If you are looking for an IT developer to build a system for you, to write software or develop a website then you have a problem. It may not be a problem that you have thought about yet or it may be a problem that you are well aware of. Either way there is no escaping the fact that asking IT suppliers to bid for work is the first step on a tricky path.

Briefly, here are the reasons why working with IT suppliers is a problem for you:

Specification Interpretation

Let's say you have created a specification of how your new IT project will be built, installed and commissioned. You have included all the detail of the minor caveats that make the system a 'complex' one. However, frequently, different people will interpret a specification (or parts of it) in different ways. How can you be confident that the IT supplier bidding for the project really understands the requirement and has read the specification the way you want it to be?

The worst time to find this out is at the end of the project when what you receive is not what you expect, or mid project when costs increase to cover the IT supplier's "new understanding" of what was really implied in the specification. Really what you need is someone to review the specification, and iron out any ambiguities from the start.

Apples and Oranges

If you invite several IT suppliers to bid for a project you will get prices that vary enormously. You could easily see estimates ranging from £10k to £100k for exactly the same job. Should you go for the cheapeast? After all, they are all bidding on the same specification, they must be providing the same service!

The answer is that due to the interpretation issues of the specification, and with the marvellous nature of IT to be able do the same thing in a miriad of different ways, it is like comparing apples with oranges. It is incredibly difficult to compare even 2 proposals based on the same specifaction. What you need is someone to review impartially each tender, from the cheapest to the most costly, and give some professional feedback which will help you to decide.

Reusing Existing Software

Developing software and websites is time consuming and requires a high level of skill. For this reason every IT supplier, without exception, attempts to create software that can be reused. It makes good sense for them to write software once, and sell it lots of times. The profit is 100% on every subsequent sale.

You will find most proposals include at least a degree of existing software. Of course, this software might be perfect for your business, but this thought may not have crossed the IT supplier's mind. Sometimes the thought of 100% profit will be driving the IT supplier to sell the existing software to everyone he can, regardless of their exact requirements.

Other issues of reusing existing software include licensing and ownership. This is a very murky area that needs discussion of its own. Again, what you need is an impartial adviser who can help you ensure that your final product fits your exact requirements and gives you full ownership once completed.

Cutting Corners

Let's presume you find a supplier you are happy with, you have agreed a price and are happy that the specification is being interpreted correctly, so work on the project starts at full speed. There is now a huge difference in desire between you and your supplier.

You want the project finished to the highest possible standard with 100% dedication to it.

Your supplier wants the project finished as quickly and as easily as they can to be able to move on to the next client.

In fact, once you have signed up a supplier, they have already moved on in their mind to where the next job is coming from. So what is going to encourage the supplier to do the best for your project even if it takes a little longer, rather than cutting corners to get the project finished sooner?

Change Control

Change control is where a great deal of stress is encountered. If you point out that the specification hasn't been read correctly and that something should work slightly differently, the IT supplier will say every time without fail that that is not what he budgeted for, and an extra cost is going to result.

The supplier feels that they are being put on to do more that was expected, and you feel that the supplier is charging more money for what you were expecting them to do in the first place.

Change control can be a time of treading on egg shells, strained relationships and bad feeling.

Auditing Results

Much of what an IT supplier provides is hidden. Take for example a supplier who offers search engine optimisation of the website he is developing. How do you know that this optimisation has been done? How would you know where to begin looking? It is very techincal and well hidden, yet it is important that you know it has been done properly.

Ownership

Ownership of software, of a website, of Intellectual Property is an area very often overlooked and not seen as a big issue. Not, that is, until perhaps you see your system that you designed being sold by your IT supplier to your competitors. Or perhaps you ask for the source code of your project to allow a new IT supplier to make modifications and you are told that you don't own it and that you can't have it - unless you buy out the rights for a vast amount of money.

Who is right, you or the supplier? What would happen in a court of law?

Having worked on IT projects as developer, project manager and even technical director for so many years on small and large projects, Evesham Solutions has a wealth of experience in customer/supplier relationships and can offer a simple and elegant solution to all of these problems.

The answer for you is a simple one...

Hand all the problems to Evesham Solutions

An Evesham Solutions consultant can help you with so much...

assistance with authoring a specification

help with vetting and selecting suppliers

ensuring that the supplier understands fully what is required

managing all aspects of your IT project

managing change control

ensuring that no corners are cut

writing agreements to clarify ownership and IP rights

auditing the final product

ensuring you get the best possible product for your budget

What gives Evesham Solutions the authority to perform such tasks?

Having been in the industry for 13 years and having resolved a lot of problems, mis-understandings and difficulties, we have a wealth of expertise and experience to draw on.

Key to our success in this project management and consultancy arena is that we are IT suppliers too. We develop software, databases and websites and so are more aware than most of the potential conflict of interest between a client and a supplier.

Drawing on all of this experience makes us the best team for the job in hand, which is to make your IT project a success, making sure you get fantastic results and value for money.

Hopefully, if you have read this far, you should begin to see more clearly why the Evesham Solutions banner says boldly...

Without an independent IT expert on your side, your IT project will not reach its full potential.

With an independent IT expert on your side, your IT project will out perform all expectations and between us we will get the best possible results from your IT supplier with the least possible complications.

Please call us today on 0870 383 4231 or email us at info@eveshamsolutions.co.uk. We would love to hear about your project whether it is at the ideas stage or already in progress. Even if it is completed we would be thrilled to talk with you about your experiences.