How to Choose the Right Software Development Partner in Vietnam
You are running a business and looking for the right software development company as a long-term partner to support you. Vietnam, one of the top 15 outsourcing destinations, is an excellent place for you.
If you are still worried and wonder how to choose the right software development partner. These tips below would be valuable for you. In particular, I have a specific section about Vietnamese companies.
Before diving into the detailed list, we thoroughly point out some significant issues/disadvantages when finding an offshore outsourcing model and how to choose the right software development partner in Vietnam.
- 1) Identify the keys to choosing the right software development partner
- 2) Standard guidelines for choosing the right software development partner
- 3) Tips to choose the right software development partner in Vietnam
- 4) Conclusion
Identify the keys to choosing the right software development partner
Achieving goals at a reasonable cost isn’t what everyone looks for?
I guess you have come across several different outsourcing destinations before this post. Therefore, I only propose a quick summary that conveys the advantages and disadvantages of software outsourcing in Vietnam. Based on this, we will conclude on the root problems we are dealing with.
Advantages vs. Disadvantages of Vietnam offshore software development
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
Similarly, more points can be easily found online as Pros and Cons of Building Offshore Software Development Team. Most of them are about cost saving. It is the undeniable primary reason. |
These factors can cause a loss of control. Consequently, the US company may be worried about the effectiveness of the partnership. |
You have to cope with losing control for any reason once you have an offshore outsourcing partner. Thus, who can help you reduce costs without losing control is the right software development partner for you.
Standard guidelines for choosing the right software development partner
I won’t take your time by repeating things you can get from other websites. Therefore, in this section, I will list 3 topics in the following order:
- Firstly – Summarize your needs and determine how qualified a partner will satisfy your requirements.
- Secondly, determine what characteristics of your partner suit your business.
- Lastly, Create an analysis table to compare their abilities and decide your best potential partner.
Do not miss out. A sample file for you is attached in this section.
Identify your needs & create your decision metric
Know what you need
The most vital key to success is to know what you need. Therefore, you should determine your requirements and expectations before finding a partner. Below is an example list of needs.
Business logic complexity
If your business logic is complicated, you must find a software development partner with in-depth experience. On the other hand, if yours is simple, the less experienced partner is not a wrong choice. With this in mind, you should categorize your business logic into 3.
- Simple.
- Normal.
- Complicated.
Technology stack and level
As with business complexity, the suitable software development partner is the one who matches your technical requirement level. The required level should be low, medium, or high.
Maintenance required
In case your product requires 24/24 running without any interruptions, even accidents. Please find a company with the experience; your categories should be standard or 24/24.
Level of UI/UX design
UI/UX is a sensitive topic. Therefore, you should categorize yours as generic or specific. Generic means your application requires standard UI/UX behavior well-provided by powerful UI libraries. In this case, you set your project at a particular UI/UX design level. I think you need an experienced partner or hire your in-house designer.
Pick up your most crucial criteria.
Besides the above requirements, listing other critical soft criteria affecting your cooperation decision is essential.
The first impressions
Trust your intuition! It never betrays you. Intuition helps you make the right decision besides analyzing a huge amount of data.
According to psychologists, the first 10 minutes after waking up decides the working quality of a day. The same is true for a cooperation decision. Some specific characteristics make you feel confident, trusted, respected, and secure to create a harmonious collaboration.
Communication
Communication is critical, especially in an offshoring relationship. Imagine how a project could be done without understanding. It cannot be a long-term partnership when you do not communicate well.
Minimum of operation years
This number represents experience, stability, and assurance. So, the right software development partner should be chosen for a long time in operating in the market. It’s up to you, but they should be three years or more.
Of course, if every US company thought like that, we wouldn’t have an HDWEBSOFT today. So, this is an open point for further discussion.
Company size
The company size is proportional to stability and security. However, it does not mean that a large company size is always good for your project. Sometimes, your intuition tells you that a small company with enthusiastic developers can be your right software development partner.
Agile application ability
This is not significant since most software development companies have applied Agile. Specifically, it is unsuitable for a rigid model and requires an appropriate application process. For instance, using a standard Scrum for a small project is ineffective. So, your right software development partner should have a flexible management approach. Agile contains the principles but should adapt the project size in real life.
Prices
Good – Cheap – Fast, pick any two.
This depends on your budget. There are two among 3 factors (time-quality-price) that you can consider. Time-saving and high-quality are expensive.
Please put it on a table priority.
This is an essential factor for a concrete foundation. It would be best to create or download this software development partner evaluation template and make your own. Then, it is time to meet up and make a decision. The file looks like this:
Investigate the company’s capacities
Besides meetings, you must refer to many other sources to determine their abilities. The valuable information is from their completed projects, references, and their frequency of appearing on local recruitment channels.
