The Deadly Simple Guide To Finding The Right Developer For Your Web Project

Tuesday, November 28th, 2006

I’m a part of a couple entrepreneurship groups on Facebook. I’m listed along some pretty cool people like Sean Parker and Reid Hoffman on one, which is pretty damn cool. One question I saw on the discussion boards was: “How Do I Find A Great Developer?”. I’ve gone on the hunt for a developer, and found some great ones and some pretty terrible ones. Heres a deadly simple guide how to do it.
Have Everything Detailed To Perfection

Do NOT, I Repeat, Do NOT use: “Project requiring photos to be shared”. Okay, that’s lacking so many details. Try to include the following:

-Programming Language and Server Setup

-Details of the project. Its audience, its process, expected length of work, approximate budget.

-Have on hand illustrations whether CSS or just Photoshop

-Have DETAILED, DETAILED specifications that a candidate can read

Look Locally First

Teams can work from anywhere in the world, I know, but look for developers close by if it makes sense. Face to face interaction is priceless.

Divide Your Efforts Into Two Different Searches: Abroad and In the Country

Divide up the candidates you’re looking at, into two different groups. There’s a distinct benefit between each group. Time differences (ready to stay up until 6 am), language barriers, price differences, and whether the developer is independent or not.

Finally, Finally Pick Someone

The first characteristic, is to make sure you find someone who “gets it”. This is something I can’t describe, but you’ll know what to talk about. Next, work with people who have worked somewhat in the space you’re in before.  If you’re doing ecommerce don’t get an enterprise security cryptographer developer. Next, do background checks.  Try to get 5-10 references. Next, once you find a comfortable pool of people, negotiate.  See who can give you the best price and timeframe. Both are equally as  important. Try to get them to accept some form of equity.  People work harder when they are owners of the company.

Sign A Great Contract… FOR BOTH PARTIES

Sign a contract that is great for both parties.  Make sure there are deliverables, payment that is spread across the project, non disclosures, source code ownership, copyright, termination,etc.  They need to feel just as comfortable as you.

Lastly, Make Sure Orientation is Setup and Easy

Once your developer is about to start… give them a starting point.  Make sure you have the server access codes ready and maybe even a first small task. Let them hit the ground running. Bam, you’re going.
That’s  my brief overview. I’ll do a series next about managing your development team.  This is much much harder. Here are some great places to look for developers:

[tags] web 2.0, publictivity, developers, overseas, odesk, crunchboard, tech crunch [/tags]

Filed Under: Just Random

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