How to test a software company

How to test out a software company!
 
If you have important projects, you can not put them in the hands of strangers without taking a huge risk. Interviewing companies will only let you know how well a company presents themselves, and background checking companies may get you inconclusive information.  One problem is that you have to give your FTP codes to new software companies, but what if they are not reputable?  What if they take two months to do a week of work after a lot of cracking the whip to get them to do something?  What if they won’t let your site function without paying them some unreasonable sum of money? It is risky hiring programmers.   Additionally, once a company has your FTP codes, it takes time to have server admin people change the FTP codes and send it to the new party.  Many things can go wrong and the process that should have taken a day or two took close to two weeks to have the new party able to login with the server codes. 
 
So, what can you do?
I interviewed many software companies.  The problem is that when you talk to the salesperson, they always put on a good front, so that you will feel confident about their company when they might not even be able or willing to work with you. Salespeople will tell you any type of lie to get you on board, and then once you are involved, you will be talking to the technical manager, and will never hear from the salesperson again. 
 
Lesson #1 – never believe anything the salesperson tells you — no matter what.
 
The technical managers will tell you what they can’t do, and will tell you all of the limitations, and will very happy to reject you as a client.  Also, technical managers typically do not like people like me talking directly to their programmers.  My projects are complicated, and without direct communication, we will have a mess that you can’t believe.  It is better if I am sitting side by side with the programmer during the tricky part so we can get it right the first time, but programming folks like to keep their clients as distant as possible — why?
 
Lesson #2 – dig by asking questions.. see if their staff is really in America or somewhere else?
Even if you are in India, you need to know if you are dealing with a real company.  Visiting them before you hire them makes sense. If you see a big office with dozens of very busy looking people, that is a good sign.  If it is a small office, and there are only a few people who look sluggish, or are absent a lot of the time — watch out!  If they are hiding their office and don’t want you to come — AVOID these people.   Many American companies have back office workers in Vietnam, India, China, or somewhere else, but want to charge an American price.  You might as well deal directly with India yourself unless that company is a great intermediary.
 
Lesson #3 – don’t believe a company that says they want you as a client
I was told by a few companies that they were willing to work with me as a client.  Many were anxious to set up interviews, but the interviews led to them asking me lots of questions and me not knowing who they REALLY were.  I only knew how they presented themselves.  I was flat out rejected by the most expensive company I interviews during the interview.  It was insulting, but at least they didn’t play games.  Another company said they wanted to work with me.  However, when I called for more information there were problems.  I could only get the information from Amanda, but whenever I called, Amanda was either out for the day, at lunch or at a meeting. This company refused to let anyone else answer my questions.  Finally after trying Amanda four times, I was told that I was not “A good fit” for the company.  I spent half a million in programming in the last decade. I’m not sure which part of half a million is not a good fit even for a fancy company.
 
Lesson #4 – Test them out on the phone
Many people at software companies are lazy and unresponsive by phone.  Call people and ask them to call you back and see what happens.  If they leave you high and dry now, you can rest assured that you will be left high and dry after you hire them and they have your FTP codes.  Call companies up and ask for information — see how fast they get back to you if at all.  Ask for an appointment to work on a small project to test them out.  See how long it takes them to call back.  Or, better yet, ask for the programmer to personally call you at a specific date and time.  Most programmers would not pick up a phone if they had a gun pointed at their head.  You can learn a lot by asking people to lift a finger and putting the ball in their court.
 
Lesson #5 – Have them do a small project
You don’t really know someone unless you have done activities with them. You can find out people’s quirks, and how cooperative or helpful they are if you do a mini-project with them.  If they are reliable on a small project, then try them out on a bigger project, and keep it growing.  You are in trouble if you have a huge project that you are desperate to finish, because programmers are typically busy and don’t have time to give you more than a few hours per week.
 
Lesson #6 – Consult a psychic
It is hard to know who to use.  Sometimes a good psychic can steer you away from a bad situation.
 
Good luck — you’ll need it!