during development and testing when procedure (a) works better as procedure (b).

12)timely response and continuity is critical. taking 9 months to develop a website is too long. continuity of not having to repeat requests as only parts are completed is also time consuming.

13)pricing the project correctly is important as nobody is going to be happy that a project is going to cost 80-100% more.

14)progress payments made in good faith, need to be backed by guarantees of performance as part of the contract. it must not be a case that the customer is on one side of the fence wanting the job completed and the developer is on the other side of the fence with a hand out, only wanting to be paid and move on to the next project. that is the type of treatment that some used car salesman have, take your money and then you are on your own...

15)recourse is limited in such a long distance arrangement. if you pay with paypal or a credit card you can lodge a complaint and that will be a black mark on the supplier. other than that, recourse is limited to calling on the reputation of the developer to do the honorable thing.

so, my experience has not been the best. in short, the enthusiasm to start the project has not been matched with the enthusiasm to finish it. it is a shame, as i could have refered many people if my experience was a good one.

perhaps, it is just one bad example and there are many good examples that you would like to share in what to do right with this kind of project. over to you for comment. rgs, brian.