Bangalore has thousands of software companies, from freelancers to large IT firms. A polished portfolio tells you what a team has built. It does not tell you what working with them feels like. Ask these questions in the first call.
About the team
1. Who will actually work on my project?
Ask for the roles and seniority of the people assigned, not just the company headcount. Find out whether the people on the sales call will stay involved.
2. Do you build everything in-house?
Many agencies subcontract design, mobile or DevOps. That is not always bad, but you should know before you sign.
3. Which hours overlap with mine?
If you are in the US or Europe, ask for specific overlap hours for standups and support, not just "we are flexible".
About how they work
4. How often will I see working software?
A good answer is a demo at the end of every sprint, usually every one or two weeks. Status reports are not a substitute.
5. How do you handle changes in scope?
Ask for an example of a change request and how it was priced.
6. How do you test and release?
Look for code review, automated tests on important flows, a staging environment and a rollback plan.
About ownership and risk
7. Who owns the code and accounts?
You should own the repository, design files, domain and cloud accounts from day one. Ask for this in the contract.
8. Will you sign an NDA before we share details?
This should be routine.
9. What happens after launch?
Ask about the warranty period, support hours and the cost of ongoing maintenance.
10. Can I talk to a past client?
A reference call tells you more than any case study.
Red flags
- A fixed quote before they have asked about your users and goals
- Reluctance to give you repository access during the build
- One person who is designer, developer, tester and project manager at once
We are happy to answer all ten. Start a conversation and we will reply within one business day.
Written by Stream Quanta Tech team