Business experience
The company should have experience developing applications in diverse business areas. Specifically, you need to check its portfolios in advance. However, the detailed information is impossible to investigate due to strict policies of NDAs and other nondisclosure constraints.
Technical expertise
Imagine that you want to customize a few details on a WordPress website. What would you do? – Obviously, you will find a specialized company in WordPress. However, it would be best to have an experienced partner who masters the latest popular technologies for a long-term partnership. They are independent of technology, so they can assist with WordPress, Magento, Nodejs, Java, and PHP projects without taking too much time to prepare. This is unlikely to happen in a single technology company.
Development process
Agile is quite popular in this era. As a result, it is not a challenge for any company to apply half or complete Agile. The concentration is on automated software development and deployment processes. Those companies with experience in DevOps, CI/CI, GCP, AWS, and Azure should be on your top list.
Investigate the company in a pilot period.
It is an excellent time to cross-check your partner before further essential commitments. Your right software development partner needs to show their best on the pilot project you require them to complete.
Communication
This is a fundamental factor. In every communication context (meeting, email, chat), you should notice things as follows:
- Are they active?
- Is the information valuable?
- How do they express their opinions?
- How do they perform?
- Is the exchanged information ample?
- Are there any unrelated questions?
- Are there any intelligent questions?
- How do they interact with their teammates?
Requirement analysis
Through communication, you can evaluate your partner’s ability.
With great requirement analysis ability, they can:
- Address the problems and propose resolutions immediately.
- Trace your potential causes.
- Understand your requirements.
- Ask expensive questions that help to solve all the blockers.
On the other hand, we need more consideration when they:
- It cannot address the problems.
- Blame on technical constraints frequently.
- I cannot understand your needs.
Technical consultation
Be my guest! Don’t hesitate when asking technical questions to a technology company.
We provide you with some questions to imagine and prepare.
- What is the best technology?
- Can you explain more about UI/UX design?
- What is the difference between React Native and Flutter Native app development?
- Which technology is the most suitable to develop your project?
- Which cloud platform is the best place to run your project?
Problem-solving
You should notice how they solve a problem.
A good and professional team will save you time and money. In addition, you should notice not only software development and deployment but also management problem-solving.
Standard compliance
This will reflect their professionalism. Remember, you never expect any missing point repetition.
- Set up project conventions.
- Set up project workflows.
- Be not punctual for the meetings.
Tips to choose the right software development partner in Vietnam
To summarize “Tips to Choose the Right Software Development Partner in Vietnam,” we need to determine the unique characteristics of the developing environment and human resources.
We have gone through the basic essential information. This section focuses on distinctive points to which you must pay attention when working with Vietnamese partners.
The partner has experience solving different time-zone problem
The time zone is explicitly a bothersome problem. Our clients once shared their worries with us. They feared that different time zones could create many issues and low productivity.
This is reasonable; however, I ensure that software production has unique characteristics that can be entirely operated without direct communication in the same time frame. Specifically, it would be better to communicate within the same time frame, but it is not mandatory. The development team can complete and report the task in our weekly meeting.
We have applied the following measures:
Active communication plan
Communication is the golden key to success.
Besides the official working hours, the company can propose a communication channel during unofficial hours. It helps us solve the clients’ problems immediately. Specifically, we have no downtime due to geographical distance. The development team will complete tasks within official working hours and support you in the unofficial time communication channel.
Tip: A good company can maintain productivity. Even though they lack time for the interaction, they can communicate and complete tasks effectively.
Night time support
No worries! Most software development companies in Vietnam are willing to propose a support channel in their unofficial working time. Besides, you can request nighttime support.
Tip: Night time support is only necessary if your project needs a 24/24 monitor. Additionally, it is more expensive since we pay more for workers for an extra shift.
The partner has experience in solving language issue
Vietnamese developers’ English levels have enhanced significantly. Some developers are not good at speaking and listening skills, but they are excellent at reading and writing. Therefore, you only need suitable English main contactors.
Moreover, you should check if:
- The team leader can interact in English.
- Developers can communicate well in English via chat and messaging tools.
Tip: It is preferred to use simple grammar and direct statements to express your opinions.
Company leaders with in-depth technical experience
The technical approach will be more efficient in the offshore development model since they know what is best for your software. Their advantages are management and operation methods that promote comprehensive efficiency. Also, there is no complicated procedure. Potential solutions will be proposed without time-wasting meetings.
Tip: A company whose leader is a software developer. In addition, the leader (CEO, CTO) can address/convey your problems/requirements and send them to the technical team immediately.
Conclusion
Above is my experience as a member of HDWEBSOFT, who has witnessed customers’ outstanding success and company growth. In any collaboration, we address and solve their problems. Importantly, our consultant specialists provide resolutions to avoid potential issues and propose tips for choosing the right software development partner in Vietnam. As a result, we have loyal customers and accompany other software development companies to establish our position in offshore software development and software outsourcing development industries.
