You need to create an application or website, you’ve found a developer, and you want the project to be completed quickly and smoothly?

Discover the circumstances that could make it far more challenging

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Project estimation without providing details

A reliable project estimate requires comprehensive details about the task at hand. If you receive a cost estimate based on only partial information about your product, the price will likely be significantly inflated to account for potential communication issues down the line. Agreeing to such an offer might result in overpaying.

At the same time, both you and the developer will need patience as you go through a lengthy process of fine-tuning the product to match your expectations – and reach a final version you’re willing to pay for. Unfortunately, this process can take time and cause frustration for both sides.

You need to disclose all project details to the contractor. They must know exactly what your application is supposed to do – and also how it should do it.

If the program involves calculations, the developer must have access to the computation algorithm, including formulas and dependencies. If designing an algorithm from scratch is necessary, then all relevant reference materials must be provided. Since the developer may not specialize in financial, engineering, or other calculations, you will either need to provide these materials yourself or direct them to appropriate sources.

In such cases, accuracy tests must also be written for each computational algorithm, ensuring that the mechanisms function as expected. This adds to project costs, and a proper estimate must account for the complexity and number of algorithms, tests, and procedures required.

Lack of cooperation with the contractor

You need to be aware that developers and the entire team working on your project can’t read your mind. You must communicate all your requirements and needs to them (meaning… write them down). You also need to be available during the project’s execution because there will definitely be questions and decisions to make along the way.

Collaborate in creating project documentation and requirement specifications. Unfortunately, this takes time and patience, but to give the project a real chance of success, all details must be agreed upon. A lack of willingness to properly outline what needs to be done will be a strong signal that the later stages of cooperation won’t be easy either.

One person commissions the work, another defines the requirements, and yet another will use the product.

In most cases, applications are developed to solve problems faced by their future users. No one understands these problems better than the users themselves, which is why they should be involved in defining the application’s requirements.

However, it often happens that in projects aimed at optimizing a company’s process, the requirements and assumptions are set by people who are not involved in the process from start to finish or do not know it thoroughly. As a result, the final product may fail to solve the problem – or even create new ones.

Imagine the order process in a software store, where multiple steps need to be completed:

• Copying customer details from an email into the accounting software
• Transferring the purchased software license number and pasting it into the “additional information” field on the invoice
• Generating an invoice
• Creating an email to the customer with order details
• Pasting the software license number into the email
• Attaching the invoice to the email

…and so on.

Only the person carrying out these operations knows, for example, that new clients must receive a proforma invoice, while returning clients get a VAT invoice right away. Or that the accounting system requires payer data in a specific format – such as entering the postal code first, followed by the rest of the address.

This kind of knowledge, gained through direct experience, is essential for solving problems effectively. It’s not enough to create a tool that addresses some issues, if it introduces new obstacles, such as forcing manual workarounds for the accounting system.

This is just a simple example, but trust me – situations like this are quite common. So, make sure that the entire process of defining requirements includes direct input from those who are deeply familiar with the work.

Lack of a coherent project concept

The most problematic aspect of project planning arises when multiple people on the commissioning side participate in defining requirements but do not fully agree on the final product’s shape and functionality.

If a sales representative has a different vision for an online store than a marketing representative, the first step should be to establish a unified project concept. Of course, an experienced contractor can help resolve many issues and eliminate disputes, but it is crucial to agree on a coherent version and document it in the project specification.

Otherwise, the specification might end up containing incorrect assumptions or conflicting requirements, and the final product may fail to satisfy all stakeholders.

If you’ve noticed similar issues in your project, address them as soon as possible. While this doesn’t guarantee success, it will at least save you some stress.