People are being unfair to themselves when it comes to software. “Oh, we cannot understand, we cannot know…” We all buy and use products that we do not understand and do not know. We all have at least one cell phone, but none of us are cell phone manufacturers. So when we buy something, we don't need to know how to create it to understand the quality of it. This is the same when it comes to software. Even if you are not a software developer, it is possible to have an idea about the quality of software service.

If we exclude pre-prepared software packages to meet a certain demand, software is a service. There is no product that you can see, put on a scale then weigh. In this respect, it may seem difficult at first to have an opinion on its quality. But in fact, we receive services from many things that only sell services in daily life. With whatever quality is measured in those institutions, the same logic can be used in the software.

What Does Quality Mean?

Maybe we should start here first; How is the quality of a service measured? Imagine you are renovating your bathroom. You have chosen and bought your ceramics, sink and faucet. You want to negotiate with a contractor and purchase labor. How can you get an idea about this contractor's service quality before work? What do you comment on when talking about the service quality after the job is done?

To determine the service quality, you look at whether they have delivered the job they promised and whether they were on time after the job is done. You evaluate your relationship that develops during the business process. Getting a software service is basically no different than purchasing a crafting service.

Price Is Not A Guarantee Of Quality

Most of the time, the price comes from the workload, not the quality. The price of the contractor increases as the work schedule becomes more crowded. When working more is impossible, it is something to be expected for the work to get a bit more expensive.

There will definitely be a difference between the hourly wage of a contractor who has proven their experience and the hourly wage of a newbie. But rest assured, this difference will not be ten times the price. If you have received two service offers with a tenfold difference between each other, these offers are definitely not for the same service. Either one of the service providers misunderstood you and your requests, or they decided to choose a simple method that does the bare minimum for your request.

When it comes to software and web design, the price range can seem very wide. While it is possible to obtain a website with prices starting from 500 Turkish Lira on the internet today, there are also projects with an investment cost of 500 thousand Turkish Lira. Most of the difference between them comes from work, not service quality.

While one of them is a theme that can be installed with a single click, complex processes such as user experience research, custom page designs, funnels and optimizations are offered in the other. Taking this into account, it would be absurd to say “what's the difference, they’re both a website so they’re the same thing.” The same price difference can also be seen in the automotive area, housing and clothing markets. By this “it’s the same thing” logic, we can say a Clio and an S600 are the same thing as they’re both cars. Indeed, what is the difference...

What Should You Pay Attention To?

You also need to be equipped to get rid of this confusion and get exactly what you demand. Each brand has limited resources, and sometimes a few wrong attempts can run out of these limited resources. That's why we've prepared a short list for you to find the right one at the beginning.

First, Be Sure of What You Want

First, clarify your decisions. What do you need? It might be a Clio you really need. When you look out the window, you can notice that most of the cars on the road are lower and middle segments? Define your own needs clearly.

If you have any marketing and sales departments, include them in the meeting where you determine your needs. To outline the software you need, focus on the whole picture and, if possible, visualize your ideas.

"We need a software that keeps the current accounts of our dealers, we can collect online payments, take orders and direct the incoming orders to the sales team"

Any offer you will receive without clarifying the work will first mislead the companies that will provide for you and then you too will be misled. Every attempt you make before your needs and demands list is clear is just taking a shot in the dark.

Review The References

Most of the work is done after your list of the right needs and demands is completed. Now you can more or less guess what kind of thing you will receive when the job is done. Now your offers will be more consistent.

Are there any solutions that partially meet your demands and needs among the references of the bidding companies? Choosing a company that has previously fulfilled such demands will protect you from big problems. Providing such a service can keep you out of trouble based on their previous experience.

Do not hesitate to ask the opinions of the companies that use the products sent to you as a reference. Has the delivery schedule been followed? How did they solve the problems in the process? Were there any unplanned costs in the beginning?

Delivery Process Matters

If there is a product ready for sale, delivery will not be a problem. It is possible to find more products with more money, but more time cannot be bought with more money. All services are priced at hourly rates. Hours of work are limited. In this respect, companies that want to get more business can squeeze their own schedules and delay delivery times. Learn about the firm's sensitivity in delivery processes to avoid such effects.

Know the team

A software project or a website comes to life with the cooperation of people from more than one discipline. Get to know the team of the company you plan to get service from and ask in which areas they provide services and in which areas they receive external support. Thus, you will protect yourself from the problems that may occur with third-party companies.

A small company with a team can make you a victim because it may not provide all the services you request. On the other hand among very large teams, your request may get lost in the crowd.

Request Advice and Counseling

Ask what they think of your demands and seek advice. A company that says okay to everything you say may turn against you later on when you stumble over problems by saying that you requested it that way. Request consultancy so that your requests can be transferred to the software without any problems. Try to find out if the process you have in your mind can be transformed into a more efficient way.