20 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Software Development Company
Choosing a development partner is one of the most expensive decisions a founder or CTO makes, and it is hard to reverse once the code starts piling up. Before you hire a software development company, you need more than a portfolio and a quote. You need to understand how the team thinks, how it handles problems, and what happens when things go off plan.
The 20 questions below are the ones we would ask if we were on your side of the table. They are grouped into five themes, with notes on what a strong answer sounds like and what should make you cautious.
How to Use These Questions When You Hire a Software Development Company
Use these questions in a structured call with each shortlisted vendor, ideally with the people who would actually work on your project, not just the sales team. Score answers on a simple 1 to 5 scale so you can compare vendors side by side.
Ask for specifics. “We follow best practices” is not an answer. “We run a code review on every pull request, require two approvals for changes to payment code, and track test coverage in CI” is.
Experience and Fit (Questions 1–4)
These questions establish whether the vendor has solved problems like yours before.
1. Which similar products have you built, and can we speak to a reference?
Look for relevant domain or technical overlap, such as marketplaces, regulated data or real-time features. A reference call with a past client is worth more than a polished case study.
2. Who exactly will work on our project?
Ask for the roles, seniority and experience of the proposed team. Confirm whether the people you meet in pre-sales will stay involved after signing.
3. Which technologies do you recommend for us, and why?
A good vendor explains trade-offs rather than defaulting to whatever it always uses. If you are building cross-platform mobile, for example, they should be able to explain when Flutter or React Native fits and when native is better.
4. What would you not take on?
Strong teams know their limits. A vendor that claims expertise in everything is either very large or not being straight with you.
Process and Communication (Questions 5–9)
Process questions reveal how the vendor turns your idea into working software week by week.
5. What does your discovery phase include?
Expect workshops, user flows, a prioritized backlog, technical architecture and a refined estimate. Many teams offer a paid discovery or proof-of-concept phase before committing to a full build.
6. Which delivery methodology do you use?
Most teams run Scrum or Kanban, grounded in the principles of the Agile Manifesto. Ask how they adapt it to a fixed budget or fixed deadline. Our comparison of agile vs waterfall for outsourced projects explains why that matters.
7. How and when will we communicate?
Look for a named project manager, a regular demo cadence (every one or two weeks), a shared ticket board and an agreed overlap window if you are in a different time zone.
8. How do you handle changes in scope?
You want a clear change-request process: the change is estimated, its impact on timeline and budget is shown, and you approve it before work starts.
9. What do you do when a sprint goes badly?
Listen for honesty. Good teams describe retrospectives, early escalation and concrete fixes, not a claim that sprints never slip.
Quality, Security and Ownership (Questions 10–14)
These questions protect your product, your users’ data and your legal position.
10. How do you test software?
A credible answer covers unit tests, integration tests, manual QA on real devices, and automated checks running in a CI pipeline. Ask what test coverage they target for critical modules.
11. How do you approach application security?
Expect references to secure coding guidance such as the OWASP Top 10, dependency scanning, secrets management and access reviews. If they hold formal certifications such as ISO/IEC 27001, ask to see the certificate and its scope; if not, ask which controls they follow anyway.
12. How do you handle personal data?
If your users are in the EU or UK, the vendor will be a data processor under the GDPR, so you will need a data processing agreement. Ask how they keep production data out of development environments.
13. Who owns the code and other deliverables?
The answer should be you, through a written IP assignment. Our guide on protecting your IP when outsourcing lists the clauses to check.
14. Where will the code live?
The safest answer is in a repository owned by your company, with the vendor’s developers added as members.
Commercials and Contracts (Questions 15–17)
Commercial questions make sure the price you see is the price you pay.
15. Is the price fixed or time and material?
Both models work. Fixed price suits a well-defined scope; time and material suits evolving products. See our breakdown of fixed price vs time and material contracts.
16. What is not included in the quote?
Common exclusions are third-party licences, cloud hosting, app store fees, content entry, and post-launch support. Get them in writing.
17. What are the payment milestones?
Milestones should be tied to working, demonstrable deliverables, not calendar dates alone.
Launch and Long-Term Support (Questions 18–20)
The relationship does not end at launch, so ask how the vendor supports you afterwards.
18. What happens in the first 30–90 days after launch?
Look for a warranty period for bug fixes, monitoring and a plan for the first round of improvements.
19. What does ongoing maintenance cost?
A reasonable rule of thumb is 15–20% of the initial build cost per year for updates, OS changes and minor features. Our guide to app maintenance costs goes into detail.
20. If we part ways, how does handover work?
A professional vendor will describe documentation, a knowledge-transfer session and access transfer without hesitation.
A Simple Scoring Table
Scoring each vendor against the same criteria keeps the decision objective. Here is a lightweight template:
| Area | Weight | What a score of 5 looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Relevant experience | 25% | Similar products shipped, references available |
| Team and communication | 20% | Named senior team, clear cadence, good time-zone overlap |
| Quality and security | 20% | Automated testing, documented security practice, clear data handling |
| Commercial clarity | 20% | Transparent estimate, defined exclusions, sensible milestones |
| Support and exit | 15% | Warranty, maintenance options and a clean handover plan |
Red Flags to Watch For
Some answers should make you pause before you hire a software development company:
- A fixed quote given within an hour, before anyone has asked about your users or integrations.
- Reluctance to let you speak to developers before signing.
- Vague answers on code ownership or a refusal to work in your repository.
- Prices far below the market for the region, which usually means junior staff or hidden change requests later.
- No questions back to you. Good vendors challenge assumptions.
If you are considering an offshore team, our guide on how to hire dedicated developers from India covers rates, engagement models and how to run a trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many software development companies should I shortlist?
Three to five is usually enough. Fewer gives you little comparison; more makes it hard to give each vendor proper attention in discovery calls.
Should I pay for a discovery phase?
Often, yes. A paid discovery of two to four weeks produces a backlog, architecture and estimate you own, which you can take to any vendor if the relationship does not continue.
What is a reasonable timeline for an MVP?
Many focused MVPs take 8–16 weeks. Products with complex integrations, regulated data or multiple user roles take longer.
Is it better to hire a company or freelancers?
A company gives you project management, QA, continuity when someone is ill or leaves, and a single contract. Freelancers can be cheaper for small, well-defined tasks but require more management from you.
Talk to Sigmato
We are happy to answer all 20 of these questions for your project. Sigmato’s teams in Bengaluru and the UK provide end-to-end application development as well as dedicated developers who join your team.
Sources and References
