Time is an invisible resource that is part of each software project. Most of us think that we manage this asset just by having an established deadline. I’m afraid that is just the upper limit of using this valuable and precious resource.
DataArt is in the business of selling time to clients, time-to-market specifically. Let me explain how. Over the past 20 years, we have identified two big time-wasters in the IT market. It is time we call them out.
- Cheap developers that take double the amount of time they initially say to produce anything because they learn while doing and because they need to constantly fix the code — for the same reason.
To the client, this is a false economy. In the end, if you factor everything in, the initial $35 per hour in the contract is more likely to become $70 in the final invoice, plus the missed deadlines. - Expensive companies that use less experienced developers (or subcontractors) to produce over-complicated solutions.
The difference between these developers and those previously mentioned is that extra costs are hidden in the “Support Services” after the project is done. Ever wonder why you need such a large support team after the project has been delivered? To fix bugs and maintain that clunky software, that’s why. Again, your initial $70 per hour has become now $150 — plus the time wasted.
To be honest, I haven’t even mentioned the most important aspect: the market. What if the software you have just produced is your core product for a large public? What if it was delivered late and over-budget (see case 1)? Or you have it on time but your support lines are red and the list of tickets is longer than Santa’s shopping list (see case 2)? What is the impact of that on your brand? What would your investors say? Are you actually helping your competition? Such a complicated situation just because of the time your contractors have taken away from you in a very subtle way.
Is there a better way? Yes, there is a way that you can try with confidence next time. And that is having a quality software product, simple and robust, delivered before the deadline that simply works.
When we design a custom software product for our clients, we take into consideration time-to-market, deadlines and other constraints related to time. This is part of what we call the Discovery Phase, in which we thoroughly plan the project to make sure we think twice and code once. Since we hire the best developers, we are confident that they will not have to redo parts of the code or spend endless hours on fixing bugs.
You now have a working product, you are ahead of the deadline and ahead of the competition, with happy clients and impressed investors, and you are due for a promotion. DataArt sells time, time-to-market because we know how valuable your time is.
Sebastian Bucur,
Security and Software Consultant at DataArt
