How to Verify Your IT Contractor's Expertise

Imagine you have a successful offline business and you want to develop an IT product based on it. Not just a simple business card website with your name and contact details, but something that can significantly scale your profits.

It might seem straightforward: hire your product team and start developing! However, there's a problem — you are an expert in your domain, not in IT. Figuring out how to develop an IT product properly, what team to hire, and how to verify their expertise is nearly impossible right off the bat.

The most straightforward path, in my view, is to start developing your product with an agency that has proven product expertise.

Let's explore how to choose a contractor who is more likely to deliver a successful product for you:

1. Understand the Continuous Nature of IT Product Development: Developing an IT product is not a one-time event. It requires continuous improvement based on market feedback. If a contractor guarantees financial success and suggests working on all functionalities at once—run. They probably have never launched a product before.
2. Look for Similar Case Studies: Check if the contractor has similar projects in their portfolio. This can be a good indicator of their capability to handle your project.
3. Verify Competencies: The agency should be capable of:

So, don't sign a contract for the entire project right away. Instead, order a discovery phase, which should result in:

• A description of the product concept and boundaries.
• A value proposition hypothesis (Product Market Fit).
• An estimate for developing the MVP version.
• A roadmap.

During this phase, you'll have the opportunity to evaluate the contractor's expertise and quality of work. You can also estimate potential costs. If you're not satisfied with the results, you can take the findings to other contractors. If everything is fine, you'll feel more confident continuing with the current contractor.

What other signs do you think might indicate an agency capable of developing a successful product?

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