Insight

It can be risky to start a new project with a new company that you've never used before. You would obviously want to ensure your project is as successful as possible from the very start. This is where our experience and insights can help, whomever your provider is.

We have seen projects fail in two ways: the solution gets built but nobody uses it because the idea was never properly validated, or the delivery itself falls apart. Both are largely avoidable with the right process.

To validate the idea in the first place, you need to do some market research and creates an MVP of the project rather than the entire solution all at once. This won't guarantee success, but it'll reduce the risk of failure.

To avoid the delivery itself falling apart, you need to ensure that your provider has a proper project delivery process. For non-agile projects, this process generally looks like the below:

• Discovery: Before anything gets designed or built, your provider should spend real time understanding the problem, i.e., stakeholders, the business need, the user need, current process, target process, and constraints. You should receive a detailed scope in plain language and sign off on it before a dollar is spent on the following stages.
• Design: Wireframes first, approved by you before full-colour designs begin. Two separate approval points, not one handoff at the end. Then onto development.
• Development: The solution is built in a series of milestones, with each milestone being a complete feature that can be tested and approved by you before moving onto the next milestone.
• Beta and UAT reviews: You should test the solution at least twice before it goes live, once at beta stage and once at near-final. Each should come with a structured feedback session and your sign-off before work continues.
• Deployment: The solution is deployed to your live environment, with all necessary configurations and monitoring in place.
• Post-launch support: After launch, bugs happen. You should have a defined period where issues are logged, triaged by severity, and resolved in a final build with your sign-off.

Some other de-risking strategies can include:

• Vertical Slice: Rather than waiting months for a full build before you see anything, a good agency will build one complete feature end to end early in development. You get to test the real solution quickly, and that early feedback shapes everything that follows.
• Regular updates: Weekly. Not just when there is something to show. Video calls at key milestones, email check-ins during periods of deep work. Regular progress reports in writing, not just an email, but a formal report. A one-pager is generally sufficient.
• Staged payments: Each phase should be a payment milestone. You pay for work you have seen and approved. If your provider wants large upfront payments with no clear delivery gates, that is a red flag.
• Clear IP Ownership: All IP, assets, and code should be owned by you. If your provider wants to retain ownership of anything, that is a red flag.

None of this is complicated, but plenty of agencies skip steps, combine stages, or keep the process opaque. A clear process protects you. If a provider cannot explain theirs, ask why.

It might also be worthwhile considering the use of a virtual CTO to evaluate the technology your provider is recommending. This is a third-party technical consultant who can assess the proposed solution and provide an independent opinion on whether it is a sensible fit for your needs, budget, and long-term goals. This can be a valuable step in derisking your project delivery, especially if you are not technically inclined or if the project is particularly complex.

Still have questions? Give us a call or send us a message to understand more without any pushy sales tactics.